Edmon Leontes’ birth was marked in spectacular fashion by a new Fracture opening in the heavens above the tidally-locked world of Tao. His father Edric, proud ruler of the House of Leontes, proclaimed the sign an omen that his son would one day be mightier than him, that the new Fracture would lead to wealth for Tao as it traded with new worlds. After saying all this, he seemed to forget about Edmon, allowing him to remain in the care of his mother Cleopatra, matriarch of the Island of Bone in the perpetual light of the Dayside.
Edmon’s idyllic upbringing crashes to a halt one day when a stranger arrives on the island to claim the rights and privileges of fostering. Phaestion of House Julii is impossibly beautiful and adept at the arts of combat to an uncanny degree. He moves through life with all the assurance of one born to rule – and he claims Edmon for one of his Companions, his elite bodyguard. Edmon must move away from home to begin initiation into the dark and savage martial culture of the more technologically advanced Nightside, where the powerful houses jockey for position around the throne of the decrepit Wusong, ruler of Tao.
. . . a powerful debut with distinct shades of Herbert’s epic Dune novels.
On the Nightside trial by combat is held as the ultimate expression of humanity, yet Edmon discovers there are secrets the glittering nobility prefer to remain hidden. When a shocking act of betrayal casts him far from his privileged upbringing, Edmon must use all the resources he has and can find and become a player, not a pawn – or else the world he knows will end.
Adam Burch’s Song of Edmon is a powerful debut with distinct shades of Herbert’s epic Dune novels. The world of Tao and its cultures come to life with a clarity that is sometimes brutal, but nevertheless than gripping.
For more information: https://www.amazon.com/Song-Edmon-Fracture-Worlds-Burch/dp/1477805354
