by Tom Lloyd
Also by Tom Lloyd from Gollancz:
The Stormcaller
The Twilight Herald
The Grave Thief
The Ragged Man
The Dusk Watchman
The God Tattoo
Moon’s Artifice
Old Man’s Ghosts
More from Tom Lloyd …
• • •
MOON’S ARTIFICE
BOOK ONE OF EMPIRE OF A HUNDRED HOUSES
Tom Lloyd kicks off a spectacular new fantasy series!
• • •
In a quiet corner of the Imperial City, Investigator Narin discovers the result of his first potentially lethal mistake. Minutes later he makes a second.
After an unremarkable career Narin finally has the chance of promotion to the hallowed ranks of the Lawbringers – guardians of the Emperor’s laws and bastions for justice in a world of brutal expediency. Joining that honoured body would be the culmination of a lifelong dream, but it couldn’t possibly have come at a worse time.
On the cusp of an industrial age that threatens the warrior caste’s rule, the Empire of a Hundred Houses awaits civil war between noble factions. Centuries of conquest has made the empire a brittle and bloated monster; constrained by tradition and crying out for change. To save his own life and those of untold thousands Narin must understand the key to it all – Moon’s Artifice, the poison that could destroy an empire.
• • •
‘A hugely assured modern fantasy novel’ SFX
THE STORMCALLER
BOOK ONE OF THE TWILIGHT REIGN
In a land ruled by prophecy and the whims of Gods, a young man finds himself at the heart of a war he barely understands, wielding powers he may never be able to control
• • •
Isak is a white-eye, feared and despised in equal measure. Trapped in a life of poverty, hated and abused by his father, Isak dreams of escape, but when his chance comes, it isn’t to a place in the army as he’d expected. Instead, the Gods have marked him out as heir-elect to the brooding Lord Bahl, the Lord of the Fahlan.
Lord Bahl is also a white-eye, a genetic rarity that produces men stronger, more savage and more charismatic than their normal counterparts. Their magnetic charm and brute strength both inspires and oppresses others.
Now is the time for revenge, and the forging of empires. With mounting envy and malice, the men who would themselves be kings watch Isak, chosen by Gods as flawed as the humans who serve them, as he is shaped and moulded to fulfil the prophecies that are encircling him like scavenger birds.
• • •
‘The world is beautifully realised, the battles suitably grim and the dragon, when it appears, is magnificent’ Guardian
‘Fantasy with a magnificence of conception, a sense of looming presences whose purposes are not ours to apprehend’ Time Out
‘Gallops along with scarcely a dull moment’ The Times
‘Lloyd creates a vivid world … he echoes writers such as Moorcock and Gemmell’ Interzone
ABOUT GOLLANCZ
Gollancz is the oldest SF publishing imprint in the world. Since being founded in 1927 Gollancz has continued to publish a focused selection of bestselling and award-winning authors. The front-list includes Ben Aaronovitch, Joe Abercrombie, Charlaine Harris, Joanne Harris, Joe Hill, Alastair Reynolds, Patrick Rothfuss, Nalini Singh and Brandon Sanderson.
As one of the largest Science Fiction and Fantasy imprints in the UK it is no surprise we have one of the most extensive backlists in the world. Find high quality SF on Gateway written by such authors as Philip K. Dick, Ursula Le Guin, Connie Willis, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Pat Cadigan, Michael Moorcock and George R.R. Martin.
We also have a strand of publishing in translation, which includes French, Polish and Russian authors. Gollancz is home to more award-winning authors than any other imprint, with names including Aliette de Bodard, M. John Harrison, Paul McAuley, Sarah Pinborough, Pierre Pevel, Justina Robson and many more.
The SF Gateway
More than 3,000 classic, rare and previously out-of-print SF novels at your fingertips.
www.sfgateway.com
The Gollancz Blog
Bringing you news from our worlds to yours. Stories, interviews, articles and exclusive extracts just for you!
www.gollancz.co.uk
GOLLANCZ
LONDON
BRINGING NEWS FROM OUR WORLDS TO YOURS …
Want your news daily?
The Gollancz blog has instant updates on the hottest SF and Fantasy books.
Prefer your updates monthly?
Sign up for our in-depth newsletter.
www.gollancz.co.uk
Follow us @gollancz
Find us facebook.com/GollanczPublishing
Classic SF as you’ve never read it before.
Visit the SF Gateway to find out more!
www.sfgateway.com
Copyright
A Gollancz eBook
Copyright © Tom Lloyd-Williams 2016
All rights reserved.
The right of Tom Lloyd-Williams to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by his in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Gollancz
The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London, EC4Y 0DZ
An Hachette UK Company
This eBook first published in 2016 by Gollancz.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 473 21319 7
All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
www.tomlloyd.co.uk
www.orionbooks.co.uk
www.gollancz.co.uk