The City Stained Red (Bring Down Heaven Series #1)

by Sam Sykes

Overview

Step up to the gates.

After years in the wilds, Lenk and his companions have come to the city that serves as the world's beating heart.

The great charnel house where men die surer than any wilderness. They've come to claim payment for creatures slain, blood spilled at the behest of a powerful holy man.

And Lenk has come to lay down his sword for good.

But this is no place to escape demons.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316374873
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	01/27/2015
Series:	Bring Down Heaven Series , #1
Pages:	640
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Sam Sykes — author, citizen, mammal — has written extensively over the years, penning An Affinity for Steel, the Bring Down Heaven trilogy, Brave Chef Brianna, and now The Grave of Empires trilogy. At the time of this writing, no one has been able to definitively prove or disprove that he has fought a bear.

Editorial Reviews

"Action fantasy with soul-albeit a small, dirty, funny soul."—Brent Weeks

"Insouciant, unrepentant and irrepressible adventurers in a powder keg of a city. And that's just how the story begins."—Robin Hobb

"Sykes has put the fun back in fantasy with fantastical creatures and a lovable crew of malcontents. The City Stained Red is like David Eddings meets Conan the Barbarian."—Brian McClellan, author of Promise of Blood

"Sam Sykes continues to reinvent the fantasy adventuring party in a vibrant world of rude magic and good intentions gone bad. Bold and exuberant, never cynical, Sykes fights the good fight on behalf of rich fantasy that nonetheless refuses to apologize for being kick-ass fun."—Scott Lynch

"Playful language, distinctly drawn characters, and a cavalcade of action."—SF Signal

"An entertaining blend of classic adventure and inventive inspiration."—Juliet E. McKenna, author of The Thief's Gamble

"Excitement, vivacity, and sly wit... simply impossible not to enjoy."—RT Book Reviews (4.5 Stars)

"This brash, prolific wordsmith has a natural eloquence that grabbed my attention and refused to let go."—Locus

From the Publisher

2014-12-07
A new entry in the grimdark fantasy genre begins with this follow-up to the Aeons' Gate trilogy (The Skybound Sea, 2012, etc.). The priest Miron Evenhands has yet to pay the swordsman Lenk and his band of adventurers for services rendered, so they track their elusive employer to Cier'Djaal, a corrupt, teeming city on the brink of civil war. As the forces of two opposing gods square off, both the wealthy fashas who rule the city and a powerful criminal guild struggle to reassert control, but all are helpless before the Khovura, an insane cult bent on resurrecting the demons. Lenk just wants his gold so he can retire, but he and his companions are unavoidably caught up in the city's bloody chaos. And soon they discover that Miron is not whom he seemed to be. The author attempts to give his characters depth by loading them up with dark secrets, which he then hastens to reveal as quickly as possible, leaching them of their dramatic power. Sadly, the protagonists—the cynical, weary swordsman; the priestess struggling with her faith; the brash young wizard; the feral warrior woman; and the dragonman who's the last of his kind—simply lack the emotional texture that would make them real people instead of stock fantasy figures seemingly drawn straight from a role-playing game manual. Foes pursue them, whereupon they fight, they argue, separate to their own affairs, reunite and begin the process again. There's an attempt to create tension through Lenk's conflicted desire to lay down his sword; but we know he won't for now, because the series wouldn't be very interesting if he does. It's not clear if the series will be all that interesting if he doesn't, either. A great deal of shouting, soul-searching and swordplay adding up to nothing very much.

Kirkus Reviews

Playful language, distinctly drawn characters, and a cavalcade of action.

SF Signal

"Tome of the Undergates is daring, blisteringly fast, and full of a real vibrant energy.”

SFBook.com on Tome of the Undergates

An entertaining blend of classic adventure and inventive inspiration.

author of The Thief's Gamble Juliet E. McKenna

Insouciant, unrepentant and irrepressible adventurers in a powder keg of a city. And that's just how the story begins.

Robin Hobb

Monstrous, murderous, psychotic, deranged, possessed, and insane—the only question is what our heroes hate more: the demons they’re fighting or themselves.”

Stephen Deas

This brash, prolific wordsmith has a natural eloquence that grabbed my attention and refused to let go.

Locus

Action fantasy with soul-albeit a small, dirty, funny soul.

Brent Weeks

Excitement, vivacity, and sly wit... simply impossible not to enjoy.

RT Book Reviews (4.5 Stars)

Sykes has put the fun back in fantasy with fantastical creatures and a lovable crew of malcontents. The City Stained Red is like David Eddings meets Conan the Barbarian.

author of Promise of Blood Brian McClellan

Sam Sykes does blood and noise in the liveliest tradition of contemporary fantasy, with all the brash vigor of youth, and with a sly, penetrating sensitivity all his own. Not many writers can give you fireworks and subtlety at the same time like he can.”

Scott Lynch