Lords of Asylum

'It came in this darkest of years, this winter of bitterest cold, when dire-wolves loped rabid through the city, marauding, laying slaughter and waste upon man, woman, and child. When finally they retreated, it was believed a miracle from God. It was not.'

As plague howls through war-torn Asylum City, Sir Luther Slythe Krait is forced into the service of his mortal enemy, the notorious Gallows Lord.

Thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse, can Sir Luther negotiate the labyrinth of Asylum's treacherous political wasteland? Can he play one mad warlord off against another long enough to realize his quest? To uncover the truth behind a series of unspeakable murders?

With dark forces aligned against him and even allies plotting his demise, it's impossible. Like a tightrope walker poised amidst a maelstrom, Sir Luther walks the razor's edge.

Balance or fall, there lies but one certainty: He will bleed.

It's mystery, mayhem, murder.

It's The Maltese Falcon meets The First Law Series in this epic grimdark saga.

Read it today.

Questions with the author:

Q: What inspired you to write 'Lords of Asylum'?

Well, Lords of Asylum is a mashup of my two favorite genres: fantasy and detective fiction.

I love first person noir detective books like Robert B. Parker's Spenser' series. The immediacy of first person makes it, for me, the most engaging to read. It puts you 'right there' following the breadcrumbs after the serial killer or missing person, fighting some bad guy on a rooftop, I guess you could say.

So I used that noir detective genre as a basis to write in my absolute favorite genre: fantasy. I love fantasy and adventure, epic, high, low, quest, old-school sword and sorcery like Conan and Fritz Leiber. Whatever you've got, I love it.

Q: What's your favorite part about fantasy?

Beside all of it?

Hmm... I've asked myself that question before and what I keep coming back to is simply this: monsters. I've always loved monsters.

One of my favorite books growing up was the D&D book Deities and Demigods. I loved pouring through it, checking out the awesome art and reading about the history and stats of myths and mythical creatures, devils and demons, and gods and goddesses. I loved comparing them and trying to figure out who'd win in a fight.

It was also my first introduction to H.P. Lovecraft, which lead me to more stories about monsters which is another reason I love that book.

So yeah. Monsters is my answer.

Q: Do you consider 'Lords of Asylum' grimdark? And what is grimdark?

I'll take your second question first.

No one can quite agree as to what grimdark is because everyone has their own idea of what it is.

My idea is that grimdark represents a subgenre spanning many fiction genres where protagonists are not good guys. They're, at the very least, some shade of grey in between and ofte...