Tomb of the Witch Queen

By Derek Prior

The dwarven civil war might have ended, but the powers behind it still fester....

Snuv Scavage is about as lowborn as a dwarf can get. With no parents and no home, she tends Arnoch’s battle-goats and sleeps in their pen. But there is something special about this dwarf. Something written in her blood.

When disturbing reports come in from the city of Jeridium, Snuv is sent to kill the heavily pregnant Skald, Nyra Sahtis, before she can give birth to her unnatural child. But Nyra is watched over by the Church of the Way, whose priests have changed beyond all recognition. And she enjoys the protection of Caelin the Cleaver, the most deadly warrior of her generation.

Meanwhile, the wizard Venton Nap has returned to life on Aosia with only one thing on his mind: to bring back his deceased family from the Supernal Realm. Employing a guide from the backwater town of Malfen, Venton picks up on the ill-fated quest that once ended his life, determined to find the fabled lily cats of Rhylion and wrest from them the secret of life.

As the ages old war between the Lich Lord of Verusia and the Witch Queen of Tho-Agoth at last comes to a head, plunging Medryn-Tha into a new age of darkness, Snuv is confronted by a dwarf with a plain-looking axe, which he claims is the legendary Paxa Boraga.

A dwarf who has done his fair share of fighting, and who knows Snuv better than she knows herself.

"A masterpiece of sword and sorcery storytelling. A visceral yet thoughtful epic." (Bookwraiths Reviews)

"Derek Prior always produces masterpieces of storytelling, with great characters full of life, relentless plots, and gripping and intense fight scenes."

Mitchell Hogan, author of A Crucible of Souls

• Language: English
• Publisher: Derek Prior
• Release date: Apr 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005246686

Derek Prior

"Derek Prior always produces masterpieces of storytelling, with great characters full of life, relentless plots, and gripping and intense fight scenes." Mitchell Hogan"Like Bernard Cornwell on 'shrooms!" Dinorah WilsonInternationally bestselling and award winning author Derek Prior excels in fast-paced, high stakes epic fantasy adventure stories in which good ultimately triumphs, but always at a cost.Taking familiar fantasy tropes as a point of departure, Prior expands upon them to explore friendship, betrayal, loyalty and heroism in worlds where evil is an ever-present reality, magic is both a curse and a blessing, and characters are tempered in battle.Winner of best fantasy novel 2012 (The Nameless Dwarf: The Complete Chronicles)Fantasy Faction semifinalist for the SPFBO 2018 (Ravine of Blood and Shadow)