Description

Welcome to Alkhalend, Jewel of the Waters, capital of Usmai, greatest of the Successor States, inheritor to the necromantic dominion that was the Moeribandi Empire and tomorrow’s frontline in the Palleseen’s relentless march to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world.

Loret is fresh off the boat, and just in time.

As Cohort-Invigilator of Correct Appreciation, Outreach department, she’s here as aide to the Palleseen Resident, Sage-Invigilator Angilly. And Sage-Invigilator Angilly – Gil to her friends – needs a second in the spectacularly illegal, culturally offensive and diplomatically inadvisable duel she must fight at midnight.

Outreach, that part of the Pal machine that has to work within the imperfection of the rest of the world, has a lot of room for the illegal, the unconventional, the unorthodox. But just how much unorthodoxy can Gil and Loret get away with?

As a succession crisis looms, as a long-forgotten feat of necromantic engineering nears fruition, as pirate kings, lizard armies and demons gather, as old gods wane and new gods wax, sooner or later Gil and Loret will have to settle their ledger.

Just as well they are both very, very good with a blade…

Also in the TYRANT PHILOSOPHERS SERIES:
CITY OF LAST CHANCES
HOUSE OF OPEN WOUNDS
LIVES OF BITTER RAIN

Publisher Review

Brilliant... Tchaikovsky succeeds in turning Alkhalend into a stage that showcases the entanglement of the personal and the political in ways both touching and tragic. It's an impressive feat * Publishers Weekly, Starred Review * 'Quite simply superb, diplomatic and political shenanigans edge towards brutal all-out war in this darkly intricate and original novel.' * LoveReading, Star Book * Praise for The Tyrant Philosophers Series: 'Exceptional.... Not to be missed' - Publishers Weekly, Starred review 'Endlessly creative . . . so much invention peeking around every corner' - Patrick Ness 'Has some of Tchaikovsky's best prose . . . an absolutely fascinating study in human behaviour' - SF Crowsnest 'A master at the height of his powers. This epic symphonic fantasy, weaving a breakneck plot through a sumptuously dangerous world.' * Ian Green * Rich and detailed... I love the way the books make me think and pay attention * Kirklees Library * 'Dense, dark, ingenious, ironic, complex, often funny, and always smart' * Locus *