“Extremely, extremely dark… truly no redeeming characters… had me rooting for them despite being the worst of the worst… a thrilling and sickening read, I devoured this book.”
— Goodreads ARC Review

“Very dark… filled with violence, abuse, and war… Not a single character is redeemable… I enjoyed it and will add the next to my TBR.”
— TBR Books (ARC Review)

Captain Darrow of the Night Soil leads the Emperor’s beloved Mudline, murderers, thieves and lunatics pressed into service because shooting them was too much paperwork. Lucky him.

Once a filth collector, now the Empire’s favourite monster, he kills for loyalty and for the faint hope that someone better is giving the orders.

His men burn a farm. Darrow shows mercy, if you can call it that, and spares the lone survivor, Mirelle, by claiming her as property. Nothing says compassion like a collar. Truly, he is the hero the Empire deserves.

Mirelle of the Root: property, companion, supposed to die. Instead, she got a wardrobe and a necklace with three small diamonds. Fair trade. The thing about dogs is they hate collars, and this one is about to throw hers. She is done smiling, and she is learning to cut.

Henna of the Wire swears like a sailor, drinks like one too, and prefers a sharp knife to manners. Once sold by her father, she now makes her living killing men who remind her of him. She is reminded a lot.

Queen Elecia of Kendia plays the perfect captive. Her smile is a weapon, her charm a trap, and after dealing with her, most men would settle for being stabbed. She does not need steel; she knows the game better than that. Survival is theatre, and she is directing the play.

All of them are blades forged, waiting to cut.

For fans of Joe Abercrombie, Richard K. Morgan, and Anna Smith Spark. The Steel Remains meets The Devils in a violent grimdark fantasy of war, politics, and survival, where blood and power are currency, and redemption is not in the dictionary.

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