Founders – serie

Once, Sancia Grado was just a thief with a grudge and a rare talent. Then she learned how to use that talent, and beat the great merchant houses of Tevanne at their own game. With Clef and Berenice, she even saw off an immortal hierophant - but the war they're fighting now is one they know they can't win.'Absolutely riveting . . . A magnificent, mind-blowing start to a series I'm hungry for' - Amal El-Mohtar, co-author of This is How You Lose the Time War, in the New York Times on Foundryside This time, they're not facing robber-baron elites or an immortal hierophant, but an entity whose intelligence is spread over half the globe: a ghost in the machine using the magic of scriving to possess and control not just objects, but human minds.Despite all their efforts their enemy marches on, implacable, unstoppable - and it's closing in on its true prize: an ancient doorway that leads to the centre of creation itself. 'One of the best fantasy writers on the scene today' says Kirkus ReviewsSancia and her friends glimpse a last desperate opportunity to stop this unbeatable foe - but to do so, they'll have to unlock the centuries-old mystery of scriving's origins and pull off the most daring heist they've ever attempted.And as if that weren't enough, their adversary might just have a spy in their ranks - and a last trick up its sleeve . . .

'The exciting beginning of a promising new epic fantasy series. Prepare for ancient mysteries, innovative magic, and heart-pounding heists' Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of OATHBRINGERShe thought it was just another job. But her discovery could bring the city to its knees . . .The city of Tevanne runs on scrivings, industrialised magical inscriptions that make inanimate objects sentient; they power everything, from walls to wheels to weapons. Scrivings have brought enormous progress and enormous wealth - but only to the four merchant Houses who control them. Everyone else is a servant or slave, or they eke a precarious living in the hellhole called the Commons.There's not much in the way of work for an escaped slave like Sancia Grado, but she has an unnatural talent that makes her one of the best thieves in the city. When she's offered a lucrative job to steal an ancient artefact from a heavily guarded warehouse, Sancia agrees, dreaming of leaving the Commons - but instead, she finds herself the target of a murderous conspiracy. Someone powerful in Tevanne wants the artefact, and Sancia dead - and whoever it is already wields power beyond imagining.Sancia will need every ally, and every ounce of wits at her disposal, if she is to survive - because if her enemy gets the artefact and unlocks its secrets, thousands will die, and, even worse, it will allow ancient evils back into the world and turn their city into a devastated battleground.'Robert Jackson Bennett deserves a huge audience' Brent Weeks'An altogether terrific read' Sebastien de Castell'Intricate worldbuilding, fascinating magic, and engaging characters. More please!' Felicia Day'Inventive, immersive, and thrilling . . . Do yourself a favor and pick this up!' Kevin Hearne

'Exciting . . . Prepare for ancient mysteries, innovative magic, and heart-pounding heists' Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of OathbringerThe upstart firm Foundryside is struggling to make it. Orso Igancio and his star employee, former thief Sancia Grado, are accomplishing brilliant things with scriving, the magical art of encoding sentience into everyday objects, but it's not enough. The massive merchant houses of Tevanne won't tolerate competition, and they're willing to do anything to crush Foundryside.'A refreshing look at magic - featuring a heroine every reader will root for - from one of the smartest writers I know,' says Peter V. Brett, New York Times bestselling author of The Demon CycleBut even the merchant houses of Tevanne might have met their match. An immensely powerful and deadly entity has been resurrected in the shadows of Tevanne, one that's not interested in wealth or trade routes: a hierophant, one of the ancient practitioners of scriving. And he has a great fascination for Foundryside, and its employees - especially Sancia.Now Sancia and the rest of Foundryside must race to combat this new menace, which means understanding the origins of scriving itself - before the hierophant burns Tevanne to the ground.'A compelling treatise on power and its misuse' said The Guardian of Foundryside