Over the last year or so, Marc Turner has proven himself as an author capable of writing fantastic novels within a variety of fantasy sub-genres. Whether it is the Malayan-Style epic he wrote with When The Heavens Fall or the gritty, nautical adventure that was Dragon Hunters, he has kept us thoroughly entertained. Naturally then, the staff of F-F have been waiting with much anticipation to see what kind of story Marc is going to throw at us with book 3 in his series, Red Tide.
Well, our friends at Titan have not only treated our staff to some Red Tide goodness, but they’ve also given us permission to pass these treats on to your guys also… Today, then, we’ve got not only an incredible cover reveal, but an extract from the upcoming novel too. Fan of dragons? Enjoyed the cover of book 2? Prepare yourselves…………..
I mean, look at that! You’ve got a dragon, a castle, a fire and a ship there. If you’re calling yourself a fantasy fan and not drooling right now, you need to have a real think about the lies you’ve been telling yourself and everyone else! Not only is that a dragon, but it’s a badass dragon too, isn’t it? Red eyes, blade-like teeth, spikes that would frighten off even Daenerys. Yeah, I love it.
As for what we know about the book itself: It’ll take place shortly after Dragon Hunters, but will begin pulling events from the first book When The Heavens Fall together with the events that took place in that sequel. Here’s the short blurb that teases us with oh so much action and politics:
The Augerans are coming. And their ships are sailing in on a red tide.
The Rubyholt Isles are a shattered nation of pirate-infested islands and treacherous waterways shielding the seaboards of Erin Elal and the Sabian League, a region even dragons fear to trespass.
The Augerans beseech the Warlord of the Isles, seeking passage for their invasion fleet through Rubyholt territory. But they are sailing into troubled waters. Their enemies have sent agents to sabotage the negotiations, and to destroy the Augeran fleet by any means necessary.
The emperor of Erin Elal seeks to forge an alliance with the Storm Lords, hoping to repulse the Augerans with a united front. But the battle lines for the struggle are not as clearly drawn as it first appears, for the Emira of the Storm Isles mistrusts the Erin Elalese as much as she does their common enemy. And the Augerans might just be planning a little sabotage of their own.
But nothing in the realm of mortals escapes the notice of their meddling gods; every step they take is shadowed, and every choice they make ensnared in a web so subtle and vast, its true shape may be fathomed only when it is far, far too late.
Ah, and we promised you an extract didn’t we………..
Red Tide Extract
The Rubyholt Isles are a shattered nation of pirate-infested islands and treacherous waterways shielding the seaboards of Erin Elal and the Sabian League – a region even dragons fear to trespass. The Augerans have arranged a conference with Dresk, the Warlord of the Isles, and his son Galantas, seeking passage for their invasion fleet through Rubyholt territory. Here is a (slightly shortened) excerpt from that conference:
Galantas advanced and offered his hand to the Augeran. “Galantas,” he said.
Eremo gripped it. Galantas didn’t squeeze—that would be immature. Plus the other man could probably squeeze harder. He’d expected the Augeran’s skin to be as coarse as the granite it resembled, but it proved no more rough than Galantas’s own.
Eremo took in Galantas’s missing arm, his sharkskin cape, his necklace of shark teeth. Something in his look suggested he hadn’t needed the introduction to know who Galantas was. “A pleasure,” he said. His gaze shifted back to Dresk. “Apologies if my arrival has caught you unprepared. The crossing proved swifter than we expected. If you prefer, I can return—”
“What do you want?” Dresk growled.
“You have heard, I take it, about the part we played in Dragon Day?”
“Nice bit of work,” the warlord replied stiffly. Stiffly, because he’d tried to do something similar eight years ago, and failed.
“How did you pull it off?” Galantas asked.
“Anonymity helped,” the commander said. “At first, the Dianese governor was wary of hosting our delegation on Dragon Day. But the opportunity to impress his guests with a few stone-skinned strangers proved impossible to pass up.” He gave a half smile. “Somehow I doubt the trick will work a second time.”
“Somehow I think you made your point the first. Assuming there was a point.”
The commander regarded Galantas evenly. “You want to know why we targeted the Sabian League? Call it a preemptive strike, if you will. We had reason to believe our interests in the region would make conflict with the League inevitable.”
Interests in the region? Galantas winced. “Sorry. I just felt a sudden pain in my pocket.”
A lone krel banged his fist on the table in approval. Galantas would have to tip him later.
Eremo’s tone remained affable, yet there was a tightness about his eyes that suggested his patience was already being tested. “Let’s cut to the chase. We have unfinished business in these parts, and it is business that cannot easily be conducted across an ocean. We are looking to set up a base in the Isles from which to operate.”
“A military base?”
Eremo nodded.
“You’re going to war with the League?”
“Does it matter who our target is?” The commander looked about the hall. “Are you worried we might strike at one of your allies? Oh no, wait, you don’t have any, do you?”
Galantas said, “There’s a lot of water between not being allied with someone and being at war with them.”
“We’re not asking you to go to war. We’re asking you to help us in ours.”
“A fine distinction. I hope our neighbors appreciate it.” From the bailey outside, the clang of a blacksmith’s hammer struck up. Over it Galantas said, “You see the problem we face, Commander? What happens when you lose this war? What happens when you disappear back across the ocean, leaving us to pick up the tab?”
Some of the krels banged their fists on the table again. Eremo waited for the noise to die down, then said simply, “We will not lose.”
Marc Turner’s Red Tide hits stores in September 2016. You can read more about it on Marc’s website, here: http://www.marcturner.net
Jennie Ivins
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