New Releases by Mark Charan Newton

A new legend begins . . . Xavir Argentum is rotting in gaol. Sentenced to life in the squalor of Hell’s Keep, punishment for an atrocity he didn’t commit, the once legendary commander is all but forgotten. His elite band of warriors are dead – and the kingdom he was poised to inherit is oppressed by the tyrant who framed him. For half a decade now, Xavir has ruled nothing but a prison gang. Yet vengeance comes to those who wait. When a former spymaster infiltrates the Keep, bearing news of his old enemy’s treachery, plans are forged. A few are compelled to restore peace – an exiled queen, an outcast witch, and an unlikely alliance of rogues and heroes. But peace and vengeance make poor companions. And first, Xavir must make his escape . . .

A dark epic, Nights of Villjamur is the first book in Mark Charan Newton's Legends of the Red Sun fantasy series.An ice age strikes a chain of islands, and thousands come to seek sanctuary at the gates of Villjamur. It's a city of ancient spires and bridges, a place where banshees wail and cultists use forgotten technology. And beyond the now besieged walls, the dead have been seen walking across the tundra. When the Emperor commits suicide, his heir, Rika, is brought home to lead the Jamur Empire. But the corrupt Chancellor has his own designs on the throne. Meanwhile, a senior investigator in the city inquisition must solve the savage murder of a city politician, and a charming rogue manipulates his way into the imperial residence with a hidden agenda. Then one crime leads to another and a plot is uncovered that could mean genocide for thousands of citizens. It seems that, in this land under a red sun, the long winter is bringing more than just snow . . .

From award winning website, Fantasy-Faction, comes an anthology of short stories and articles celebrating the fantasy genre's diversity.Dragons, magic, clones, portals and swords are just some of what awaits you on the quests and investigations within.Written by a combination of genre giants and previously unpublished authors, this is Fantasy-Faction in a book.

Inspired by the classical ancient world and authors such as C J Sansom, Retribution is the second Drakenfeld novel, in Mark Charan Newton's thrilling fantasy crime series. When justice fails, revenge follows . . . Having just solved a difficult case in his home city of Tryum, Sun Chamber Officer Lucan Drakenfeld and his associate Leana are ordered to journey to the exotic city of Kuvash in Koton, where a revered priest has gone missing. When they arrive, they discover the priest has already been found - or at least parts of him have. But investigating the unusual death isn't a priority for the legislature of Kuvash; there's a kingdom to run, a census to create and a dictatorial Queen to placate. Soon Drakenfeld finds that he is suddenly in charge of an investigation in a strange city, whose customs and politics are as complex as they are dangerous. Kuvash is a city of contradictions; wealth and poverty exist uneasily side-by-side and behind the rich façades of gilded streets and buildings, all levels of depravity and decadence are practised. When several more bodies are discovered mutilated and dumped in a public place, Drakenfeld realizes there's a killer at work who seems to delight in torture and pain. With no motive, no leads and no suspects, he feels like he's running out of options. And in a city where nothing is as it seems, seeking the truth is likely to get him killed . . .

Enjoy reading The Messenger, a standalone Lucan Drakenfeld 9,000 word short story that will appeal to fans of C J Sansom. As an Officer of the Sun Chamber, Lucan Drakenfeld must uphold the two-hundred-year-old laws of the Vispasian Royal Union, whatever the cost. While stationed in the ancient city of Venyn, a metropolis notorious for its lawless nature, Drakenfeld receives a series of mysterious letters, written in blood, that warn of an imminent assassination attempt on the life of the city's young Prince Bassim. Supported by his fiery colleague Leana, Drakenfeld's investigation leads him down the city's corridors of power. But nothing is as it seems. Who is behind the conspiracy that threatens the young prince, and will the duo be able to unearth the perpetrator before the prince's time is up? Delve even deeper into Mark Charan Newton's fantasy ancient world with Drakenfeld and Retribution.

