CRUCIBLE OF CHAOS By Sebastien de Castell
A mortally wounded magistrate faces his deadliest trial inside an ancient abbey where the monks are going mad and the gods themselves may be to blame!
Estevar Borros, one of the legendary sword-fighting magistrates know as the Greatcoats and the king’s personal investigator of the supernatural, is no stranger to tales of ghosts and demons. When the fractious monks of the abbey rumored to be the birthplace of the gods begin warring over claims of a new pantheon arising, the frantic abbot summons him to settle the dispute.
But Estevar has his own problems: a near-fatal sword wound from his last judicial duel, a sworn knight who claims he has proof the monks are consorting with demons, a diabolical inquisitor with no love for the Greatcoats, and a mysterious young woman claiming to be Estevar’s ally but who may well be his deadliest enemy.
Armed only with his famed investigative talents, his faltering skill with a blade and Imperious, his ornery mule, Estevar must root out the source of the madness lurking inside the once-sacred walls of Isola Sombra before its chaos spreads to the country he’s sworn to protect.
Investigate alongside Estevar and the most heroic mule ever to appear in print in this thrilling swashbuckling fantasy mystery by Sebastien De Castell, author of the internationally acclaimed Greatcoats and Spellslinger series!
Crucible of Chaos : de Castell, Sebastien: Amazon.ca: Books
Praise For Sebastien:
“The Three Musketeers meets Joe Abercrombie via Mark Lawrence: ‘Guaranteed to increase household swashbuckling by 100%,”’ says Library Journal
“Like the tremendous Spellslinger and Greatcoats series’, THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN is another example of the brilliant and vivid world-building that Sebastien de Castell uniquely delivers through his incredibly original characters and their riveting adventures.—– Chad Stahelski, director of John Wick
“Malevolent Seven is a masterful blend of Sebastien de Castell’s unique brand of wry humour, elegant prose, and wonderfully imaginative worldbuilding. I devoured this book and loved every page”.—Nicholas Eames, bestselling author of Kings of the Wyld
“With a contemporary style, relentless pace, and a unique and exciting magic system, the Malevolent Seven is an action-packed adventure that not only questions the true nature of heroes but the very meaning of good and evil”.—Michael J. Sullivan, bestselling author of The Ryria Revelations
“Doesn’t so much break the fourth wall as shatter it completely – A brutal and hilarious romp of rotters that would make Deadpool proud.”—Peter Mclean, author of Priest of Bones
“Vigorous and action-packed . . . There is no way you can read this book without a grin on your face.”—– James Lovegrove, The Financial Times
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sebastien de Castell had just finished a degree in Archaeology when he started work on his first dig. Four hours later he realized how much he actually hated archaeology and left to pursue a very focused career as a musician, ombudsman, interaction designer, fight choreographer, teacher, project manager, actor, and product strategist.
His only defence against the charge of unbridled dilettantism is that he genuinely likes doing these things and that, in one way or another, each of these fields plays a role in his writing. He sternly resists the accusation of being a Renaissance Man in the hopes that more people will label him that way.
Sebastien’s acclaimed swashbuckling fantasy series, The Greatcoats. was shortlisted for both the 2014 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy. the Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Debut, the Prix Imaginales for Best Foreign Work, and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. His YA fantasy series, Spellslinger, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and is published in more than a dozen languages.
Sebastien lives in Vancouver, Canada with his lovely wife and two belligerent cats. You can reach him at www.decastell.com
