Author's Note - The following story takes place in the same world as my novel Blood Song, the first volume in the Raven's Shadow trilogy. I wrote it because I wanted to more fully explore characters who appear in Blood Song and the sequels Tower Lord and Queen of Fire. Readers familiar with my work are sure to recognise a certain pale-eyed, raspy voiced Sword Master of the Sixth Order and those curious as to the origins of the Tower Lord of the Southern Shore will find answers here. The tale takes place at the mid-point of the timeline described in Blood Song, a time when King Janus, with typical ruthlessness, is in the process of fully consolidating his grip on the Unified Realm.'The Lord Collector by Anthony Ryan: a grim introduction to our protagonist, Jehrid, leader of an Excise Guard unit (think a kind of investigative military) to kick this story off. Jehrid is tasked by his Tower Lord with working with Brother Sollis of the Sixth Order and two others with finding a passenger from a month-old shipwreck. But Jehrid has another agenda: vengeance. A story told with standard Anthony Ryan style. Enjoyable, violent, somber at times and galloping like a horse at others.' - Adrian Collins, Grimdark Magazine Anthony Ryan was born in Scotland in 1970 but spent much of his adult life living and working in London. After a long career in the British Civil Service he took up writing full time after the success of his first novel Blood Song, Book One of the Raven's Shadow trilogy. He has a degree in history, and his interests include art, science and the unending quest for the perfect pint of real ale.For news and general wittering about stuff he likes, check out Anthony's blog at: http://anthonystuff.wordpress.com.
