The Shadow Prince saga continues as Ash and his heroic friends rush to save Ra from the belly of Apep and bring light back to an Egypt that has been plunged into darkness.

Back at his evil tricks, Set, the devious god of chaos has rid Egypt of the sun god Ra and plunged the kingdom into never-ending night. He's even managed to trap the rest of the gods in a palace chamber without the use of their magic. Now demons run amok in the city, filling it with chaos and destruction.

But hope is not lost! Ash, Prince Khufu, Seret, Gilli, and two new friends, Thea and Iset, must brave the depths of the Duat--the spooky, cavernous Egyptian underworld--to rescue Lord Ra. Numerous demons fly about them in the darkness. Deadly peril awaits them around every craggy corner. They must fight, trick, sneak, and solve riddles to pass through each successive gate. If Team Shadow Prince can manage to get through all that, they will still have to face a demon like none they've seen before: the fierce, wily, enormous, god-eating serpent, Apep.

Will the kids prevail? Can Ash and his friends reunite Ra's magic with the sun and bring power and light back to the kingdom? Or will Egypt remain in darkness forever?

FIVE DEADLY TESTS, ONLY ONE SHADOW PRINCE

In this middle grade solarpunk novel set in an alternate Egyptian universe, twelve-year-old Ash must compete and survive to become the shadow--and protector--of the prince.

Growing up in a village in the middle of the desert, Ash thinks his future holds nothing but sand, sun, a few annoying bullies, and lots of boring chores. Boy, is he wrong!

On the night before his twelfth birthday, Ash learns that he was born on the same day as Prince Khufu, which makes him eligible to compete to be the prince's shadow, a coveted position as the friend and bodyguard of the boy destined to be pharaoh of all of Egypt. At first, Ash can't believe it, but when a floating royal barge takes Ash and his mentor to the bustling, magical, solar-powered capital, things get real.

What awaits Ash and the candidates is deadly--five days of dangerous tests filled with demon fighting, monster slaying, and magical spells--each overseen by a different Egyptian god. Ash finds two friends willing to fight by his side--the first friends he's ever made. But there are candidates who will lie, cheat, and even harm others to win. Not all will survive, and only one can become the prince's shadow.

To make matters worse, Ash is up against Lord Set, the devious god of chaos, who is secretly working to make the candidates fail. But if they do, the very survival of the kingdom is in peril. Can Ash and his new friends save Egypt? And will any of them survive to become the shadow prince?

This epic retelling of the legendary Carthaginian military leader's assault on the Roman empire begins in Ancient Spain, where Hannibal Barca sets out with tens of thousands of soldiers and 30 elephants. After conquering the Roman city of Saguntum, Hannibal wages his campaign through the outposts of the empire, shrewdly befriending peoples disillusioned by Rome and, with dazzling tactics, outwitting the opponents who believe the land route he has chosen is impossible. Yet Hannibal's armies must take brutal losses as they pass through the Pyrenees mountains, forge the Rhone river, and make a winter crossing of the Alps before descending to the great tests at Cannae and Rome itself.

David Anthony Durham draws a brilliant and complex Hannibal out of the scant historical record-sharp, sure-footed, as nimble among rivals as on the battlefield, yet one who misses his family and longs to see his son grow to manhood. Whether portraying the deliberations of a general or the calculations of a common soldier, vast multilayered scenes of battle or moments of introspection when loss seems imminent, Durham brings history alive.

David Anthony Durham has serious chops. I can't wait to read whatever he writes next.
--George R. R. Martin

Welcome to Acacia . . .

Born into generations of prosperity, the four royal children of the Akaran dynasty know little of the world outside their opulent island paradise. But when an assassin strikes at the heart of their power, their lives are changed forever.

Forced to flee to distant corners and separated against their will, the children must navigate a web of hidden allegiances, ancient magic, foreign invaders, and illicit trade that will challenge their very notion of who they are. As they come to understand their true purpose in life, the fate of the world lies in their hands.

