Cover Reveal: Swords, Swords and More Swords

Here’s a spot quiz for you. We’ve listed a number of extremely complimentary descriptions of a certain trilogy from some very well respected figures in the field. All you have to do is guess what books they’re talking about. Ready?

‘An unforgettable opening . . . and just gets better from there’ George R. R. Martin

‘A tale as witty, beguiling and ingenious as a collaboration between Jane Austen and M. John Harrison . . . a well nigh faultless first novel’ Interzone

‘A glorious thing, the book we might have had if Noel Coward had written a vehicle for Errol Flynn’ Gene Wolfe

‘A many-faceted pleasure. It manages to evoke both the witty Regency romances of Georgette Heyer and the fog-shrouded dangerous streets of Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar’ Guy Gavriel Kay

‘Fantasy’s answer to Catcher in the Rye’ John Scalzi

‘Unholy fun, and wholly fun . . . an elegant riposte, dazzlingly executed’ Gregory Maguire

‘It’s beautifully written, breezy, quick, hysterically funny, poignant and bloody and world-weary and heartrendingly naive by turns. This is a fantastic book, a coming-of-age story, and I love it with a quite deep and unreasonable love’ Elizabeth Bear

‘One of the most gorgeous books I’ve ever read: it’s witty and wonderful, with characters that will provoke, charm and delight’ Holly Black

‘A wonderful book, beautifully written with marvellous magical moments’ Jo Walton

Any guesses? OK, here’s a clue:

‘Kushner and Sherman don’t spin fables or knit fancies: they are world-forgers, working in a language of iron and air’ Gregory Maguire

 

And here’s a REALLY BIG clue:

‘Swordspoint was the best fantasy novel of 1987. The Fall of the Kings is better – twistier and deeper’ Neil Gaiman

 

I hope you’ve got it by now – we’ve practically given it to you on a platter with that last quote.

Yes, Gollancz is delighted to be publishing Ellen Kushner’s classic swashbuckling fantasies: Swordspoint, The Privilege of the Sword and The Fall of the Kings – the first time the entire trilogy has been published in the UK.

And if the effusive praise from some of modern Fantasy’s all-time greats doesn’t convince you to pick these up, maybe we can tempt you with some stunning covers . . .

 

On the treacherous streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword . . .

Ellen Kushner’s swashbuckling novels are set in a perilous world of labyrinthine politics, where sharp swords and even sharper wits rule, and even the nobles on the Hill turn to duels to settle their disputes. They are among modern fantasy’s most accomplished works: elegant tales of influence, intrigue, betrayal and blade work, in a city where the only thing harder than gaining power is holding on to it.

Swordspoint, The Privilege of the Sword and The Fall of the Kings will be published in mass market paperback and eBook in August, September and October this year, respectively. Fill in the form below for a chance to win a copy. Giveaway closes on the 8th August 2016 at 23.59pm.

En garde!