Language : English
Paperback : 431 pages
ISBN-10 : 154202529X
ISBN-13 : 978-1542025294
Praise for KNIGHT'S RANSOM
“Jeff Wheeler has always been one of our more dependable storytellers. Knight’s Ransom adds to his reputation. A fine page-turner.” —Terry Brooks, New York Times bestselling author.
“With this superlative epic fantasy…Wheeler does an expert job of reintroducing his fantasy world through the eyes of sympathetic characters that fans and new readers alike will root for. This is sure to be a hit.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[Wheeler] adds elements of Arthurian legend to the start of the First Argentines series…along with splendid palace intrigues and battles.” —Booklist (starred review)
From Jeff Wheeler, the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Kingfountain novels, comes an epic new series of warring kingdoms, deadly family rivalries, and fearless loyalty.
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. A brutal war of succession has plunged the court of Kingfountain into a power struggle between a charitable king who took the crown unlawfully and his ambitious rival, Devon Argentine. The balance of power between the two men hinges on the fate of a young boy ensnared in this courtly intrigue. A boy befittingly nicknamed Ransom.
When the Argentine family finally rules, Ransom must make his own way in the world. Opportunities open and shut before him as he journeys along the path to knighthood, blind to a shadowy conspiracy of jealousy and revenge. Securing his place will not be easy, nor will winning the affection of Lady Claire de Murrow, a fiery young heiress from an unpredictably mad kingdom.
Ransom interrupts an abduction plot targeting the Queen of Ceredigion and earns a position in service to her son, the firstborn of the new Argentine dynasty. But conflict and treachery threaten the family, and Ransom must also come to understand and hone his burgeoning powers—abilities that involve more than his mastery with a blade and that make him as much a target as his lord.
Jeff Wheeler took an early retirement from his career at Intel in 2014 to write full-time. He is a husband, father of five, and a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jeff lives in the Rocky Mountains. His books have been on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list 5 times (for The Thief’s Daughter, The King’s Traitor, The Hollow Crown, The Silent Shield, and Prism Cloud) and have sold more than 4 million copies. His novels have also been published or will be published in many languages: Italian, Chinese, Hungarian, Turkish, Polish, Spanish, Russian, and German.
He is also the founder of Deep Magic: the E-zine of Clean Fantasy and Science Fiction (www.deepmagic.co), a quarterly e-zine featuring amazing short stories, novellas, and sample chapters.
You can usually find Jeff at Emerald City Comic Con, New York Comic Con or at writers conferences.
He welcomes hearing from readers: jgwheels /at/ gmail dot com
If you are interested in purchasing signed copies of his books for friends, family, or your own collection, please e-mail: WOJWbooks /at/ gmail dot com
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“Jeff Wheeler has always been one of our more dependable storytellers. Knight’s Ransom adds to his reputation. A fine page-turner.” —Terry Brooks, New York Times bestselling author.
“With this superlative epic fantasy…Wheeler does an expert job of reintroducing his fantasy world through the eyes of sympathetic characters that fans and new readers alike will root for. This is sure to be a hit.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[Wheeler] adds elements of Arthurian legend to the start of the First Argentines series…along with splendid palace intrigues and battles.” —Booklist (starred review)
From Jeff Wheeler, the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Kingfountain novels, comes an epic new series of warring kingdoms, deadly family rivalries, and fearless loyalty.
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. A brutal war of succession has plunged the court of Kingfountain into a power struggle between a charitable king who took the crown unlawfully and his ambitious rival, Devon Argentine. The balance of power between the two men hinges on the fate of a young boy ensnared in this courtly intrigue. A boy befittingly nicknamed Ransom.
When the Argentine family finally rules, Ransom must make his own way in the world. Opportunities open and shut before him as he journeys along the path to knighthood, blind to a shadowy conspiracy of jealousy and revenge. Securing his place will not be easy, nor will winning the affection of Lady Claire de Murrow, a fiery young heiress from an unpredictably mad kingdom.
Ransom interrupts an abduction plot targeting the Queen of Ceredigion and earns a position in service to her son, the firstborn of the new Argentine dynasty. But conflict and treachery threaten the family, and Ransom must also come to understand and hone his burgeoning powers—abilities that involve more than his mastery with a blade and that make him as much a target as his lord.
Excerpt
Murdering a Child
King Gervase set the goblet down but didn’t release the stem. It was already past sunset, and he had a splitting headache, which even the wine had failed to quiet. He felt his left eye begin to twitch. He hated when it did that, especially when someone was looking at him. Particularly the way Lord Gilbert was looking at him, with a little bit of sympathy and a greater portion of contempt.
“What did you say?” Gervase asked, tightening his grip on the stem of the goblet.
“My lord, he said he won’t relinquish the castle.”
The pounding in Gervase’s skull felt like a smith’s anvil. The words were incomprehensible through all that noise. “Lord Barton won’t?”
“Yes—Lord Barton. He’s strengthening its defenses as we speak.” Gilbert had a sheen of sweat on his brow, and his tunic was mud splattered. Clearly he’d just ridden all the way from the Heath and up the hill to the palace.
Gervase stared at him in disbelief. “He gave me his sworn oath that he would relinquish that castle. He had no right to build it, no royal permission, and it is close enough to pose a strategic risk to the royal castle at Beestone if he finishes it. Yet he has proceeded anyway, bold as you please, and the only reason I didn’t raze it earlier was because of that nagging whelp and his army!”
“That’s the one, for certain,” Gilbert said, rocking back on his heels. “He’s defied you again, my lord. His loyalty may shift like a weather vane, but he’s betting on Devon Argentine winning this conflict. We can’t let Argentine use that castle as a stronghold. Nor can we let open defiance from such an insignificant lord go unpunished.” The middle-aged noble stepped forward and planted his palms on the dining table in Gervase’s state room. “You can toss a coin in the fountain of Our Lady to pray Barton will come around, but I’d wager that coin he’ll be supping with Argentine before the end of the month.”
“B-but I have Barton’s son,” Gervase said, his voice suddenly strangled with emotion. “I have his little brat as a hostage.”
The look in Gilbert’s eyes was cold. “I know, my lord. Which leaves you with one choice: you must kill the cub to tame the bear. John Barton clearly doesn’t believe you will execute his son. You must prove him wrong. If you don’t, you will lose every bit of leverage you have with the other hostages. You think Archer will still stand by you? He dotes on his daughter, but he’s not afraid of you. None of them are. Because they don’t think you have the spleen to do the hard thing. Prove them wrong, my lord. Or give that empty crown to Devon now and save us more needless bloodshed.”
Gervase saw the palms on the table turn into quivering fists, saw the knuckles bleach white with the strain. Lord Gilbert had no soul left. This civil war had destroyed not only the morale of the men—it had destroyed the men themselves. No one was faithful. Everyone wanted to see him fall. He shut his eyes, unable to bear the accusing look coming from the other man, his distant cousin, who had lost sons of his own in the conflict.
“You have to,” Gilbert said dispassionately.
Copyright © 2021 Jeff Wheeler
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Photo Content from Jeff Wheeler
He is also the founder of Deep Magic: the E-zine of Clean Fantasy and Science Fiction (www.deepmagic.co), a quarterly e-zine featuring amazing short stories, novellas, and sample chapters.
You can usually find Jeff at Emerald City Comic Con, New York Comic Con or at writers conferences.
He welcomes hearing from readers: jgwheels /at/ gmail dot com
If you are interested in purchasing signed copies of his books for friends, family, or your own collection, please e-mail: WOJWbooks /at/ gmail dot com
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