Most Popular Books by Paul Kearney

1920s Oxford: home to C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien... and Anna Francis, a young Greek refugee looking to escape the grim reality of her new life. The night they cross paths, none suspect the fantastic world at work around them. Anna Francis lives in a tall old house with her father and her doll Penelope. She is a refugee, a piece of flotsam washed up in England by the tides of the Great War and the chaos that trailed in its wake. Once upon a time, she had a mother and a brother, and they all lived together in the most beautiful city in the world, by the shores of Homer''s wine-dark sea. But that is all gone now, and only to her doll does she ever speak of it, because her father cannot bear to hear. She sits in the shadows of the tall house and watches the rain on the windows, creating worlds for herself to fill out the loneliness. The house becomes her own little kingdom, an island full of dreams and half-forgotten memories. And then one winter day, she finds an interloper in the topmost, dustiest attic of the house. A boy named Luca with yellow eyes, who is as alone in the world as she is. That day, she''ll lose everything in her life, and find the only real friend she may ever know.

The second book in an epic fantasy series by a critically acclaimed and highly praised author. It is twenty-three years since a Macht army fought its way home from the heart of the Asurian Empire. The man who came to lead that army, Rictus, is now a hard-bitten mercenary captain, middle-aged and tired. He wants nothing more than to lay down his spear and become the farmer that his father was. But fate has different ideas. A young warleader has risen to challenge the order of things in the very heartlands of the Macht. A soldier of genius, he takes city after city, and reigns over them as king. What is more, he had heard of the legendary leader of the Ten Thousand. His name is Corvus, and the rumours say that he is not even fully human. He means to make himself absolute ruler of all the Macht. And he wants Rictus to help him.

For the first time in recorded history, the ferocious city-states of the Macht now acknowledge a single man as their overlord. Corvus, the strange and brilliant boy-general, is now High King, having united his people in a fearsome, bloody series of battles and sieges. He is not yet thirty years old. A generation ago, ten thousand of the Macht marched into the heart of the ancient Asurian Empire, and then fought their way back out again, passing into legend. It has been the enduring myth of Corvus'' life, for his father was one of those who undertook that march, and his most trusted general, Rictus, was leader of those ten thousand. But he intends to do more. The preparations will take years, but when they are complete, Corvus will lead an invasion the like of which the world of Kuf has never seen. Under him, the Macht will undertake nothing less than the overthrow of the entire Asurian Empire.

A Royal Rebellion... When the power-mad Himerius won himself enough support to have foreigners and magicians put to death, Lofantyr, Abeleyn and Mark – three of the five Ramusian Kings – defied the cruel pontiff’s purge. Now they must fight to hold their thrones through excommunication, intrigue and civil war. Meanwhile, in the quiet monastery city of Charibon, two humble monks make a discovery that will change the whole world...

Primeval sees evolutionary zoologist Nick Cutter make the terrifying discovery that prehistoric creatures are alive and well in the twenty-first century. The natural world is turned on its head and humanity faces extinction as unexplained anomalies rip holes in the fabric of time and allow creatures from the earliest stages of Earth''s development to roam the modern world. Set on a mysterious island in the perilous Irish seas in this brand new Primeval adventure Cutter, Stephen, Abbie and Connor face a terrifying new challenge… A heady mixture of action and adventure, Cutter and his team are forced to confront terrifying creatures from the past and the future with gripping consequences.

A different kingdom of wolves, woods and stranger, darker, creatures lies in wait for Michael Fay in the woods at the bottom of his family''s farm. Michael Fay is a normal boy, living with his grandparents on their family farm in rural Ireland. In the woods there are wolves; and other things, dangerous things. He doesn''t tell his family, not even his Aunt Rose, his closest friend. And then, as Michael wanders through the trees, he finds himself in the Other Place. There are strange people, and monsters, and a girl called Cat. When the wolves follow him from the Other Place to his family s doorstep, Michael must choose between locking the doors and looking away or following Cat on an adventure that may take an entire lifetime in the Other Place.

All is Change... Struck down in his moment of victory, Hebrion’s young King Abeleyn lies in a coma, his city in ruins and his fiancee and former lover vying for the throne. Corfe Cear-Inaf, now a colonel, is given a ragtag command of ill-equipped savages and sent on a hopeless mission by a jealous King who expects him to fail. Richard Hawkwood and Lord Murad return bearing news of horror on a savage new continent, and they are not alone. Something terrible is lurking in the hold...

