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480 pp
ISBN: 978-1-61614-242-1
Trade Paperback (6" x 9")
$17.00
September 2010
Cover Illustration: © Paul Young
Adventurer. The term has long been synonymous with cutthroat, murderer, savage, zealot, and heathen. And Lenk, an errant young man with only a sword and a decidedly unpleasant voice in his head, counts all five among his best and only associates. Loathed by society and spurned by all merciful gods, he and his band are recruited for only the vilest of jobs.
Denaos, the lecherous thug; Asper, the cursed priestess; Dreadaeleon, the pubescent wizard; Gariath, the psychotic dragonman; and Kataria, the savage shict who farts in her sleep, have all followed Lenk out of necessity. But as their companionship increases, so too does their enmity for each other. Thrown together by necessity and motivated by their distrust for each other, it falls to Lenk to keep them from murdering each other long enough to allow something more horrible, the pleasure of killing them.
When an esteemed clergyman hires them to track down a missing book stolen by a zealous foulness risen from the depths of the ocean, intent on using the tome to raise its abyssal matron from her hell-bound prison, Lenk finds his skills put to the test. Faced with titanic, fishlike beasts, psychotic purple warrior women, and the ferocity of an ocean that loathes him as much as his own people do, the greatest threat yet may be the company he keeps.
Full of razor-sharp wit and characters who leap off the page (and into trouble) and plunge the reader into a vivid world of adventure, this is a fantasy that kicks off a series that could dominate the second decade of the century.
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Reviews:
"Sykes strikes a delicate balance by… keeping the action tension high, while
developing character relationships through witty repartee and intriguing and
mysterious personal histories on the not-so-merry band. Sykes is often funny,
fairly clever, and certainly entertaining.… Tome of the Undergates is Pirates of
the Caribbean with a darker, more cynical edge. Fans of Michael Moorcock and
Glen Cook will find the same kind of cynicism and darkness, but so too will
readers of David Eddings find the levity that was so characteristic of his
work.… Tome of the Undergates [is] recommended reading for fans of Joe
Abercrombie or Scott Lynch.”
—Grasping for the windblog
“…this is a very solid beginning to what promises to be an epic storyline.
Sykes writes with a wry humor; there is intense fighting action to be found
here, certainly, and a complex plot filled with unexpected twists, but the
underlying depraved sense of humor is undeniable. This series has great
potential.”
—Sacramento Book Review, San Francisco Book Review
"Imaginative characters, a well-paced narrative and enough maiming, decapitation and evisceration to make 300 look tame... a bloody good read. 9/10"
—Total Sci-Fi
"The dialogue was very reminiscent of Scott Lynch at times and the action close to that of Joe Abercrombie. Still Sykes has created his own distinctive style and voice that is wholly different and much more visceral." —Madhatter's Bookshelf & Book Review
"Wildly descriptive slaughter-fest with a surprising pathos."
—Stephen Deas
"There's so much plot crammed in there that frankly I'm really looking forward to the next book. There's a blisteringly good story in there and I want to know how it ends!"
—The Disgruntled Writer
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