Valour

From the masterful John Gwynne, Valour is the second epic fantasy in the Faithful and the Fallen series, following Malice.
The Banished Lands are torn by war, as the army of High King Nathair sweeps the realm challenging all who oppose his holy crusade. Allied with the manipulative Queen Rhin of Cambren, there are few who can stand against him. But Rhin is playing her own games and has her eyes on a far greater prize . . .
Left for dead - her kin have fled and her country is overrun with enemies - Cywen fights to survive. But any chance of escape is futile once Nathair and his disquieting advisor Calidus realize who she is. They have no intention of letting such a prize slip from their grasp. For she may be their one chance at killing the biggest threat to their power.
Meanwhile, the young warrior Corban flees from his conquered homeland with his exiled companions, heading for the only place that may offer them sanctuary. But to get there they must travel through Cambren, avoiding warbands, giants and the vicious wolven of the mountains. And all the while Corban struggles to become the man that everyone believes him to be - the Bright Star and saviour of the Banished Lands.
Embroiled in struggles for power and survival, the mortal world is unaware of the greatest threat of all. In the Otherworld, dark forces scheme to bring a host of the Fallen into the world of flesh to end the war with the Faithful, once and for all.
Continue the fantasy series with Ruin and Wrath. Praise for John Gwynne:
'It gets faster and more fascinating by the page' - Conn Iggulden, author of Empire
'Reminds me of why I became a fantasy enthusiast in the first place' - Robin Hobb, author of Assassin's Apprentice
'One of the modern masters of heroic fantasy' - Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time
'Exciting, well-written swords and sorcery. Try it on for size' - Mark Lawrence, author of The Broken Empire
'Kept me reading late into the night' - James Islington, author of The Shadow of What Was Lost

John Gwynne studied and lectured at Brighton University. He has played double bass in a rock 'n' roll band, packed soap in a soap factory and dug ditches for a landscaping crew. He is the author of the epic fantasy series The Faithful and the Fallen, consisting of Malice, Valour, Ruin and Wrath, the Of Blood and Bone trilogy and the Bloodsworn Saga.
He is married with four children, seven goats, five sheep, three dogs, three horses and three ducks, and lives in East Sussex, where he is part of a Viking re-enactment group. When not writing or running around after his wife and her ever-growing collection of animals, he can occasionally be found standing in a shield wall with his three sons about him.