At long last, it’s release day for IN THE COMPANY OF THE DEAD!! This is a dark and beautiful epic fantasy by Ciara Ballintyne with deeply layered characters you cannot tear your gaze from. Ellaeva, the Left Hand of Death, has to be one of my new favorite protagonists.

This story has everything: magic, love, revenge, schemes, mystery, gods and necromancers. The novel was published by Evolved Publishing, has been featured on the front page of iBooks Canada, and reached the top 100 Sci-Fi and Fantasy list for iBooks Australia.

Here’s what the first readers are saying so far:

“Fascinating characters with complex emotions and interactions. Full of intrigue, gruesome battles, and magic, with an undercurrent of passion and rage. A thrilling introduction to this epic fantasy series!” –– PJ Lea, Goodreads reviewer.

“Ciara Ballintyne writes adventerous tales that revel in their sense of sheer fun, and IN THE COMPANY OF THE DEAD takes that to a proper battlefield-sized fantasy. Between the gallant but disgraced general and the priestess of Death And Justice, the tale gives us rampaging undead, the schemes of vast nations and small-minded men, holy powers, true love denied, and the clash of armies. All the good stuff.” Ken Hughes, Goodreads reviewer.

Want to know more? Back-cover blurb follows…>

Only a fool crosses a god, but Ellaeva and Lyram will do anything to get what they want.

Chosen as a five-year-old orphan to be the Left Hand of Death, Ellaeva has nothing to call her own—nothing except a desire to avenge her murdered parents. Her duties leave her no time to pursue the man responsible, until both her work and revenge lead to the same place—the lonely castle where Lyram Aharris is serving out his exile for striking his prince.

Lyram is the son of a duke and third in line for the throne. Hell bent on drowning his grief for his murdered wife in a whiskey bottle, Lyram is ill-equipped to deal with the arrival of a mysterious army. When the castle comes under siege, he believes his prince is behind it, only to have his fears dismissed as the paranoia of a grief-stricken drunkard by those closest to him. He dare not even voice aloud his suspicions of the prince’s involvement in his wife’s murder.

Ellaeva’s arrival brings hope, until she reveals she has not come for the siege, but instead she hunts the castle for a hidden necromancer dedicated to the dark god of decay—a necromancer with a personal interest in using Lyram for his own nefarious purposes.

As the siege lengthens, and with the identity of the necromancer unknown, Lyram finds his faith in those closest to him undermined by treachery and sabotage. Not knowing who he can trust, he turns to the one person whose honesty is unimpeachable – the Left Hand of Death herself.

Caught up in their pursuit of vengeance, and desperately trying to save themselves from both political machinations and clashing gods, Ellaeva and Lyram never realise that the greatest threat comes from an unexpected quarter.

RELEASE DETAILS

In the Company of the Dead

Published by Evolved Publishing
Written by Ciara Ballintyne
Edited by Marissa VU. Editor
Cover Art by Sam Keiser.

Paperback coming soon, but eBook now available at:
Amazon — http://bit.ly/EP4ITCOTDam
Barnes and Noble — Coming soon….
iBooks — http://bit.ly/EP4ITCOTDib
Kobo — http://bit.ly/EP4ITCOTDko
Smashwords — http://bit.ly/EP4ITCOTDsw

And for our Australian friends:
Amazon AU — http://bit.ly/EP4ITCOTDamAU
iBooks AU — http://bit.ly/EP4ITCOTDibAU