★ 02/25/2019
Sykes (the Bring Down Heaven trilogy) launches his Grave of Empires trilogy with this rollicking, moving fantasy epic of revenge and magic, and the price they demand of one battle-scarred gunslinger. Sal the Cacophony has been arrested by the uncompromising revolutionary government. While awaiting her execution, Sal is given one last chance to tell the truth about her past and the lives she has claimed. But rather than providing a straightforward confession, Sal tells her captors about her journeys through the Scar, a wasteland devastated by two empires, with only her gun and her winged mount for companionship. Raised as a mage, Sal survived the agony of having her magic ripped away and now lives only to kill the 33 wizards who betrayed her. In a world where magic steals pieces of its users’ souls, Sal has learned to give up everything, even love itself, to fulfill her quest, so telling a few lies to her captors about her sins seems almost easy. With skillful worldbuilding, unexpected humor, and characters real enough to touch, this is easily Sykes’s best book to date. (Apr.)
"Sykes is a master at taking familiar elements of fantasy and stirring them to a wicked, wholly original churn. In Sal the Cacophony, Sykes has crafted a protagonist for the ages. Ludicrous, wicked, delightful."—Pierce Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Red Rising
"Seven Blades in Black offers villains that are as memorable and unique as the heroes. Action, magic, romance and humor mingle well in this mammoth tale. It's an immersive read in a well realized world."—Robin Hobb, New York Times bestselling author of Fool's Assassin
"Exciting and inventive. I never realized how much I needed wizard-hunting gunslingers in my life."—Peter V. Brett, New York Times bestselling author of The Warded Man
"Seven Blades in Black is terrific. The tale of Sal the Cacophony is delightfully sarcastic and deeply sorrowful."—Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld
"Gunslingers and mad mages and monsters, oh my. Sykes' latest is a brutal and vulgar epic yet still fun enough that - and I say this as the highest of compliments - makes me wish like hell it ends up with an adaptation into a role-playing game."—Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author
"Sykes' writing is full of heart, hilarity, and the frank understanding that as humans we are all disasters. Come for the adventures, stay for the weirdos."—R. F. Kuang, author of The Poppy War
"By the end of the first page, you'll know Sam is in love with his characters. By the end of the second, you'll know you are too."—Myke Cole, author of The Armored Saint
"A love letter to Final Fantasy and badass women, told with with an irresistible mix of passion and wit."—David Dalglish, author of Soulkeeper
"With skillful worldbuilding, unexpected humor, and characters real enough to touch, this is easily Sykes's best book to date."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Compulsive from start to finish."—Kirkus (starred review)
"Action fantasy with soul — albeit a small, dirty, funny soul."—Brent Weeks on The City Stained Red
"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 on The City Stained Red
"Sykes has put the fun back in fantasy with fantastic creatures and a lovable crew of malcontents. The City Stained Red is like David Eddings meets Conan the Barbarian."—Brian McClellan on The City Stained Red
★ 2019-03-18
Another ultraviolent doorstopper opens the Grave of Empires fantasy trilogy, from the author of God's Last Breath (2017, etc.).
Welcome to the Scar, a continent ravaged by the vicious and seemingly endless war between the elitist Empire and the egalitarian Revolution. To this once beautiful land came the famous Sal the Cacophony riding a giant bird named Congeniality. She carried a sword named Jeff, a sentient but bloodthirsty gun named, yes, the Cacophony, with whom she's made some sort of deal, and a must-kill list of seven renegade mages. Later, as the story opens, somehow the Revolution has captured her. So to delay being executed she explains why she came to the Scar and what she did there. Her captors listen since one of their own soldiers is involved. She wanted revenge, obviously, but the details won't be disclosed for several hundred gore-soaked pages. We do wonder, though, if her will, indomitable though it may be, is stronger than the magics arrayed against her and if she's blinded herself to anything beyond retribution. All this evolves naturally out of the gritty, well-developed background, Sal's persuasive and involving backstory, and Sykes' intriguing ideas on how and why magic works here and how it's wielded. The characters are larger than life—they have to be to handle the flashes of black humor and profanity-laden dialogue. If you hadn't guessed, the action's ferocious, bloody, and unrelenting—but no matter how loud the explosions or piercing the screams, the antagonists always have time for a merry quip, a stinging rejoinder, or a philosophical discursion. While the author's previous offerings have often proven hollow at the center, with disappearing plots and long, soggy passages, this one's compulsive from start to finish.
All in all, something of a breakthrough. Will Sykes sustain it?
The new epic fantasy series Grave of Empires begins with this audiobook, and narrator Daisy May Parsons provides a thrilling and immersive listening experience. The sprawling, blood-soaked story opens on a continent called the Scar, where an endless war rages between the Empire and the Revolution. The wonderfully named protagonist, Sal the Cacophony, is a prisoner of the Revolution awaiting execution. To delay death, Sal agrees to tell her captors her mysterious, revenged-fueled backstory. Parsons channels into her narration everything listeners could ask of a fantasy saga—from the epic scale and strong sense of place to the larger-than-life characters. She also delivers a breakneck pace and sounds like she’s having fun with the story’s frequent violence and surprising humor. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
The new epic fantasy series Grave of Empires begins with this audiobook, and narrator Daisy May Parsons provides a thrilling and immersive listening experience. The sprawling, blood-soaked story opens on a continent called the Scar, where an endless war rages between the Empire and the Revolution. The wonderfully named protagonist, Sal the Cacophony, is a prisoner of the Revolution awaiting execution. To delay death, Sal agrees to tell her captors her mysterious, revenged-fueled backstory. Parsons channels into her narration everything listeners could ask of a fantasy saga—from the epic scale and strong sense of place to the larger-than-life characters. She also delivers a breakneck pace and sounds like she’s having fun with the story’s frequent violence and surprising humor. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
