The Cold Commands

Fantasy: harder, faster, bloodier. The king of noir SF takes on Fantasy.

Ringil Eskiath, scarred wielder of the kiriath-forged broadsword Ravensfriend, is a man on the run - from his past and the family who have disowned him, from the slave trade magnates of Trelayne who want him dead and apparently from the dark gods themselves, who are taking an interest but making no more sense than they ever have.

Outlawed and exiled from his ancestral home in the north, Ringil has only one place left to turn - Yhelteth, city heart of the southern Empire, where perhaps he can seek asylum with the kiriath half-breed Archeth, former war comrade and now high-up advisor to the Emperor Jhiral Khimran II. But Archeth has problems of her own to contend with, as does her house guest, bodyguard and one time steppe nomad Egar the Dragonbane. And far from gaining the respite he seeks, Ringil will instead find himself implicated in fresh schemes and doubtful allegiances no safer than those he has left behind.

Old enemies are stirring, the old order is rotted through and crumbling and though no-one yet knows it, the city of Yhelteth is about to explode...

About the Author

Richard Morgan was born in 1965 and was, until his writing career took off, a tutor at Strathclyde University in the English Language Teaching division. He has travelled widely and lived in Spain and Istanbul. He is a fluent Spanish speaker. He has had two of his books optioned in Hollywood and has won both the Philip K Dick and Arthur C Clarke Awards. He lives in Glasgow with his wife.