Shorefall

'Exciting . . . Prepare for ancient mysteries, innovative magic, and heart-pounding heists' Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of OathbringerThe upstart firm Foundryside is struggling to make it. Orso Igancio and his star employee, former thief Sancia Grado, are accomplishing brilliant things with scriving, the magical art of encoding sentience into everyday objects, but it's not enough. The massive merchant houses of Tevanne won't tolerate competition, and they're willing to do anything to crush Foundryside.'A refreshing look at magic - featuring a heroine every reader will root for - from one of the smartest writers I know,' says Peter V. Brett, New York Times bestselling author of The Demon CycleBut even the merchant houses of Tevanne might have met their match. An immensely powerful and deadly entity has been resurrected in the shadows of Tevanne, one that's not interested in wealth or trade routes: a hierophant, one of the ancient practitioners of scriving. And he has a great fascination for Foundryside, and its employees - especially Sancia.Now Sancia and the rest of Foundryside must race to combat this new menace, which means understanding the origins of scriving itself - before the hierophant burns Tevanne to the ground.'A compelling treatise on power and its misuse' said The Guardian of Foundryside

Shorefall is a slice of genius slathered with unfiltered madness; it is an innovation on invention. I want to scrive in this world, to create and experiment with Berenice and Orso, to scale towers and improvise with Sancia, to fight battles and defend my friends with Gregor. I loved this book, A fantastic second book in a trilogy . . . Entertaining while probing some deep philosophical ideals makes for an impressive novel, Foundryside blew me away, and this is a perfect sequel . . . the book I've most thoroughly and uncomplicatedly enjoyed this year so far. It shocked and delighted and upset me from page to page, managing to thread humour and pathos and intrigue together with the speed and precision of a loom. Its comments on our present moment are so deft and sly that when they turn earnest it's deeply affecting . . . [and] sometimes brought me to tears. . . . I'm so excited to see what happens next, Bennett's expert touch and effortless prose . . . A riveting epic fantasy that gives you a little bit of everything, but so seamlessly, you're going to wonder when you got to the ending. It has heart and intricate characters who love and care for each other. It has wonder and danger, oftentimes attached at the hip. It has upheavals and twists and morality and action, that culminates in a breathless series of events that will have you eagerly awaiting book three. Bennett has written another stunning novel that shows exactly what this genre can do and why we love it, The large-scale conflicts, new characters, and climactic ending set the stage for more exciting action and adventure to come in the complex, ever-expanding world of the series

Robert Jackson Bennett is the author of The Founders trilogy - Foundryside, Shorefall and Locklands - and the Divine Cities trilogy, which was a Hugo Award finalist in the Best Series category. The first book in the series, City of Stairs, was also a finalist for the World Fantasy and Locus Awards, and the second, City of Blades, was a finalist for the World Fantasy, Locus and British Fantasy Awards. His previous novels have won the Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson Award and the Philip K. Dick Citation of Excellence. Robert lives in Austin, Texas with his family.