David Anthony Durham has serious chops. I can't wait to read whatever he writes next.
--George R. R. Martin

David Anthony Durham's acclaimed fantasy saga, the Acacia Trilogy, continues . . .

As The Sacred Band begins, Queen Corinn bestrides the world as a result of her mastery of spells from the Book of Elenet. Her younger brother, Dariel, has been sent on a perilous mis­sion to the Other Lands. And her sister, Mena, travels to the far north to face an invasion of the feared race of the Auldek. As their separate trajectories converge, a series of world-shaping, earth-shattering battles will force the surviving children of the Akaran dynasty to confront their fates head on--and right some ancient wrongs once and for all.

When he learns that his pregnant wife has been spirited off to a distant city, William responds as any man might--he drops everything to pursue her. But as a fugitive slave in Antebellum America, he must run a terrifying gauntlet, eluding the many who would re-enslave him while learning to trust the few who dare to aid him on his quest.

Among those hunting William is Morrison, a Scot who as a young man fled the miseries of his homeland only to discover even more brutal realities in the New World. Bearing many scars, including the loss of his beloved brother, Morrison tracks William for reasons of his own, a personal agenda rooted in tragic events that have haunted him for decades.

Following up on his award-winning debut, Gabriel's Story, David Anthony Durham presents another riveting tale, a brilliantly drawn portrait of America before the Civil War, and a provocative meditation on racial identity, freedom and equality.

When Gabriel Lynch moves with his mother and brother from a brownstone in Baltimore to a dirt-floor hovel on a homestead in Kansas, he is not pleased. He does not dislike his new stepfather, a former slave, but he has no desire to submit to a life of drudgery and toil on the untamed prairie. So he joins up with a motley crew headed for Texas only to be sucked into an ever-westward wandering replete with a mindless violence he can neither abet nor avoid-a terrifying trek he penitently fears may never allow for a safe return. David Anthony Durham is a genuine talent bent on devastating originality and Gabriel's Story is as formidable a debut as we have witnessed.

David Anthony Durham has serious chops. I can't wait to read whatever he writes next.
--George R. R. Martin

David Anthony Durham's gripping Acacia Trilogy continues with an epic novel where loyalties are tested, new worlds are discovered, and battle lines are being drawn.

A few years have passed since Queen Corinn has usurped control of the Known World--and she now rules with an iron fist. With plans to expand her empire, she sends her brother, Dariel, on an exploratory mission across the sea to The Other Lands. There, he discovers an alliance of tribes that have no interest in being ruled by Queen Corinn and the Akarans. In fact, Dariel's arrival ignites a firestorm that once more exposes The Known World to a massive invasion, one unlike anything they have yet faced . . .

It is one of the most storied uprisings of classical times. Spartacus, the visionary captive and gladiator, used his toughness and charisma turn a prison break into a revolt that would threaten the Roman empire. Now, with verve and intelligence, David Anthony Durham brings us a thrilling retelling that gives voice not only to Spartacus himself, but also Astera, Spartacus's oracle consort; Nonus, a Roman soldier working both sides of the conflict; Laelia and Hustus, two slave children drawn into the ranks of the rebellion; Kaleb, secretary to the Roman senator and commander saddled with the task of quashing the insurrection; and many others in a vast spectacle of bloodshed, heroism, and treachery.

Ruling from the island of Acacia, the emperor of the Known World has inherited an apparent peace and prosperity won by his ancestors generations ago. He's an intelligent man, a widower who dotes on his four children and it is this devotion that obliges him to hide a terrible secret from them: that their prosperity rests on the dark realities of trafficking in drugs and human lives. A man of integrity, he hopes that he might bring an end to this vile trade, but powerful forces stand in his way. And then an assassin strikes, a lone killer sent by the Mein, an ancient foe long ago exiled to the frozen north. Now the Mein have returned to take revenge on their old enemy and begin a series of brutal surprise assaults on Acacia. Mortally wounded, the emperor puts into play a plan that will allow his children to escape, to fulfil their destinies. And so begins a quest to avenge a father's death and restore an empire - this time on the basis of universal freedom...