City of Ruin
14 January 2011Synopsis
City of Ruin is the second book in Mark Charan Newton's Legends of the Red Sun fantasy series.
Villiren is a city of sin that's 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 Lathraea, commander of the Night Guard, must plan the defence of Viliren against a race that has broken through from another realm and already slaughtered hundreds of thousands of the Empire’s people.
When a Night Guard soldier goes missing, Brynd needs help. Investigator Jeryd discovers this is not the only disappearance from the streets of Villiren. 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 Villiren must unite to face an impossible surge of violent and unnatural enemies or the city will fall. But how can you save a city that's already a ruin?
Details
14 January 2011
9780230752719Reviews
Newton combines strange and vivid creations with very real and pressing concerns with estimable commitment and passion.China Miéville
A deft melding of murder mystery, gang warfare, corrupt politics & full-blown war . . . a rewarding experience.SFX
This is an enthralling tale of bizarre technology, lost civilisations and the various facets of human nature. Masterfully constructed, potent with meaning and wrapped up in wonderfully evocative prose, City of Ruin has propelled Newton into the ranks of epic fantasy’s finest writers.Speculative Horizons
City of Ruin is violent, dark, bloody, with a noir feel to it but the writer infuses this story with enough hope and love to make it just shy from being hopelessly Grim and Gritty. And it is in the depth of his characters that I found the connection I am always and forever expecting to have with the books I read . . . I loved City of Ruin, it is definitely one of the best Fantasy novels I read this year: it is creative but also weird, violent yet hopeful. It has sex and love, tears and bloodshed plus strong characters to root for. Recommended.Book Smugglers