The Western World is Burning... Even as cities and cathedrals are tumbling, their defenders crucified by the invading Merduks, the Faithful war among themselves, purging heretics and magical folk and adding to the flames. For Richard Hawkwood and his crew, a desperate venture to carry refugees to the uncharted land across the Great Western Ocean offers the only chance of escape from the Inceptines’ pyres. The King''s cousin, Lord Murad, has an ancient log book telling of a free, unspoiled land...

Isca is fallen; Antimone draws Her veil over the dead. Rictus, a young soldier of the city, is now ostrakr – homeless, devoid of purpose. He dons the red cloak of the mercenary and sets out to find a road for himself. On the world of Kuf, the Macht are a mystery, a fierce, barbaric people whose discipline and prowess on the battlefield is the stuff of legend. If they did not war endlessly on themselves, they would conquer the world. Beyond their home in the remote Harukush Mountains, the teeming races and peoples of Kuf are united under the Great King of Asuria, who can call up whole nations to battle, and whose word is law. But now the Great King’s brother means to take the throne by force, and has sought out the Macht. Rictus – and ten thousand more mercenary warriors – will march into the heart of the Empire. They will become legends.

Winter Lies Upon the World... The last Torunnan army stands at bay before the walls of its capital, as the Merduk Sultan’s forces muster to crush his insolent neighbour once and for all. King Abeleyn of Hebrion strives to maintain control of his kingdom, riven by the vying factions he has now suppressed and battered by the battles he wished he’d not had to fight. Himerius’s Church is extending its power across Normannia, rivalling the might of the long-lost Fimbrian Empire, even as a terrible corruption rises within. Today, truly, the fate of all the Monarchies of God hangs in the balance...

He’s spoken of only in whispers. His origins are a mystery. Some say that he’s descended from the last of the angels. Others say much worse. By all appearances, Rol Cortishane is just another ruthless pirate roaming the lawless seas, raiding warships and slavers. But the truth is something far more complicated and dangerous than anyone can imagine, including Rol. Even as he seeks to escape his birthright, Rol is slowly discovering who—and what—he really is. But the revelation won’t come without exacting a terrible price from Rol and all he loves. Now a treacherous figure from his past has made him a proposition it would be fatal to turn down. Racing against time, Rol must chart a harrowing course across the sea, back to the beautiful Rowen and the people she would rule as Queen. With his steadfast crew—the battle-scarred Creed, the mirthful halftroll Gallico, and a young escaped slave named Giffon—Rol will plunge headlong into a destiny as dark as they come. And toward a terrifying battle against an enemy as determined to destroy the world as Rol is to save it.

The Time of the Wolf is at Hand... Sixteen years have passed since the battle of Armagedir. The Torunnans and Merduks have become close allies in a world that is growing increasingly strange and fearsome. The Himerian Church rules two thirds of the continent and is become a swollen, corrupt theocracy which strangles independent thought; only in Torunna, in Ostrabar and in Hebrion do Kings still rule free of the black-clad Inceptines. But now off the coast of Hebrion, a vast fleet of ships comes sailing out of the empty west. The immortal arch-mage Aruan has returned to the Old World at last, and he intends to claim it as his own.

An action-packed novel about Marneus Calgar, Chapter Master of the Ultramarines and Lord of Macragge, written by critically acclaimed author Paul Kearney. The Realm of Ultramar stands as a shining beacon of order and strength in a galaxy wracked by war and torment. Custodian of this realm, the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, Marneus Calgar, has fought many foes and won countless wars to ensure its borders remain safe. But when an immense space hulk emerges into the Ultramar system, carrying with it the threat of something ancient and terrible, it is Calgar once again who stands in defence of his realm, prepared to meet whatever horrors are aboard and discover the mystery at the heart of the ship dubbed Fury.

The Western World is Burning... For Richard Hawkwood and his crew, a desperate venture to carry refugees to the uncharted land across the Great Western Ocean offers the only chance of escape from the Inceptines’ pyres. In the East, Lofantyr, Abeleyn and Mark – three of the five Ramusian Kings – have defied the cruel pontiff’s purge and must fight to hold their thrones through excommunication, intrigue and civil war. In the quiet monastery city of Charibon, two humble monks make a discovery that will change the whole world. Aekir, the Holy City, has fallen and all now seems lost, but even on the eve of destruction the Faithful still war amongst themselves... Hawkwood and the Kings collects Hawkwood’s Voyage and The Heretic Kings, the first two books in Paul Kearney’s spectacular The Monarchies of God cycle.

