King of Assassins

*Look out for The Bone Ships, the start of a new series by RJ Barker!*
'Reveals its mysteries with the style of a magic show and the artful grace of a gifted storyteller' Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING . . . Many years of peace have passed in Maniyadoc, years of relative calm for the assassin Girton Club-Foot. Even the Forgetting Plague, which ravaged the rest of the kingdoms, seemed to pass them by. But now Rufra ap Vthyr eyes the vacant High-King's throne and will take his court to the capital, a rat's nest of intrigue and murder, where every enemy he has ever made will gather and the endgame of twenty years of politics and murder will be played out in his bid to become the King of all Kings. Friends become enemies, enemies become friends and the god of death, Xus the Unseen, stands closer than ever - casting his shadow over everything most dear to Girton. Praise for this trilogy 'Outstanding . . . Kept me reading well into the early hours of the morning'
James Islington, author of The Shadow of What Was Lost
'Dead gods, dread magic, and a lead that feels like a breath of fresh air. Great fun'
Peter Newman, author of The Vagrant
'Readers will appreciate Barker's complex mythology and smoothly flowing plot'
Publishers Weekly
'Riddled with intrigue and dangerous magic, this is a hugely enjoyable debut'
Jennifer Williams, author of The Copper Promise
'A dark-humoured game of cat and mouse between assassins, with traitors on all sides'
David Dalglish, author of the Shadowdance series The Wounded Kingdom trilogy begins with AGE OF ASSASSINS, continues with BLOOD OF ASSASSINS and concludes with KING OF ASSASSINS.

RJ Barker lives in Leeds with his wife, son and 'a collection of questionable taxidermy'. He grew up reading whatever he could get his hands on, and having played in a rock band before deciding he was a rubbish musician, RJ returned to his first love, fiction, to find he is rather better at that. As well as his debut epic fantasy series, the Wounded Kingdom trilogy (Age of Assassins, Blood of Assassins and King of Assassins) RJ has written short stories and historical scripts which have been performed across the country. He has the sort of flowing locks any cavalier would be proud of. RJ's novel The Bone Ships is the winner of the British Fantasy Society's Best Novel, aka the Robert Holdstock Award.