"Perfect for fans of Brent Weeks, George R. R. Martin, or David Gemmell . . . . The best traditional epic fantasy I have read in years." — Grimdark Magazine “Epic fantasy fans listen up: This is the good stuff. Highly recommended.” — Kirkus (starred review) FORGED IN FIRE, BOUND BY BLOOD. From an unmissable voice in epic fantasy comes a sweeping tale of clashing guilds, magic-fueled machines, and revolution. The nation of Torwyn is run on the power of industry, and industry is run by the Guilds. Chief among them are the Hawkspurs, whose responsibility it is to keep the gears of the empire turning. That’s exactly why matriarch Rosomon Hawkspur sends each of her heirs to the far reaches of the nation. Conall, the eldest son, is sent to the distant frontier to earn his stripes in the military. It is here that he faces a threat he could have never seen coming: the first rumblings of revolution. Tyreta is a sorceress with the ability to channel the power of pyrestone, the magical resource that fuels the empire’s machines. She is sent to the mines to learn more about how pyrsetone is harvested – but instead, she finds the dark horrors of industry that the empire would prefer to keep hidden. The youngest, Fulren, is a talented artificer and finds himself acting as a guide to a mysterious foreign emissary. Soon after, he is framed for a crime he never committed. A crime that could start a war. As the Hawkspurs grapple with the many threats that face the nation within and without, they must finally prove themselves worthy–or their empire will fall apart. “An epic setting, and an incredible cast of characters.” – James Islington, author of The Shadow of What Was Lost

In 1859, the S.S. Great Eastern departed from England on her maiden voyage. She was a remarkable wonder of the nineteenth century: an iron city longer than Trafalgar Square, taller than Big Ben's tower, heavier than Westminster Cathedral. Her paddles were the size of Ferris wheels; her decks could hold four thousand passengers bound for America, or ten thousand troops bound for the Raj. Yet she ended her days as a floating carnival before being unceremoniously dismantled in 1889. Steamships like the Great Eastern occupied a singular place in the Victorian mind. Crossing oceans, ferrying tourists and troops alike, they became emblems of nationalism, modernity, and humankind's triumph over the cruel elements. Throughout the nineteenth century, the spectacle of a ship's launch was one of the most recognizable symbols of British social and technological progress. Yet this celebration of the power of the empire masked overconfidence and an almost religious veneration of technology. Equating steam with civilization had catastrophic consequences for subjugated peoples around the world. Engines of Empire tells the story of the complex relationship between Victorians and their wondrous steamships, following famous travelers like Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Jules Verne as well as ordinary spectators, tourists, and imperial administrators as they crossed oceans bound for the colonies. Rich with anecdotes and wry humor, it is a fascinating glimpse into a world where an empire felt powerful and anything seemed possible—if there was an engine behind it.

A hard-SF cli-fi saga set against the background of the birth of the solar system. Filled to the brim with big ideas and breathtaking worldbuilding In the year 2570, a sleeper will wake . . . In the mid-21st century, the Kernel, a strange object on a five-hundred-year-orbit, is detected coming from high above the plane of the solar system. Could it be an alien artefact? In the middle of climate-change crises, there is no mood for space-exploration stunts - but Reid Malenfant, elderly, once a shuttle pilot and frustrated would-be asteroid miner, decides to go take a look anyway. Nothing more is heard of him. But his ex-wife, Emma Stoney, sets up a trust fund to search for him the next time the Kernel returns . . . By 2570 Earth is transformed. A mere billion people are supported by advanced technology on a world that is almost indistinguishable from the natural, with recovered forests, oceans, ice caps. It is not an age for expansion; there are only small science bases beyond the Earth. But this is a world you would want to live in: a Star Trek without the stars. After 500 years the Kernel returns, and a descendant of Stoney, who Malenfant will call Emma II, mounts a mission to see what became of Malenfant. She finds him still alive, cryo-preserved . . . His culture-shock encounter with a conservative future is entertaining . . . But the Kernel itself turns out to be attached to a kind of wormhole, through which Malenfant and Emma II, exploring further, plummet back in time, across five billion years . . . Readers are blown away by World Engines: Destroyer: 'The book quickly becomes epic in a massive, yet thoroughly believable way, precisely because the story is grounded in all of these well-realised characters' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'It is a really good Cli-Fi but not only ecological . . . It touches on very many different topics that are very much in our future' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'It's a great sci-fi novel, well written and gripping. I loved the amazing world building, the fleshed out cast of characters and the plot' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'This is a complex book with a lot going on . . . Suffice to say this was a fantastic read with a great story, good characters & a world that I would very much like to come back to' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'The large scale is always where Baxter is so exciting and passionate and it pays off in spades in the final act. Worth your time to read and enjoy' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'If you love your science fiction hard, look no further than Stephen Baxter to find your fix. He was literally a rocket scientist. His work is always grounded in science' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This wide-ranging and extensively researched work reviews the way in which the British army exploited the potential of railways from the 'dawn of the railway age' to the outbreak of the First World War.