A stunning blend of visionary storytelling and majestic prose, The Mark of Ran is a new masterpiece of imaginative fiction. In this epic adventure, Paul Kearney records the voyages of a reluctant hero, a band of outcasts, and a quest into the unknown no one has ever dared before . . . In a world abandoned by its Creator, an ancient race once existed—one with powers mankind cannot imagine. Some believe they were the last of the angels. Others think they were demons. Rol Cortishane was raised in a remote fishing village with no idea of his true place in the world. But in his veins runs the blood of this long-forgotten race and he shares their dangerous destiny. Driven from home, accused of witchcraft and black magic, Rol takes refuge in the brooding tower sanctuary of the enigmatic Michal Psellos. There Rol is trained in the assassin’s craft and tutored by the beautiful but troubled Rowen. It’s no accident that Rol and Rowen have been brought together, but the truth about their past is a secret they will have to fight to discover. Now they’ve set their sights across the sea in search of the Hidden City and an adventure that will make them legends . . . if it doesn’ t kill them first. Praise for The Mark of Ran “[A] gritty fantasy swashbuckler . . . Kearney’s crisp, often lyrical writing shines brightest when his characters take to the sea.”—Publishers Weekly “One of the very best fantasy writers around.”—Steven Erikson

John Willoughby is being pulled between worlds. Or he is going mad, ''riding the unicorn'' as his prison officer colleagues would say. It''s clear to Willoughby it must be the latter. Disappearing in the middle of his prison shift from among convicts, appearing in a makeshift medieval encampment for minutes before tumbling back to the real world, Willoughby believes his mind is simply breaking apart. He finds no solace at home, with a wife who has grown to dislike him and a daughter who can barely hide her disgust. He''s realised he isn''t worth anyone''s time, barely even his own, and falls into drinking and violence guaranteed to bring about his downfall. Except in this other world, in this winter land of first-settlers he is a man with a purpose, a man upon whom others must rely. Persuaded to kill a King so as to save a people, Willoughby finds that in another world, with a second chance he may be the kind of man he had always wanted to be after all.

The Time of the Wold is at Hand... Struck down in his moment of victory, Hebrion’s young King Abeleyn lies in a coma, his city in ruins and his fiancee and former lover vying for the throne. Corfe Cear-Inaf, now a colonel, is given a ragtag command of ill-equipped savages and sent on a hopeless mission by a jealous King who expects him to fail. Richard Hawkwood and Lord Murad return bearing news of horror on a savage new continent, with something terrible lurking in the hold. The Church is tearing itself apart, even as the champions of truth fight to bring peace between Ramusian and Merduk; but in the far West, a terrible new threat is rearing its head... Century of the Soldier collects the final three books in Paul Kearney’s explosive The Monarchies of God series, revised and expanded for this edition: The Iron Wars, The Second Empire and Ships From The West.

Michael Riven has fallen off a mountain. The author is broken in both body and mind, as the fall also claimed his wife and climbing partner Jenny. Readers are desperate to know what will happen next in the fantasy world Minginish, but neither writing, nor living, are of interest to the author as he lies in traction. But there are others seeking the scribe out. Men - and someone who is not all human - have begun a quest to rescue their blighted homeland, and their road will take them between worlds. Michael Riven will return to his home in Scotland, and accompany a stranger into a place altogether more familiar and terrifying: Minginish itself, a real place stranger even than the world of his novels. Michael must take up the companions of his stories - Bicker, Ratagan and Murtach - and find a way to mend the sundered world. He may even find that Jenny''s existence did not end that day on the mountain.

The Space Marines of the Dark Hunters, descendants of the White Scars and their savage primarch Jaghatai Kahn, are called to battle on the world of Ras Hanem, a world they thought long since liberated from the grip of heresy and returned to Imperial rule. Many years ago, the Dark Hunters defeated the traitor warband known as the Punishers on that world, in a conflict that left deep wounds in the Chapter. But now the Punishers have retuned, seeking vengance upon their would-be destroyers. Captain Jonah Kerne or Mortai Company is set to annihilate the traitors once and for all, but th cost of victory may be too highfo him to bear...

Marneus Augustus Calgar is the Lord of Ultramar, one of the greatest realms of the Imperium. As Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, he leads one of the most prestigious and powerful Space Marine Chapters devoted to the defence of Mankind. In him, the blood of the Primarch Guilliman runs still. When Calgar receives a summons to the world of Zalidar he is unaware, as are the world''s inhabitants, that it is under attack by the Ork Warlord Brug. When his vessel is shot down, Calgar and his Honour Guard must trek across Zalidar''s jungle through ork-held territory to reach the city of Zalathras. A terrible siege ensues against a vast greenskin horde. Only Calgar can hope to prevail against such odds in a brutal conflict that gives rise to a legend that will last for eternity.