The Silver Ash

Novella

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Riven Ashborne is a weapon. As a shadow-wielding enforcer for Ravenholt’s corrupt elite, he makes the city’s problems disappear. But his discipline shatters when a routine job exhumes the traumatic history of his own childhood.

Ordered to assassinate a journalist probing Riverforge Docks, Riven expects a straightforward hit. Instead, he finds a single mother holding the missing pieces to his past. For the first time in a decade, the perfect enforcer disobeys.

Defying Highspire carries a lethal price. With a Surge-addicted shifter hunting them, Riven must turn his magic against the men who built him to protect the woman he was sent to kill. Failure means the fighting pits, or an unmarked grave.

Mercy ends in silver ash. Vengeance waits for the dawn.

PERFECT FOR FANS OF JIM BUTCHER AND BENEDICT JACKA

If you enjoy the hard-hitting magical noir of The Dresden Files or the morally grey antiheroes of the Alex Verus series, this novella is your perfect entry point into the darker alleys of the alt-UK world of The Echoes of Vaelor series.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Genre: Gritty Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Noir
Setting: Alt-UK / Dystopian City
Lead: Morally Grey Enforcer / Tragic Antihero
Magic: Shadow-wielders / Empaths, and Shifters
Themes: Corporate Corruption / Dark Magic / Redemption
Tone: Bleak / Atmospheric / Fast-paced

This was great. If you're a fan of dark urban fantasy, or character-driven fantasy, this and The Copper Rain should be on your must-read list. It's a compelling look from the perspective of another character, no Selene and Dane here, but what a hell of an origin story. And if you've read The Copper Rain, there's a few things in here to make you say "wait, is that...". We all have our TBR piles, and we have our much smaller pile of books we simply must read next. This didn't even hit the TBR, straight into the must-read, and if Brand of Dusk is half so good it'll be in the "must devour" section. Gods help me if Brand of Dusk comes out on a weeknight.

Joel