£4.99 – £9.99
The Emperor of Aria is dead, and three junior members of a street gang are unwittingly caught up in the ensuing struggle for the throne, in the first epic adventure in a new fantasy world from a master of the genre.
File Under: Fantasy [ Sword-Monks | Chicken Foot | Dead Men Walking | Murdering Bastard ]
Book I of the Black Moon series
The Emperor of Aria has been murdered, the Empire is in crisis, and Dead Men walk the streets…
But Myla, Fings, and Seth couldn’t care less. They’re too busy just trying to survive in the Sulk-struck city of Varr, committing petty violence and pettier crimes to earn their keep in the Unrulys, a motley gang led by Blackhand.
When the Unrulys are commissioned to steal a mysterious item to order, by an equally mysterious patron, the trio are thrust right into the bitter heart of a struggle for the Crown, where every faction is after what they have.
Forced to lie low in a city on lockdown, they will have to work together if they want to save their skins… and maybe just save the Empire as well.
“Subterfuge and skulduggery from one of my favourite fantasy writers.”
– RJ Barker, author of The Bone Ships
“Adventure fantasy in the classic style, as faction battles faction in a city of blood and grit and deathtrap back alleys. But it’s the storytelling that makes the pages fly by. Wit, humor, and a percolating sense of enchantment are signatures of a Stephen Deas novel, and this is Deas at the top of his game. In dark times, The Moonsteel Crown is a dark and glittering gift.”
– Robert V.S. Redick, author of Master Assassins and The Red Wolf Conspiracy
“This dark and gritty fantasy is recommended for readers wanting the scope of an epic with the grittiness of grimdark urban fantasy. It will be loved by those who are looking for stories that exhibit all the darkness at the heart of “Game of Thrones” set in the mean streets of the grittiest of fantasy cities, and/or those who like antihero protagonists stuck in a morally gray area.”
– Library Journal
“Deas’s prose is witty, occasionally almost Pratchett-like…there’s something vital and dangerous going on in the world, but our fun comes from the petty tragedies of three downtrodden rogues.”
– SFX
Praise for Stephen Deas
“It is a difficult thing to write a novel that uses many of the icons of High Fantasy and make it enjoyable; this is something though that Stephen has done here. The book is an entertaining mix of Pern and Westeros, with the knowing characterisation of Abercrombie and the endearment of Novik.”
– SFF World
“At first glance, a cast of scheming princes and queens, over the hill kings, and money-hungry sell-swords may seem overly familiar, but Stephen does a great job of constantly surprising the reader. It’s a fun and entertaining debut that will appeal to fans of both classic and contemporary fantasy.”
– Fantasy Book Critic
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