The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace for decades, bastions of civilization, prosperity and sophistication, protected by treaties, trade and a belief in the reasonable nature of their neighbors. But meanwhile, in far-off corners, the Wasp Empire has been devouring city after city with its highly trained armies, its machines, it killing Art . . . And now its hunger for conquest and war has become insatiable. Only the aging Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, can see that the long days of peace are over. It falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of his people, before a black-and-gold tide sweeps down over the Lowlands and burns away everything in its path. But first he must stop himself from becoming the Empire's latest victim.

Welcome to Steelhaven . . . Under the reign of King Cael the Uniter, this vast cityport on the southern coast has for years been a symbol of strength, maintaining an uneasy peace throughout the Free States. But now a long shadow hangs over the city, in the form of the dread Elharim warlord, Amon Tugha. When his herald infiltrates the city, looking to exploit its dangerous criminal underworld, and a terrible dark magick that has long been buried once again begins to rise, it could be the beginning of the end.

"The Gutter Prayer is captivating and complex. Guerdon is a city that seethes with history, horror, and hidden secrets" (Nicholas Eames). A group of three young thieves are pulled into a centuries old magical war between ancient beings, mages, and humanity in this wildly original debut epic fantasy. Enter a city of saints and thieves . . . The city of Guerdon stands eternal. A refuge from the war that rages beyond its borders. But in the ancient tunnels deep beneath its streets, a malevolent power has begun to stir. The fate of the city rests in the hands of three thieves. They alone stand against the coming darkness. As conspiracies unfold and secrets are revealed, their friendship will be tested to the limit. If they fail, all will be lost, and the streets of Guerdon will run with blood. "A groundbreaking and extraordinary novel . . . Hanrahan has an astonishing imagination" (Peter McLean). The Gutter Prayer is an epic tale of sorcerers and thieves, treachery and revenge, from a remarkable new voice in fantasy.

Engines for Empire examines the use of the railway by the British army from the 1830s to 1914, a period of domestic political strife and unprecedented imperial expansion. The book uses a wide array of sources and images to demonstrate how the Victorian army embraced this new technology, how it monitored foreign wars, and how it came to use the railway in both support and operational roles. The British army's innovation is also revealed, through its design and use of armoured trains, the restructuring of hospital trains, and in its capacity to build and repair railway track, bridges, and signals under field conditions. This volume provides insights on the role of railways in imperial development, as a focus of social interaction between adversaries, and as a means of projecting imperial power. It will make fascinating reading for students, academics and enthusiasts in military and imperial history, Victorian studies, railway history and colonial warfare.

Five noble war heroes of Vagandrak get drunk one night and sign a contract – to journey to the Karamakkos in search of the Five Havens where, it is written, there is untold, abandoned wealth and, more importantly, the three Dragon Heads – jewels claimed to give unspeakable power and everlasting life to those who wield them. But the Dragon Heads aren’t what they think, and the world has not encountered their like in generations! Think Smaug was fierce? You ain’t seen nothing! File Under: Fantasy [ Infamous Five / A Drunken Pact / Ultimate Evil / Metal and Blood ]