Acclaimed science fiction and western author Peter Grant turns to sword and sorcery with his first fantasy novel.

After decades of peace, war is threatening the Kingdom of Avranche. Its old foes are stirring, in a new alliance with darker powers. Black wings bring death and torture in the night.

Owain, former King’s Champion, hears rumors of sorcery. Visiting the grave of his sword brother, he stumbles into a deadly raid, and uncovers coded orders for a larger plot.

The kingdom’s enemies know Owain is now their greatest danger. He must race against time to find and deal with them… before they deal with him!

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Reader Praise for Peter Grant:

“The two books so far in his Walt Ames series really stand on their own as a solid reads, any way you want to measure them today. What really stands out at the forefront of this novel (and its predecessor) is how well researched it is. Grant took painstaking measures to make sure that all of the details, from the geography to the firearms, are completely accurate for the era. And the amount of detail provided is excellent. He doesn’t overwhelm us with historical details or exposition that overly explains things, but there’s plenty of detail to bring the world to life.”

“If you believe that hard work is irrelevant, only who you know or what you look matters, and only government allows “normal people” to succeed, then you may have a problem with this.”

“I described the first book in [The Maxwell Saga] as feeling very much like one of Heinlein’s coming-of-age stories. This entry maintains the feel, but gives us a more mature protagonist facing larger challenges.”

“The writing is taut and well-paced, with in the main decent characterization of both heroes and villains (and I found myself actually liking a couple of the latter, who were portrayed as decent, even honorable and courageous, people who happened to be on the wrong side). The gunplay and action scenes are well-described, and (one imagines) draw heavily on the author’s own combat experiences, which if I recall correctly involves considerable experience in the southern African bush wars.”

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Check out Peter Grant’s earlier series: The Maxwell Saga and The Ames Archives.