A Stop-Whatever-You-Are-Doing-And-Read-This-Book Moment

I had one of those moments on Friday. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? A stop-whatever-you-are-doing-and-read-this-book moment. I received a copy of one of my most (if not the most) anticipated books of 2012: Kings of Morning by Paul Kearney. I loved the first two books of the Macht Trilogy (The Ten Thousand and Corvus) and you can imagine that I've started to read Kings of Morning with a big appetite. I'm planning to savor each word.

Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Solaris (Web | twitter) (1 Mar 2012)
ISBN-10: 1907519386
ISBN-13: 978-1907519383

For the first time in recorded history, the ferocious city-states of the Macht now acknowledge a single man as their overlord. Corvus, the strange and brilliant boy-general, is now High King, having united his people in a fearsome, bloody series of battles and sieges. He is not yet thirty years old. A generation ago, ten thousand of the Macht marched into the heart of the ancient Asurian Empire, and fought their way back out again, passing into legend. Corvus’s father was one of those who undertook that march, and his most trusted general, Rictus, was leader of those ten thousand. But he intends to do more. The preparations will take years, but when they are complete, Corvus will lead an invasion the like of which the world of Kuf has never seen. Under him, the Macht will undertake nothing less than the overthrow of the entire Asurian Empire.

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Book Review: Corvus by Paul Kearney

Title: Corvus
Author: Paul Kearney
Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Solaris; 26 October 2010
ISBN 10: 1906735778
ISBN 13: 978-1906735777
Series: Book 2 of the Macht Trilogy

"It is twenty-three years since a Macht army fought its way home from the heart of the Asurian Empire. The man who came to lead that army, Rictus, is now a hard-bitten mercenary captain, middle-aged and tired. He wants nothing more than to lay down his spear and become the farmer that his father was. But fate has different ideas. A young warleader has risen to challenge the order of things in the very heartlands of the Macht. A soldier of genius, he takes city after city, and reigns over them as king. What is more, he had heard of the legendary leader of the Ten Thousand. His name is Corvus, and the rumours say that he is not even fully human. He means to make himself absolute ruler of all the Macht. And he wants Rictus to help him."

Please find the rest of the review on Speculative Book Review...

Book Review: The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney

Title: The Ten Thousand
Author: Paul Kearney
Paperback: Paperback; 480 pages
Publisher: Solaris; 26 August 2008
ISBN 10: 1844165736
ISBN 13: 978-1844165735
Series: Book 1 of The Macht Trilogy

"On the world of Kuf, the Macht are a mystery, a seldom-seen people of extraordinary ferocity and discipline whose prowess on the battlefield is the stuff of legend. For centuries they have remained within the remote fastnesses of the Harukush Mountains. In the world beyond, the teeming races and peoples of Kuf have been united within the bounds of the Asurian Empire, which rules the known world, and is invincible. The Great King of Asuria can call up whole nations to the battlefield. His word is law.

But now the Great King's brother means to take the throne by force, and in order to do so he has sought out the legend. He hires ten thousand mercenary warriors of the Macht, and leads them into the heart of the Empire."

Please find the rest of the review on Speculative Book Review...