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| I never get publishing contracts for my birthday... |
Sometime in the past few months, Orbit outbid a few other houses for the right to publish PROMISE OF BLOOD, a debut fantasy novel from Brian McClellan (pictured above) as well as the 2nd and 3rd volumes of his intended trilogy. Now that the contracts have all been signed it's possible to share a little bit more about the book.
Here's the back of the baseball card as far as I be able to confirm:
Titles: PROMISE OF BLOOD / Untitled / Untitled
Series Title: Untitled Fantasy Trilogy
Release Window: Spring/Summer 2013
Release Format: Unknown
Elevator Pitch: Magic and Muskets
Burj Khalifa Elevator Pitch: Field Marshal Tamas and his powder mages have
staged a coup against the king of Adro. Their one night of bloody revolution
sparks the first war between the Nine kingdoms in fourteen hundred years as
the old regimes of nobility and Privileged sorcerers strike hard against the
upstart powder mages. Ancient sorcerers emerge from the woodwork as forces
take sides in the conflict and rumors of gods once thought long dead walk
the city streets.
Intended Series Length: 3 Books
Contract length: 3 books
Here's The Publisher's Marketplace announcement, lifted from McClellan's blog.
Brian McClellan's PROMISE OF BLOOD, a debut trilogy set in a world inspired by the revolutionary turmoil of 18th-century Europe complete with guillotines, starving peasants, fanatical royalists and a hero whose survival depends on a small group of honorable mages, including his own estranged son, to Devi Pillai at Orbit , in a good deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in Summer 2013, by Caitlin Blasdell at Liza Dawson Associates (World English).Now I haven't had the opportunity to read any of PROMISE OF BLOOD yet but I did have the opportunity to speak with McClellan about his upcoming work at ConFusion. Based on that conversation and the fact it the rights went to auction, I wouldn't be surprised to see it as one of Orbit's flagship debut titles next year. I'll be sure to keep an eye out and post more when I have it but if you want to follow him directly feel free to bookmark his blog.
Field Marshal Tamas has staged a coup against the king of Adro. His powder mages have slaughtered the king's Privileged cabal of sorcerers and the nobility has been rounded up to face the guillotine with their king. Tamas has brought revolution to his country in one bloody night to save his people and right the wrongs caused by the old regime. Yet his actions have far-reaching consequences of which no reasonable man could have conceived, and the king will prove the easiest obstacle to overcome in his quest to free Adro.
Captain Taniel Two-shot is a powder mage of considerable skill. Gunpowder makes him stronger and faster than other men. He can manipulate its properties to shoot out a man's eye at twice the length of a battlefield. It makes him perfect for killing the old Privileged sorcerers with their destructive magic. One of those Privileged has escaped Tamas' cull. The problem is, she's stronger than any sorcerer Taniel has ever seen, and the mercenaries sent to help him track her are of dubious reliability.
When Adamat is summoned to the palace in the middle of the night, the last thing the veteran investigator expects is to arrive during a regime change. His new employer is none other than the man responsible for overthrowing the current government and he has some unfinished business with the king's sorcerers. The dying Privileged cabal has left the Field Marshal with a riddle. It could be nothing, but Tamas does not like loose ends. Adamat knows from long experience that one doesn't ask questions unless one is willing to learn--and believe--the answers. To add to his problems, the Field Marshal isn't the only one interested in the answer to the dying sorcerers' riddle. As enemies emerge from the shadows and the investigation takes a disturbing turn, Adamat must decide where his loyalties lie.
I read it and enjoyed it quite a bit. I think a lot of people are going to like this one.
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