New covers for Mark Charan Newton's LEGENDS OF THE RED SUN series

I'm now convinced that there's some kind of market research going into Mark Charan Newton's Legends of the Red Sun novels, namely just how many bad covers can you give them before they stop selling. Check out the new covers for Nights of Villjamur and City of Ruin:

Well...at least the first guy doesn't have a hood. But that's probably the only good thing that can be said about them. Given the inherent visual possibilities in the cities, the winter-ravaged landscapes and the invading horde of weird monsters, I don't really understand why it's seemingly impossible to give these books good covers. Oh well.

City of Ruin by Mark Charan Newton

The Jamur Empire is riven by internal turmoil and the threat of external invasion. Chancellor Urtica has usurped the throne and seized control of the capital, Villjamur, but the rightful empress, Rika, has fled the city with her sister Eir and their protector, the redoubtable swordsman and con-artist Randur. They decide to head for the far northern city of Villiren, where their potential ally Commander Brynd Lathraea of the Night Guard and his loyal troops have been dispatched, but the journey is fraught with danger and unexpected encounters with both allies and enemies.


Meanwhile, the mysterious Okun are massing on the island of Tineag'l, the population of which they have already slaughtered down to the last man, woman and child. The Jamuran armies are converging on the city of Villiren just across the straits from Tineag'l, ready to make a stand there against a remorseless enemy whose true capabilities and goals remain unknown. As Brynd organises the defence of the city, his own secrets are exposed by a local gang lord and he finds himself open to blackmail. In the city itself Inspector Jeryd does his part for the war effort by investigating the disappearance of dozens of civilians and soldiers in the past few months, a mystery that will lead to unforeseen ends.

City of Ruin is Mark Newton's third novel and the second book in the Legends of the Red Sun series, following on from last year's extremely well-received Nights of Villjamur. City of Ruin directly follows on from the previous novel. Although its central storyline - the defence of Villiren - is self-contained in this book, the character arcs continue from the first novel and some foreknowledge of those events is assumed.

In Nights, Newton deliberately held fire on some of his more fantastical elements for commercial purposes. The ambition of the Legends of the Red Sun series appears to be to fuse the originality and diverse influences of the New Weird with a more traditional epic fantasy narrative. This was evident in Nights of Villamur, but comes much more stridently to the fore in City of Ruin, with several nods to the work of China Mieville (one fairly obvious, the other possibly coincidental given how quickly this book came out after Kraken). The book's place in the 'Dying Earth' subgenre is also made more clear, with references to the shrunken red sun and a minor character who shares a name with one of Jack Vance's most famous characters (which, for those familiar with Vance, may briefly drag you out of the book, but is a very minor issue). Newton successfully achieves a feeling here of a vast history stretching back a quarter-million years with successive waves of civilisations rising and falling until the present day, whilst simultaneously expanding the scope of the world and story to a more cosmic level. This can be risky - Alan Campbell's initially excellent Deepgate Codex trilogy eventually collapsed under the weight of its vastly expanded scope - but Newton handles it well here.

Newton also flexes his full-on, all-out war scene muscles here as a desperate battle for the city of Villiren is mounted in the book's conclusion. Newton's background as an editor for Solaris and their former sister-company, the Black Library, comes to the fore here as a furious urban battle rages which I can imagine Dan Abnett nodding approvingly over. Newton brings together both established and new forms of magic and various creatures to create some very impressive and original combat sequences, and is not afraid to ruthlessly slaughter major characters (from both this and the first book) in offhand ways.

For those less impressed by war porn, there's the complex and convincing characterisation, convincing worldbuilding and increasingly accomplished prose to enjoy. The novel comes close to a maximum score, but falls short only due to the somewhat abrupt ending and a bit too much scene-setting for the third and fourth novels in the series which is not immediately relevant to this book.

City of Ruin (****½) is an excellent fantasy novel fusing elements of the New Weird and traditional epic fantasy into a satisfying whole. The novel is available now in the UK and will be published next year in the United States.

Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton

Nights of Villjamur is the second novel by Mark Charan Newton, who has already published some short stories and is also known in the SF community for working for Solaris. The first novel in the planned four-volume Legends of the Red Sun series has already picked up an excellent review from Speculative Horizons.


The Jamur Empire sprawls across the Boreal Archipelago and is powerful and rich. However, scientists and cultists (wielders of an ancient, mysterious technology which generate magic-like powers) have warned of the coming of an ice age which will, for a minimum of fifty years, bring death and desolation to the islands. The Emperor has ordered the stockpiling of vast amounts of firewood and firegrain to get through the long winter, but the Empire also faces other threats. The Emperor is paranoid, seeing threats in every corner, but the succession is difficult for his elder daughter and heir Rika is estranged from him. His younger daughter Eir finds herself unable to ease her father's pain, but the arrival of the handsome and dashing Randur to teach her swordplay and dance allows some laughter into her life. However, Randur has his own mission to conduct in the city.

Meanwhile, the murder of a prominent city councillor sparks an enquiry from the experienced investigator Jeryd. As Jeryd closes in on the truth, he realises that the Empire is riddled with corruption and he faces danger from his own allies, whilst all the while trying to repair his damaged marriage. Elsewhere, Brynd, the commander of the elite Night Guard, has his own secrets to hide when he is dispatched on a mission of utmost importance to the Empire, but uncovers evidence of even direrer threats emerging as the ice sheets advance southwards.

Nights of Villjamur is a multi-stranded novel with several different POV characters and a multitude of storylines, some of which are linked and others which (so far) appear unrelated. The story of an empire under threat from within and without is not unusual in the genre, but what is (relatively) unusual is that the author brings an interesting prose style and a more measured pace to bear on the book. The storyline unfolds deliberately, carefully, and the book's rich writing draws you into its world, the story and the lives of the characters in an accomplished manner. It's not a frenetically-paced, page-turner of the book (at least not until the last fifty pages, when events kick up a gear), but instead a work that immerses you in its world and demands you pay attention.

The city of Villjamur and its surrounding islands are vividly described and the characters are fascinating. The form of magic (relying on ancient technology only dimly understood by those who wield it) is also quite intriguing, and the snowy, cold landscape is well-drawn. There are a few problems, however. The political landscape of Villjamur is not described in as much depth as it could have been, and the ongoing struggle between the Emperor and the Chancellor is described only in fits and starts due to our main POV in that area, Eir, having other concerns.

Aside from that, this is a polished and accomplished debut novel and is well-recommended.

Nights of Villjamur (****½) will be published in the UK on 12 June 2009 by Tor UK. US import copies should be available around the same time. The author has a website at this location.