SubPress Announces New Peter V. Brett Novella

Like many of my fellow genre readers, I am somewhat of a completist. And by somewhat, I mean that I have 100+ Star Wars novels and counting. It's an addiction, and an expensive one. But on the plus side, it means I keep an eye out for material that flies under the radar. A great place for that kind of material is Subterranean Press, a small press that features high quality, signed, and often exclusive titles.

Today they announced another exclusive Peter V. Brett novella set in the same world as The Painted Man and The Desert War. Earlier this year, they offered The Great Bazaar and Other Stories, a signed collection of Brett's work that tied into his larger mythos. That book sold out upon printing and is now very difficult to find (impossibly so if you are looking for something cheap). The new novella is titled Brayan's Gold and will feature exclusive art as well as some interior illustrations from Lauren K. Cannon. I think interior illustrations are a brilliant touch.

Included with the announcement was a basic summary:

Humanity has been brought to the brink of extinction. Each night, the world is overrun by demons-bloodthirsty creatures of nightmare that have been hunting the surface for over 300 years. A scant few hamlets and half-starved city-states are all that remain of a once proud civilization, and it is only by hiding behind wards, ancient symbols with the power to repel the demons, that they survive. A handful of Messengers brave the night to keep the lines of communication open between the increasingly isolated populace.


Arlen Bales is seventeen, an apprentice Messenger in brand new armor, about to go out for the first time alongside a trained Messenger on a simple overnight trip. Instead Arlen finds himself alone on a frozen mountainside, carrying a dangerous cargo to Count Brayan's gold mine, one of the furthest points in the duchy. And One Arm, the giant rock demon, hunts him still.


But Brayan's Gold may offer a way for Arlen to be free of One Arm forever, if he is willing to wager his life on the chance.

 Subterranean doesn't have the cheapest books, but they sure are pretty. Brayan's Gold should see print in Jan 2011 and will probably sell out way before that. You don't need to buy it, but if you're interested I'd recommend ordering sooner rather than later.