A master of the genre - The TimesThis is fast-paced and gripping "read-through-the-night" fiction, with marvellous characters and occasional moments of dark humour. Some authors are better historians than they are storytellers. Anthony Riches is brilliant at both. - Conn IgguldenA damn fine read . . . fast-paced, action-packed. - Ben KaneStands head and shoulders above a crowded field . . . . real, live characters act out their battles on the northern borders with an accuracy of detail and depth of raw emotion that is a rare combination. - Manda ScottRiches highlights the chaos and fragility of an empire without an emperor . . . dense, complicated and rewarding. - The Times on BETRAYAL