The Sword of Albion Trilogy Book 2

The Scar-Crow Men

Swashbuckling adventure, historical action and supernatural thrills come together in the second novel in Mark Chadbourn's genre-busting Swords of Albion series.

Pulse-pounding... combined with references to myth and history, it's potent stuff

Another cracking, and (dare I say it), 'Swyfte' read... Recommended

A two-time winner of the British Fantasy Award, Mark Chadbourn was raised in the mining communities of South Derbyshire, and studied at Leeds University before becoming a journalist. Now a screenwriter for BBC TV drama, he has also run an independent record company, managed rock bands, worked on a production line and as an engineer's 'mate'. Mark Chadbourn lives in a forest in the Midlands. To find out more about him and his writing, visit www.markchadbourn.net

1593. Queen Elizabeth's trusted spymaster Walsingham has been dead for two years... 
As plague sweeps through the streets and stews of London, so suspicion and mistrust sweep through the court and government. No one feels safe. Even the celebrated swordsman, adventurer and philanderer, Will Swyfte, must watch his back. 
It is when his best friend and colleague, the playwright Christopher Marlowe, is killed in a pub brawl that Will decides he must act. The murder has all the hallmarks of an assassination. But in going in search of Kit's killer, he discovers that there are those in positions of power and influence who are not what they seem... 
Against a backcloth of growing paranoia and terror, Will detects the malign machinations of England's hidden enemy, the Unseelie Court. With these devils at his back, the country's greatest spy may find that even his vaunted skills are no match for the supernatural powers arrayed against him. The choice is simple: uncover the true nature and intention of this vile conspiracy - or face the executioner's axe...

The Sword of Albion Trilogy Book 1

The Sword of Albion

Will Swyfte, Elizabethan England's greatest spy, takes on the fiendish forces of Faerie, in a fantastical, swashbuckling and fun-filled historical adventure...

Smart, fun, at times surprisingly moving, and occasionally downright shocking...impossible to put down.

Combining the best elements of a spy thriller, heroic fantasy and Elizabethan mystery, Chadbourn deftly mixes gruesome brutality, a shadowy world of plots and counter-plots and a vivid cast of characters...creates an alternate reality as tangible and authentic as the history we think we know...In a year of outstanding fantasies, The Sword of Albion may just be one of the best so far.

Gets off to a smashing start. The historical detail sets a believable backdrop, and the main character, a spy, could pass for a fantastical James Bond. Chadbourn sets a fast pace, pitting his characters against supernatural threats with a bit of horror thrown in.

A two-time winner of the British Fantasy Award, Mark Chadbourn is the author of eleven novels and one non-fiction book. Raised in the mining communities of South Derbyshire, he studied Economic History at Leeds before becoming a journalist. Now a screenwriter for BBC television drama, he has also run an independent record company, managed rock bands, worked on a production line and as an engineer's 'mate'. He lives in a forest in the Midlands. Visit www.markchadbourn.net

1588: as the Spanish Armada prepares to sail, rumours abound of a doomsday device that, were it to fall into enemy hands, could destroy England and her bastard queen once and for all. 
 
Enter Will Swyfte. He is one of Walsingham's new breed of spy and his swashbuckling exploits have made him famous. However Swyfte's public image is a façade, created to give the people of England a hero in their hour of need - and to deflect attention from his real role: fighting a secret war against a foe infinitely more devilish than Spain... 
 
For millennia this unseen enemy has preyed upon humankind, treating honest folk as playthings to be hunted, taken and tormented. But now England is fighting back. Armed with little more than courage, their wits and an array of cunning gadgets created by sorcerer Dr Dee, Will and his colleagues must secure this mysterious device before it is too late. Theirs is a shadowy world of plot and counterplot, deception and betrayal, where no one - and nothing - is quite what they seem. At stake is the very survival of queen and country...

Mark Chadbourn

A plot that races like a flaming whippet on crack...darkly ingenious...hugely entertaining...streets ahead of most works in this genre

Smart, fun, at times surprisingly moving, and occasionally downright shocking...impossible to put down

The Sword of Albion Trilogy Book 3

1593: The dreaded alchemist, black magician and spy Dr John Dee is missing... 
Fear sweeps through the court of Queen Elizabeth, for in Dee's possession is an obsidian mirror, an object of great power which legend says could set the world afire. 
And so the call goes out to celebrated swordsman, adventurer and rake Will Swyfte: find Dee and his feared looking-glass and return them to London before disaster strikes. But when Will learns that the mirror may help him solve the mystery that has haunted him for years, the stakes become acutely personal. 
With a frozen London under siege by supernatural powers, time is running out. Will is left with no alternative but to pursue the alchemist to the devil-haunted lands of the New World and the terrifying fortress home of mankind's ancient enemy, the Unseelie Court. 
Facing an army of these unearthly fiends, with only his sword and a few brave friends at his back, the realm's greatest spy must be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice - or see all he loves destroyed.

Mark Chadbourn

Praise for The Devil's Looking-Glass

A plot that races like a flaming whippet on crack...darkly ingenious...hugely entertaining...streets ahead of most works in this genre

Smart, fun, at times surprisingly moving, and occasionally downright shocking...impossible to put down

Books by Mark Chadbourn

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