A STANDALONE 9,000 WORD LUCAN DRAKENFELD SHORT STORY THAT WILL APPEAL TO FANS OF C J SANSOM. As an Officer of the Sun Chamber, Lucan Drakenfeld must uphold the two-hundred-year-old laws of the Vispasian Royal Union, whatever the cost. While stationed in the ancient city of Venyn, a metropolis notorious for its lawless nature, Drakenfeld receives a series of mysterious letters, written in blood, that warn of an imminent assassination attempt on the life of the city's young Prince Bassim. Supported by his fiery colleague Leana, Drakenfeld's investigation leads him down the city's corridors of power. But nothing is as it seems. Who is behind the conspiracy that threatens the young prince, and will the duo be able to unearth the perpetrator before the prince's time is up?

Inspired by the classical world of Ancient Rome and authors such as C J Sansom, Drakenfeld marks the start of the thrilling fantasy crime series by Mark Charan Newton. They'll kill to hide the truth. He'll kill to find it. The monarchies of the Royal Vispasian Union have been bound together for two hundred years by laws maintained and enforced by the powerful Sun Chamber. Nations have flourished as a result, but corruption, deprivation and murder will always find a way . . . Following his father's death, Sun Chamber Officer Lucan Drakenfeld is recalled home to the ancient city of Tryum and rapidly embroiled in a mystifying case. The King's sister has been found brutally murdered - her beaten and bloody body discovered in a locked temple. With rumours of dark spirits and political assassination, Drakenfeld has his work cut out to separate superstition from certainty. His determination to find the killer quickly makes him a target, as the underworld gangs of Tryum focus on this new threat to their power. Embarking on the biggest and most complex investigation of his career, Drakenfeld soon realizes the evidence is leading him towards a motive that could ultimately bring darkness to the whole continent. The fate of the nations is in his hands.

Die Stadt Villiren wird von mächtigen Banden und monströsen, halbmenschlichen Geschöpfen beherrscht. Als eine Invasionsarmee sich der Stadt nähert, zieht Kommandant Brynd Lathraea mit seinen Soldaten aus, um sie vor einer feindlichen Übernahme zu schützen. Dazu muss er jedoch einen Pakt mit dem Anführer einer der gefährlichsten Banden der Stadt eingehen ...

Fleeing refugees and enigmatic heroes, The Broken Isles is the fourth book in Mark Charan Newton's Legends of the Red Sun fantasy series. War spills into the Boreal Archipelago, as two rival cultures bring their eternal battle into this adjacent realm. Fresh from a military victory, Commander Brynd Lathraea plans to rebuild the city of Villiren, where he is confronted with a dilemma. There are friendly forces who have no other choice but to live alongside his own people, and their numbers will be required to fight in the looming conflict. The commander turns politician as he seeks to build bridges and embrace mysterious new technologies to further his ambitions. However, many in Villiren are sceptical of aliens coming to their city, tensions run high, and even the dream of a peaceful future brings with it inevitable clashes of beliefs. Meanwhile, Villjamur has been destroyed. A vast swathe of refugees from the legendary city are now on the run from an immense alien presence in the sky. Villages are being cleared and people are dying en masse. And Inquisitor Fulcrom finds himself at the helm of an operation to aid the refugee exodus to the coast, but it's a race against time before this threatened genocide is complete. Ancient civilisations line up on the field of battle. Exotic creatures and a possible god walk alongside citizens of the Empire. As the Legends of the Red Sun series draws to a close, there will be one final and immense conflict to decide the fate of multiple cultures forever.

Unter einer sterbenden roten Sonne harrt Villjamur, die Hauptstadt eines einstmals mächtigen Reiches, der heranrückenden Eiszeit. Ströme von Flüchtlingen sammeln sich vor den Toren und drohen, die ganze Stadt zu überfluten. Da ereignet sich eine furchtbare Tragödie, und die älteste Tochter des Kaisers, Jamur Rika, gelangt auf den Thron. Gleichzeitig ruft der grausame Mord an einem Ratsherrn Inspektor Rumex Jeryd auf den Plan. Im Laufe seiner Ermittlungen deckt Jeryd eine geheime Verschwörung auf, die nicht nur das Leben der Königin, sondern die Zukunft von ganz Villjamur bedroht.

