A Tide of Black Steel

Bestseller Ryan (the Draconis Memoria series) launches his Age of Wrath series with a gripping epic that pits pseudo-Viking nations in competition for the favor of their gods. Trouble on the edges of Ascarlia, the domain of the three Sister Queens, sends the monarchs’ chief agent, Thera of the Blackspear, to investigate rumors of returning demons. Meanwhile, Thera’s brother, the notorious exile Felnir Skyrnrak, is tasked by their great-grandfather, a counselor to the queens, with finding the treasury of the gods by assisting a scholar with heretical religious beliefs. A third story line follows a simple fisherman who’s captured by red-tattooed invaders and forced into gladiatorial games after they discover his innate power when enraged to morph into a killing machine. Ryan rapidly shifts between plotlines, bounding from one cliffhanger to the next. While much of the action will feel familiar to fans of Norse fantasy, Ryan distinguishes himself with deep dives into his characters’ psyches and motivations. This is an exciting start. Agent: Paul Lucas, Janklow & Nesbit. (Oct.)