The Silverblood Promise

March 18, 2024
Positioned squarely in the tradition of fantasy caper novels, the winning debut and Last Legacy series launch from Orbit UK editor Logan pits a rogue with a heart of gold against a corrupt oligarchy. Lukan Gardova, disgraced ex-scholar turned card sharp, follows a mysterious note from his recently murdered father to the trading city of Saphrona, where his father’s ally, the wealthy Zandrusa, is being framed for a different murder. Following his instincts (“Passion before reason”), Lukan, who has never met Zandrusa, entangles a motley crew including a clever street urchin, an all-knowing beggar, and a cool fixer to rescue his father’s friend and squelch a coup plot. Logan has an evident fondness for both the choreographed crime of Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards series and the underdog politics of Seth Dickinson’s Baru Cormorant books, while adding hints of a deeper backstory of lost empires and legendary supernatural threats. Readers may be rattled by the occasional jarringly contemporary wording (“intelligence network”; “civil rights”) but will be entertained by the sincerity of Lukan’s quest. This promises good things to come.

March 8, 2024
Lukan Gardova is the disavowed son of a poor nobleman. He was kicked out of his country's prestigious school for dueling, which lead to his estrangement from his father. But when Lukan hears that his father has been murdered, he wants to find the killer to serve justice and to make a type of amends for past actions. Seeking answers, he travels to Saphrona, a rough city where money is mostly the answer. It quickly becomes clear that Lukan is in for a much more complicated and perilous adventure than simply identifying the culprit. The cross-genre appeal of this debut series starter is present in the constant question of who killed Lukan's father. Both fantasy and crime readers will enjoy diving into this immersive new world, working with Lukan to solve the mystery of his father's death while enjoying the well-done world building and fascinating rules of magic.

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