The epic follow-up to the Sunday Times bestselling Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare, praised by George R. R. Martin as 'everything I look for in fantasy.' In The Ragpicker King, Lin and Kel must chart a perilous course between love and lies.
His life is an illusion. Her lie is a gamble. Can two outliers save a kingdom?
The royal court is in turmoil, following a massacre. So Kel, Prince Conor's body-double, is hunting for traitors. The notorious Ragpicker King, ruler of Castellane's criminal underworld, holds the only clues. But they lead to a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family - headed by the man set to marry the women Kel loves.
Lin will be judged, after claiming to be the legendary Goddess Reborn. And her people's charismatic leader is ready to test her powers. Failure will mean exile, and only further dangerous deception can save her now.
As the simmering tensions in Castellane reach fever pitch, Prince Conor demands that Lin heal his father's madness. However, the King is tormented by an ancient magic, and Lin cannot deny its allure - any more than she can deny her growing passion for the prince. Lin and Kel must decide who they can trust. Yet any false move will mean death - or worse.
Lose yourself in a vibrant world of power, intrigue and magic in this spellbinding epic from an internationally bestselling sensation.
Praise for the Sunday Times bestseller Sword Catcher
'This is fantasy at its finest' - Leigh Bardugo, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Hell Bent
'A triumph of a book' - Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Night
'Vivid and clever' - Scott Lynch, bestselling author of the Gentleman Bastard sequence
Sword Catcher was a top ten Sunday Times bestseller w/c 5th October 2024.
About the Author
Cassandra Clare wrote the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling novel Sword Catcher, the first book in The Chronicles of Castellane. She's also author of the No. 1 New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling Shadowhunter Chronicles. Clare also co-authored the bestselling fantasy series Magisterium with Holly Black. The Shadowhunter Chronicles have been adapted as both a major motion picture and a television series. Cassandra Clare's books have more than fifty million copies in print worldwide and have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband and three fearsome cats.
Industry Reviews
Sword Catcher gave me everything I look for in medieval fantasy: mystery and magic (not too much, not too little), expert worldbuilding, swordplay and politics, a colourful cast of interesting characters and a story that kept me reading from the first page to the last, with enough twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. It's a big thick book, but it left me wanting more. When's the next one coming out? -- No. 1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin
A gorgeously built world of decadence, betrayal and grand adventure. From the decadent and drunken parties of the nobles, to the dens of crime lords in the Warren and Maze, to the Sault, where the devotees of a lost goddess are penned, the city of Castellane makes the perfect backdrop for a delightful cast of characters to befriend, betray and romance one another. This is Cassandra Clare at her cleverest, twistiest and most heart-stopping - a triumph of a book -- Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of Book of Night
Clare plunges us into a thrilling world built with precision and brimming with enchantment. Her spellbinding cast of outlaws, healers, royals and rogues will have you questioning your allegiances with every delicious turn of the plot. This is fantasy at its finest -- Leigh Bardugo, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Hell Bent
Cassandra Clare is a legend in fantasy . . . be warned you will be obsessed . . . a propulsive, layered, phenomenally imagined start to what promises to be an epic journey -- Glamour Magazine
