Brian Ruckley
Brian Ruckley was born and brought up in Scotland. After studying at Edinburgh and Stirling Universities, he worked for a series of organizations dealing with environmental, nature conservation and youth development issues. He lives in Edinburgh. Read excerpts from
The Godless World trilogy at
Brian Ruckley’s website.
Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley
If your taste runs along the likes of George R.R. Martin — dark, gritty fantasy that reads like historical fiction — then Winterbirth, the first novel in Brian Ruckley's The Godless World trilogy, is for you.
The gods got fed-up with their creation and left it to its own demise long ago and this world feels like just that. It's a cold, dark, and violent, place that's full of rugged highlands, foreboding forests, and misty, frigid coastlines. Cross-generational feuds among Bloods are the cause of constant unrest among the human races. The Kyrinnin race of forest dwelling people not only must face the sometimes violent prejudice of the humans, but have their own tribal wars to contend with. Now, the banished fanatical B... Read More
Bloodheir by Brian Ruckley
Often, the second book in a trilogy is accused of something called “Middle Book Syndrome.” The idea is that the second book in most trilogies is mostly filler and very little plot movement really happens. And often it is true. But if anyone accuses Brian Ruckley’s second book in The Godless World trilogy, Bloodheir of suffering from middle book syndrome, I’m afraid I will have to scoff in his face.
Bloodheir moves the story from the personal to the epic. In the first book of the trilogy, Winterbirth, most of the story was about the harrowing near escapes of its protagonists, with occasional insights into the minds of the villains. While that sort of writing style continues in Bloodheir, the action moves out from the immediacy of survival for the heroes and catching them for the villains into gr... Read More
Speculative Horizons edited by Patrick St. Denis
Speculative Horizons is a lovely little anthology edited by book blogger Patrick St. Denis (of Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist fame). When the good people at Subterranean Press asked him whether he’d be interested in editing a short story collection, he understandably jumped on the idea (who wouldn’t?!), but asked that a portion of the proceeds be donated to breast cancer research. Not only is this an absolutely wonderful initiative, but it also means that you now have an excellent chance to buy a book and actually feel good about it.
This 128 page anthology contains five short stories by authors whose names many people who are interested in speculative fiction will instantly re... Read More
More books by Brian Ruckley
The Edinburgh Dead — (2011) Publisher: The year is 1827. For Adam Quire, an officer of the recently formed City Police, Edinburgh is a terrifying place. It is a city populated by mad alchemists and a criminal underclass prepared to treat with the darkest of powers. But nothing can prepare him for the trail of undead hounds, emptied graves, brutal murders and mob violence that will take him into the darkest corners of the underworld and to the highest reaches of elegant Edinburgh society.
The Free — (2014) Publisher: A warrior of legend. A warrior to be feared. The famed Yulan is leader of The Free, the last remaining band of mercenaries in the Hommetic Kingdom. Feared and revered, they were once seen as a threat to the Hommetic Kingdom’s power — until they outlasted it in the course of a bloody rebellion. With the oppressive monarch overthrown, The Free plan to finally lay down their weapons, hoping for a chance of peace at last — until Yulan is offered one final contract that he is unable to refuse. The target is the very man responsible for the worst atrocity Yulan has ever witnessed, one that has haunted him ever since. And now is his last chance to right that wrong. But as Yulan and his companions embark on their last journey, a potent mix of vengeance, love and loyalty is building to a storm. It is a storm so violent it is likely to destroy the last of the free companies. And only then will they discover the true price of freedom.
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