The Dead Lands of Edessa

Magic is the foundation of military power. Magic is money. And magicians are people. Never before had people voluntarily refused power, money, and force—no matter what they cost, especially when others pay.

The son of a traitor. The Magician of the Elder Branch. A novice politician. A lonely man trying to stand against the darkness. Lucius Avitus Ederion has many faces, and none of them suits him. Edes is in great danger. More and more rumors are heard about barbarians attacking far outposts: whole legions vanish without a trace, and magicians of the Younger Branch disappear. Lucius has only one chance to stop the chaos—by slipping through the web of secrets and intrigues of those he considers his allies. And the only one who doesn’t look at him with hostility is his new slave, Orcho. Like a shadow, he follows him, protects him, and tries to shield him from the omnipresent evil that slowly drives them into its trap.

Are wealth and purity of blood so important if the lives of the closest are at stake? Can the heart see the truth through the web of lies?

“Dead Lands of Edes” is a story about the struggle for power, freedom, and saving the world from an omnipresent evil. A slave and his master, an aristocrat and the owner’s daughter of a brothel, a concubine and a magician—will unite to stop the corruption taking over all territories. The atmosphere of republican Rome, the culture of nomads, together with several systems of magic—everything is in the book “Dead Lands of Edes.”

Sofya Shimanskaya writes vividly, in fragments, and with very dynamic momentum, never letting the reader linger in the shadows of the story—on the contrary, inviting them into her dangerous, yet so captivating journey. On her blog with 130 thousand subscribers, she reveals the depth of human emotions and attachments, inspiring each of us to accept the challenge of fate and set off toward adventures. For fans of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, Adela Katcher, Gabriel Costa, C.S. Pakat, and Francis Kelle.