A Blade of Black Steel

by Alex Marshall

Overview

The sequel to Alex Marshall's A Crown for Cold Silver, an outstanding, game-changing epic adventure featuring an unforgettable warrior.

After five hundred years, the Sunken Kingdom has returned, and brought with it a monstrous secret that threatens to destroy every country on the Star.

As an inhuman army gathers on its shores, poised to invade the Immaculate Isles, the members of the Cobalt Company face an ugly choice: abandon their dreams of glory and vengeance to combat a menace from another realm, or pursue their ambitions and hope the Star is still there when the smoke clears.

Five villains. One legendary general. A battle for survival.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316340700
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	01/17/2017
Series:	The Crimson Empire , #2
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	576
Sales rank:	370,969
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Alex Marshall is a pseudonym for Jesse Bullington, acclaimed author of several novels in different genres including The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart and The Enterprise of Death. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Editorial Reviews

"This is a fitting follow-up to the first Crimson Empire book; full of bloody battles and strong females... The writing and setting are rich... Purna is a strong character who adds an interesting dynamic to the twisted and surprising story."—RT Book Reviews on A Blade of Black Steel

"This is my favorite kind of fantasy — alternatively irreverent and brutal, with a cast of wonderfully scarred and nasty people. Any fans of Steven Erikson, Mark Lawrence, or Joe Abercrombie will love A Crown for Cold Silver; I've just finished it, and I'm already eager for more."—Django Wexler on A Crown for Cold Silver

"Zosia and her Five Villains are as fun as they are twisted."—David Dalglish on A Crown for Cold Silver

"An epic fantasy that will surprise you. When was the last time you read one of those? Marshall deftly sets up and subverts expectations at every turn. If you think you know what's coming, think again."—Kameron Hurley on A Crown for Cold Silver

"Exceptional...a first-rate trailblazer."—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on A Crown for Cold Silver

"Feels like a Tarantino movie... A pure joy to read."—Booklist (starred review) on A Crown for Cold Silver

"A Crown for Cold Silver drags epic fantasy through the mud - but it does so with wit, wonder and wisdom."—NPR Books on A Crown for Cold Silver

"This lusty debut will have you gasping in one breath and laughing in the next...Marshall is playing a long, glorious game."—Washington Post on A Crown for Cold Silver

"Enough fiendish political maneuvering to make George R.R. Martin jealous."—Shelf Awareness on A Crown for Cold Silver

"An epic tale of invasion, civil war, and divine incursion."—Kirkus on A Crown for Cold Silver

From the Publisher

2018-01-23
A lot of people move from various points A to points B, several dying gruesomely in the process, in the action-packed middle volume of the Crimson Empire trilogy.It is only because the Crimson Empire's army was betrayed from within that Gen. (formerly Princess) Ji-hyeon's considerably smaller Cobalt Company still survives. But now, fresh Crimson forces approach, and Ji-hyeon's only hope is to negotiate an alliance to fight their true mutual enemy, the Burnished Chain. Former rebel and Crimson Queen Zosia is challenging Ji-hyeon's leadership. The mercenary Maroto has been kidnapped to the newly raised island of Jex Toth, where he confronts hideous monsters and the crew of a wrecked pirate ship. Meanwhile, Maroto's friends and his angry nephew, Sullen, go in search of him, pursued by Sullen's mother, Best, who's convinced that she must kill Sullen and Maroto to restore her homeland's disturbed weather. In the city of Diadem, the Black Pope of the Burnished Chain has usurped the Crimson Empire's Queen Indsorith's throne, condemned the ex-ruler to imprisonment and torture, and rallied a fleet to establish a new divine rule upon the continent of the Star. And among them all darts the treacherous sorcerer Hoartrap the Touch, lying and stirring up trouble and catastrophic magic, pursuing his own mysterious, but obviously deadly, agenda. Clearly, many storylines are launched here, but they don't seem to be doing much to propel the larger story forward, and the splintered plots make it somewhat difficult to keep track of everyone and everything that's happened. Every small part is exciting and involving in the moment, but the end of the first book (A Crown for Cold Silver, 2015) suggested we might be experiencing more apocalypse at this point.Decidedly a middle volume, serving mainly to put the characters in place to enact the finale, whatever it might be.

Kirkus Reviews

05/15/2016
In a sequel to 2015's marvelous A Crown for Cold Silver, members of General Zosia's Cobalt Company must decide whether they will pursue an old vengeance or fight a new inhuman enemy.—MM

Library Journal