Buc’s notes: She has much faith in what passes for truth as I have. Wonder what gutter she was swaddled in?
23
Jens Marten
On Religion and Power
If his contemporaries are to be believed, Marten was better at speaking than writing. Still, this is a detailed—too detailed, some might say—accounting of the rise of Ciris and the new world wrought by rival Gods, told in a straightforward, if somewhat boring, manner.
Buc’s notes: Why does no one speak of this? This accounts for everything I’ve seen on the streets. I always thought it was the hoary old Empress’s fault, aye, and she deserves a full measure of the blame, but in part only. These fucking Gods set everything in motion that led to the streets. They’re why Sister died and I’ll—(rest of page torn away).
24
Yanton Verner
Disciple of the Body—Anatomy
Verner’s magnum opus caused issues with the bookbinders upon its release, but if one wishes to understand the anatomy of the body in all its glorious complexity, one must study this work.
Buc’s notes: Nearly passed this one over for want of a cover. There’s a feel a book has though, cover or not, that beckons and I’m glad I heeded the call. Else I might be emptying my guts over the side like Eld. Easy crossing my arse.
37
Felcher
Discourse on Planetary Bodies
As far as any can determine, Felcher had only one name. The woman takes no prisoners here in reaching out to the stars themselves and deciphering their ways for the reader. Many have questioned her proofs—found in the companion volume, Planetary Functions and Problems—but none seem to be able to disprove them. Approach with caution and tea for the headache her knowledge brings.
Buc’s notes: I may have finally bitten off more than I can chew with this one. I’ve read it thrice and every time I begin to ken what she’s saying, my mind breaks. Are we really just living on a speck of dirt amidst an endless ocean of inky black?
52
Elain Ducasse
Look to the Stars
Ducasse’s introduction to the night sky delves deeper than its thin pages suggest; she asks more questions than she answers.
Buc’s notes: Blast, this would have been useful to have read before Felcher. I guess I’ve a fourth reading of that in the offing. I’ll need a lungful of kan first. Two, perhaps.
62
Othotus
The Study of Centuries
One necessarily expects a historical work looking back a millennium to be a weighty tome, but Othotus’s love of three sentences where one will suffice turns weight into labor.
Buc’s notes: I’ve never not finished a book, but Gods, Othotus tested me with this one. I’m not sure I quite agree that history is a cycle that repeats itself. I read somewhere else, written in a far keener hand, that history rhymes. There’s some truth there, I’m sure, but I need to understand the meter if I’m to do anything about it.
88
Kasina Alyce
On Sculpting
Kasina Alyce, maestra to some of Servenza’s most famous artists, including Alina and her younger sister Malina, was said to be a talented artist in her own right, though one would be hard pressed to name a sculpture attributed to her today. She committed her life’s work to parchment while exiled to Normain, where the bones of the Dead Gods form the basis of all their architecture, providing little in the way of artistic demand.
Buc’s notes: Why do the rich care so much about useless blocks of marble? The casting bit may come in useful one day, but marble?
107
Unknown
A Year Amongst the Inhabitants of the Uninhabitable Coast
Of questionable origin—one doesn’t find many common sailors of this era who knew how to write—it nonetheless provides an all too accurate accounting of the disparate native tribes along the Shattered Coast. The intrepid traveler would wish for more on ways to parse friendly tribes from those with a taste for human flesh.
Buc’s notes: Is that blood on the parchment? Or jam? Wet finger says not jam …
143
Eint Volker
Where the Gods Fear to Step
Eint Volker, one of the few northmen who cared more for spilling ink than spilling blood, married an elder daughter of a Cordoban lady and soon thereafter stumbled upon the origin of the family’s fortunes: as agents of Sin Eaters. Even in his simple hand, the tale pulls the reader in … agents of Ciris risking all on rickety vessels to brave the hurricanes of the Shattered Coast and ignite chains of volcanoes in worship to their Goddess. Is it fact as Volker claimed, or mere fiction, as Ciris’s followers would have one believe? The reader must judge.
Buc’s notes: Half the world starved if everything else I’ve read about that time is true. The sun blotted out behind an unending cloud of ash. Funny how when it cleared, the Empire grew and the Kanados Trading Company with it. And the Sin Eaters with them both. Hmm … what did the Sin Eaters want in the Shattered Coast that the hurricanes hid?
189
Royale Aislin
Black Flag’s Shadow
Privateer turned savior of Southeast Island, Aislin died a century ago, but not before she wrote out the unbelievable story of her life—which ended in an Imperial jail, both legs replaced with pegs. She was fond of joking that she didn’t need her legs to swing, and swing she did, but not before completing the autobiography that every would-be leftenant reads before joining the Academy.
Buc’s notes: A hard woman and now I understand the stories about her insanity. But it’s only insanity if you don’t win and she won every fight, save the last.
201
Errol Gatina
A Captain’s Mast
Gatina became Maestro of the Servenzan Naval Academy, reckoned just below the Imperial Naval Academy, after two decades before the mast. An average sailor, he proved a better teacher, confirming that those who can’t do, teach.
Buc’s notes: If I wanted a field manual on how to run a ship, I’d have bought one. Aislin led me to believe all salts were salty, but now I wonder. Frobisher’s coming up in the pile, but is she another slog?
216
Anonymous
On Knots and Ropes
Written in a cramped hand, in language that suggests the author is Southeast Islander in origin, it’s lacking diagrams but includes directions for more knots than a sailor ten years before the mast would need to know.
Buc’s notes: Useful, if only to know how to tie Eld up when he gets too polite and balks at my next stratagem.
