The third instalment in this enthralling epic fantasy series, from the author of the critically acclaimed Long Price Quartet.
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An explosive fantasy debut from a rising star in the genre.
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- - November 15th, 2012
The second round of voting for the Goodreads Choice Awards is now live! Check it out and vote for your favorites. Below are the Orbit books we’re thrilled to see still on the list. Read the rest of this entry »
by - August 14th, 2012
THE TRAITOR QUEEN (UK | US | AUS) has gone straight into the Sunday Times fiction chart at number one in the UK, showing that her fans have been desperate for the final instalment in this fantastic series. To mark the publication, we asked her to tell us how she feels about reaching the end of such a beloved series, here’s what she said:
Sequels. Prequels. Love them or hate them, you can’t escape the fact that every author who has a book published will be asked if there will be more. When the last page was proofed of the last book in the Black Magician trilogy I had been working on it for over seven years and I have to admit it, I was tired of the world and (gasp!) even sick of the characters I had lived and loved and cried with for so long. So my answer then was ‘no’.
I’ve learned since then to never give such definite answers to these kinds of questions.
You see, even as I wound up the story in The High Lord, there were little ideas twitching in the corner of my vision whispering, ‘This could be fun to develop.’ Then it occurred to me that the story of the Sachakan War, the impetus for the formation of the Magicians’ Guild of Kyralia, might fill a book. Still, I ignored these ideas, knowing they weren’t substantial enough. Yet.
By the time I had written the Age of Five trilogy, those ideas had grown up, met, had a few parties, married and bred new bold little ideas, all demanding to be written. Enough time had passed that I was ready to venture into the world of Sonea and the magicians of the Guild again.
So first came The Magician’s Apprentice (I am still amazed that nobody had yet written a book by that title), set around six hundred years before the events in the Black Magician trilogy. (It turns out it’s impossible to make it clear in the narrative that a book is a prequel. You can’t have characters thinking that it’s six hundred years before an event that hasn’t happened yet. It really did my head in.) Then came the Traitor Spy trilogy, set twenty years after the Black Magician trilogy. I learned that writing a sequel has its own challenges and rewards. Thinking about this recently, this recipe popped into my head:
- - May 14th, 2012
Trudi Canavan’s Traitor Spy trilogy – so far comprising the Sunday Times bestsellers THE AMBASSADOR’S MISSION [UK | US | ANZ] and THE ROGUE [UK | US | ANZ] - will finally be completed in August, with the release of THE TRAITOR QUEEN.
We’ll reveal a little more about this thrilling conclusion to the trilogy closer to the time, along with an excerpt, but for the time being here’s the final front cover – courtesy of our wonderful designer Peter Cotton and the talented illustrator Steve Stone.
If you’ve not yet joined the legions of fans that have been captivated by the Traitor Spy books, now’s the perfect time to start as both THE AMBASSADOR’S MISSION (sample) and THE ROGUE (sample) are available in paperback.
Trudi Canavan can be found online at both her website and on twitter.
- - March 28th, 2012
This week sees Trudi Canavan’s superb book THE ROGUE (US | UK | ANZ) come out in paperback. Some of us were lucky enough to meet Trudi during her European tour last year when the hardback came out (see her signing Kindles and all sorts in the London and Dublin highlights), but for those Canafans who missed her, do hop over to Trudi’s blog to catch up on the latest news and gossip from the Queen of Fantasy herself.
For those of you who haven’t read THE ROGUE yet – grab a copy quick and catch up before the final book comes out this summer! It’s another pageturning adventure in Kyralia, picking up where THE AMBASSADOR’S MISSION ended. Lorkin is living among the Sachakan rebels, the Traitors, doing his best to learn about them and their unique magic and trying not to give away all the Guild’s secrets in return. Meanwhile in Kyralia’s capital, Imardin, Sonea searches for the rogue who has been hunting her friend Cery – but the rogue’s influence over the city’s underworld is stronger than she feared. And in the University, two young novices remind the Guild that sometimes their greatest enemy is found within… It’s a cracking second book in the Traitor Spy trilogy, so if you enjoyed THE AMBASSADOR’S MISSION you’ll love this one!
If you haven’t yet read the previous book, there is no better time to start reading this wonderful fantasy series. Read on for an excerpt from the first novel, THE AMBASSADOR’S MISSION. (US | UK | ANZ)
The most successful and quoted piece by the poet Rewin, greatest of the rabble to come out of the New City, was called Citysong. It captured what was heard at night in Imardin, if you took the time to stop and listen: an unending muffled and distant combination of sounds. Voices. Singing. A laugh. A groan. A gasp. A scream.
In the darkness of Imardin’s new Quarter a man remembered the poem. He stopped to listen, but instead of absorbing the city’s song he concentrated on one discordant echo. A sound that didn’t belong. A sound that didn’t repeat. He snorted quietly and continued on.A few steps later a figure emerged from the shadows before him. The figure was male and loomed over him menacingly. Light caught the edge of a blade.
“Yer money,” a rough voice said, hard with determination.
- - January 24th, 2010
Fantastic news just in: The Magician’s Apprentice (AUS / UK / US) has won the 2010 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel!
Many congratulations to Trudi – and, indeed, to all of the shortlisted authors in what was a very strong field.
Click on the image above to read an extract.
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