Synopsis

A young knight tackles the realities of court politics as a gift from the king turns into a painful challenge in the debut fantasy novel from Jason Kingsley CBE, creator of Modern History TV.A Gift – or a Burden? A young knight, his head full of his grandfather’s tales of chivalry and dragonslaying, single-handedly defeats the rebel Baron Reynald of Gorstone. The king rewards his courage with a fief of his own, but he must travel to the distant borderlands to claim it. Maybe it was not a gift after all? Amid the harsh, unforgiving border country, the new Lord of Blackthorne struggles to rebuild a life from the ruins and forge key alliances. There are bandits in the strangely threatening woods, fierce sea tribes beyond the mountains, scant hope of help from the crown and strange powers in play. As he and his people finally come to terms with rebuilding their lives, he receives a cryptic warning. A warlord is gathering outlaws to his banner in the west…

About The Author

Jason Kingsley OBE is the CEO, creative director and co-owner of Rebellion, one of Europe’s largest and oldest independent game developers. Jason co-founded Rebellion with is brother Chris in 1992, with the studio making an immediate impact upon the release of seminal shooter Alien vs Predator. Today Jason continues to lead the development of Rebellion’s AAA video games as creative director, including projects based on the company’s own IP such as PlayStation VR launch title Battlezone, 1930s riproaring action-adventure Strange Brigade and the bestselling Sniper Elite series. In 2000, Jason led Rebellion’s purchase of powerhouse UK sci-fi comic 2000 AD, and later co-produced the 2012 film adaptation, DREDD. A highly influential figure in the UK games industry, Jason helped found industry organisation TIGA and has been awarded an OBE for his services to the UK economy. He also sat on the government’s Creative Industries Council and was a trustee of her Majesty’s Royal Armouries. Jason has been profiled in The Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes.com. In addition to being a regular guest on BBC news and radio, Jason presents the YouTube series Modern History TV, which has rapidly grown a worldwide subscriber base of nearly three quarters of a million.