221
Joann Frobisher
The Silence of Black on Blue
Frobisher rose from lowly cabin girl to High Admiral of the Imperial Navy. A lifetime insomniac, she worked the deck by day and wrote her memoirs by candlelight, thrice seeking healing from the Dead Gods for her ruined sight. Amongst her numerous victories were the Battle of the Channel, where she single-handedly rewrote the rules of engagement for ships of the line, and the Fortnight War, where she shattered the Free Cities’ navy for decades after.
Buc’s notes: I don’t trust writers—everyone lies and writers doubly so—but I think I may trust Frobisher. I wonder how it feels to throw the ship over and deliver a broadside such that it propels the entire floating monstrosity back around for a broadside from the other cannons? Talk about a one-two punch …
289
Zhe
Cordoban Diplomacy
Zhe’s history of diplomacy in the Cordoban Confederacy reads more like an eyewitness’s breathless account of one unceasing duel.
Buc’s notes: Diplomacy is about blades, eh? If only, Zhe, if only.
Acknowledgments
Stephen King said writing a novel is like crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a bathtub and I’ve never known the man to lie. If you’re fortunate, you find some mates to help you row, and I’ve been incredibly lucky to find a whole crew along the way.
Rachel, my wife, to whom this book is de
dicated, was there for every pull of the oar and kept my sails full over many years of battling writing headwinds.
My family: Mom and Dad, who taught me a love of reading from an early age and always encouraged me. Adam, my brother, who shared my love of reading and all things fantasy. Aunt Deanna, who bought me a bunch of Brian Jacques books when I was ten years old and fed the flames that C. S. Lewis and Susan Cooper had ignited.
Dan Knorr, my best friend and the only person alive who has read every book I’ve ever written (for which I apologize). Always my first beta reader, he’s never steered me wrong.
Arnaud Koebel, a fellow writer in the trenches and another longtime reader, whose advice is invaluable when it comes to making a good book great. A kinder human you will never meet.
DongWon Song, my agent and coconspirator. Not only is the man an amazing editor in his own right, he’s a wonderful champion and master strategist and without him this book and my career would be all the poorer.
Melissa Ann Singer, my editor and Tor Champion, who understood Buc from page one and asked for more. She’s improved everything in this book from the line-by-line sentence structure to the entire series arc.
The No Excuses Writing Circle, who are a talented bunch in their own right and whose feedback and encouragement helped me in the drowning waters of querying through publication.
“Writing Excuses” has been my constant companion since Season 2 and infinitely improved my writing. Special shout-out to Dan Wells and Brandon Sanderson, who saw the diamond in the rough that was the earlier version of Buc’s journey. Their advice and support were invaluable.
Team DongWon and Drowwzoo were my aunties and uncles, graciously giving me their sage advice on everything from writing to career advice. Especial thanks to one auntie and uncle in particular: Elizabeth Bear and Max Gladstone, who went above and beyond on more than one occasion. You are the authors I aspire to be.
And to you, Dear Reader, thank you for taking a chance on an unknown. Buc and I wrote this book for you. Her story is yours, if you’ll have it. I hope we get to meet some day, but if we don’t we’ll always have the pages between.
If it takes a crew to row, it takes a city to build a seaworthy vessel and launch her into that brave new world: the bookshelf. I’ve tried to include as many as I could, but know that there were more; there always are. No one goes into publishing for the riches, they go for the love of the next page in the story, and they all give more than they take. Tor Books, one of the finest shipwrights in fantasy, is no exception.
A very big thank-you to …
Amanda Schoonmaker, senior contracts manager, who drew up the contracts. Ariana Carpentieri, assistant to Lucille Rettino, who got the ABMs made. Nathan Weaver, managing editor, from whom all production floweth. Jim Kapp, production manager, who interacts with the printers, among other things. Megan Kiddoo, production editor, who handles the different stages of production. Kaitlin Severini, who was the copyeditor (any mistakes, I made her STET). Laura Dragonette, who proofread first pass, and Ruoxi Chen, who proofread second. In audio, Tom Mis was our producer and Sarah Pannenberg ran the marketing. Greg Collins, designer, worked on the interior design of The Sin in the Steel. Peter Lutjen, art director, has a fine eye; he commissioned the art and designed the cover. David Palumbo, cover artist, took the few pages of ideas we sent him and truly brought Buc and Eld and this world to life. Julia Bergen, associate marketing manager, was the point person for all our marketing efforts on the book. Caro Perny and Giselle Gonzalez, publicists, brought the world to Buc and showed them the ride they were in for. Lucille Rettino, vice president, associate publisher, director of marketing and publicity, was, as I understand it, the boss of many who came before and a force of nature.
Devi Pillai, vice president and publisher of Tor Books, is a feared name within the genre. Editor to the stars, she is known for taking no prisoners. The first time we met, in an elevator at a convention, I had no idea who she was, and when she bought me a drink later I nearly spilled it when I realized who I’d been making small talk with. She treated me as if I were a best-selling author when I hadn’t sold a thing, let me pitch to her editors, and put the full weight of Tor behind this book. I’m forever grateful (and still slightly terrified). Thank you.
About the Author
Ryan Van Loan served six years in the U.S. Army Infantry, on the front lines of Afghanistan. He now works for healthcare software developers. The Sin in the Steel is his debut novel. Van Loan and his wife live in Pennsylvania.
Visit him online at ryanvanloan.com, or sign up for email updates here.
@ryanvanloan on Twitter and Instagram
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Maps
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Epilogue
The Selected and Annotated Library of Sambuciña Alhurra
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE SIN IN THE STEEL
Copyright © 2020 by Ryan Van Loan
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Getty Images
Maps by Tim Paul
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-22258-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-22257-2 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250222572
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: 2020
the Steel
The Sin in the Steel Page 37