Has-jahn: a continent of exotic cultures, cities and long-forgotten technology. Two members of a race once thought extinct wash up on the shores near the city of Escha. In their possession is a call for help from a human living on the little-known tropical island of Arya, where their race is being murdered. A crew of freelance explorers, led by the charismatic Santiago DeBrelt, travels to discover the mystery behind the killings. However, Santiago's controversial nature leads to him being accompanied by government agents — who wish to explore Arya and find out why Eschan naval vessels have disappeared in the seas surrounding it. Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Rhoam, a city in central Has-jahn, a band of terrorists are embarking upon an epic journey to the very same waters. Still angry from an old war with Escha, they've gathered explosives and weapons, and will allow nothing to interfere with their quest for a phenomenal revenge. But secret pasts are revealed and soon all eyes turn to the coral reef off the coast of Arya. With echoes of Joseph Conrad and China Miéville, Mark Charan Newton's first book The Reef is a modern fantasy journey with original creatures and peoples, a story of relationships foundering on tropical sands and in dark waters.

In the frozen north of a far-flung world lies Villiren, a city plagued by violent gangs and monstrous human/animal hybrids, stalked by a serial killer, and targeted by an otherworldly army. Brynd Lathraea has brought his elite Night Guard to help Villiren build a fighting force against the invaders. But success will mean dealing with the half-vampyre leader of the savage Bloods gang. Meanwhile, reptilian rumel investigator Rumex Jeryd has come seeking refuge from Villjamur’s vindictive emperor—only to find a city riddled with intolerance between species, indifference to a murderer’s reign of terror, and the powerful influence of criminals. As the enemy prepares to strike, and Villiren’s defenders turn on each other, three refugees—deposed empress Jamur Rika, her sister Eir, and the scholar Randur Estevu—approach the city. And with them they bring a last, desperate hope for survival . . . and a shocking revelation that will change everything.

Corrupt politics and surprising superheroes, The Book of Transformations is the third book in Mark Charan Newton's Legends of the Red Sun fantasy series. A new and corrupt Emperor seeks to rebuild the ancient structures of Villjamur. But when the stranger Shalev arrives, empowering a militant underground movement, crime and terror become the rule. Emperor Urtica calls upon cultists to help construct a group to eliminate those involved with the uprising, and calm the populace. But there’s more to these Villjamur Knights than just phenomenal skills and abilities - each have a secret that, if exposed, could destroy everything they represent. Investigator Fulcrom of the Villjamur Inquisition is given the unenviable task of managing the Knights’, but his own skills are tested when a mysterious priest, who has travelled from beyond the Empire’s edge, seeks his help. The priest’s existence threatens the church, and his quest promises to unweave the fabric of the world. Then in a distant corner of the Empire, the enigmatic cultist Dartun Súr steps back into this world, having witnessed horrors beyond his imagination. Broken, altered, he and the remnants of his cultist order are heading back to Villjamur. All eyes turn to the Sanctuary City, for Villjamur’s ancient legends are about to be shattered.

Viliren: a city of sin that is being torn apart from the inside. Hybrid creatures shamble through shadows and barely human gangs fight turf wars for control of the streets. Amidst this chaos, Commander Brynd Adaol, commander of the Night Guard, must plan the defence of Viliren against a race that has broken through from some other realm and already slaughtered hundreds of thousands of the Empire's people. When a Night Guard soldier goes missing, Brynd requests help from the recently arrived Inqusitor Jeryd. He discovers this is not the only disapearance the streets of Viliren. It seems that a serial killer of the most horrific kind is on the loose, taking hundreds of people from their own homes. A killer that cannot possibly be human. The entire population of Viliren must unite to face an impossible surge of violent and unnatural enemies or the city will fall. But how can anyone save a city that is already a ruin?