A dark epic, Nights of Villjamur is the first book in Mark Charan Newton's Legends of the Red Sun fantasy series.
An ice age strikes a chain of islands, and thousands come to seek sanctuary at the gates of Villjamur. It’s a city of ancient spires and bridges, a place where banshees wail and cultists use forgotten technology. And beyond the now besieged walls, the dead have been seen walking across the tundra.
When the Emperor commits suicide, his heir, Rika, is brought home to lead the Jamur Empire. But the corrupt Chancellor has his own designs on the throne. Meanwhile, a senior investigator in the city inquisition must solve the savage murder of a city politician, and a charming rogue manipulates his way into the imperial residence with a hidden agenda.
Then one crime leads to another and a plot is uncovered that could mean genocide for thousands of citizens. It seems that, in this land under a red sun, the long winter is bringing more than just snow . . .
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781509823130
Number of pages: 512
Weight: 785 g
Dimensions: 234 x 156 x 29 mm
Genre labels just don’t apply here. With Nights of Villjamur Mark has managed to incorporate so many wonderfully varied ideas and themes into a decent blend of excitement and interest that the marketing department is going to have to invent a whole new section just for him. - Peter F. Hamilton
A promising new writer whose prose is dynamic and whose imagination is often startling. - Jeff VanderMeer
A dark epic which shows its debt to Gormenghast: death stalks the shadows and scheming, idiosyncratic characters have their own agendas. This is fantasy with vast scope and ambition… a complex, eldritch vision. - Guardian
This is a promising start to a series worth pursuing. - Times
Newton handles his multilayered world and diverse cast of characters with the assurance of an experienced author and balances his fantasy tropes with elements of horror and political commentary in vividly descriptive, compelling prose. - Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Newton’s compelling and visionary debut approaches epic fantasy with a fresh eye. Highly recommended. - Library Journal (Starred Review)
A great book, which takes old tropes and re-imagines them into something new and memorable. It is an assured tale written with style, intelligence and skill, written inside a fantastically set premise and brilliantly focused novel that shows all the strengths of the genre . . . very highly recommended. - SFF World
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