Brian Staveley Popular Books

Brian Staveley Biography & Facts

Brian Staveley is an American fantasy writer. He has written an epic fantasy trilogy, The Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, the first volume of a sequel series, Ashes of the Unhewn Throne, a prequel novel, Skullsworn, and a selection of short fiction. Life Staveley lives in Vermont, and is married. He taught literature, philosophy, history, and religion before beginning to write fiction. Work The Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne Staveley's debut trilogy, The Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne (2014–2016), follows the three children of an assassinated emperor – the monk Kaden, the special forces soldier Valyn and the politician Adare – as they attempt to unravel the conspiracy gripping their continent-spanning empire. The first volume won the Gemmell Morningstar Award for best debut novel and was nominated for the Locus Award and Goodreads Choice Awards.io9 characterized the first volume as "the year's breakout epic war fantasy" and noted that the trilogy, in a "nice change of pace from most of the epic fantasy landscape", was characterized by a modern mindset, even if it tended to get "sidetracked down rabbit holes" with sub-plots. At Tor.com, Niall Alexander lauded the first volume's skillful use of fantasy tropes but criticized its "manifest mistreatment of women". He considered the final volume a substantial improvement "in the pace and the ultimate punch of its complex plot; and in the quality, on the lexical level, of the author’s already-polished prose". In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews appreciated the third volume as "a deeply satisfying but bleak, dark work; its only illumination are flashes of high tragedy". Skullsworn The first of a projected series of standalone novels about secondary characters in the Chronicles, Staveley's 2017 novel Skullsworn is set several years prior to the events of the trilogy. It sees the apprentice assassin Pyrre returning to her home city where she is to kill seven people – including one whom she loves – in order to become a priestess of the god of death. Reviewing Skullsworn at Tor.com, Laura M. Hughes described its setting, the swampy river delta city of Dombâng, as the novel's "show-stealer" antagonist, and appreciated Staveley's "more confident, assured" narrative voice. Kirkus Reviews described it as "a pleasantly grim and emotionally complex divertissement", and Publishers Weekly noted the "remarkably intimate" novel's "visceral action scenes and memorable characters". Ashes of the Unhewn Throne Set several years after the events of the first trilogy by the author, Ashes of the Unhewn Throne is a series expected to consist of three or more volumes, the first of which is titled The Empire's Ruin and was published in July 2021. Bibliography All cover art by Richard Anderson. The Chronicles of the Unhewn ThroneThe Emperor's Blades (2014), Tor Books, ISBN 978-0765336408 The Providence of Fire (2015), Tor Books, ISBN 978-0765336415 The Last Mortal Bond (2016), Tor Books, ISBN 978-0765336422 Ashes of the Unhewn ThroneThe Empire's Ruin (2021), Tor Books, ISBN 978-0765389909 Other novelsSkullsworn (2017), Tor Books, ISBN 978-0765389879External links Official website Brian Staveley at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database References. Discover the Brian Staveley popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Brian Staveley books.

Best Seller Brian Staveley Books of 2024

  • Temple of No God synopsis, comments

    Temple of No God

    H.M. Long

    Epic fantasy followup to HALL OF SMOKE, featuring crumbling empires, secretive cults and godlike powers to be claimed, for readers of Margaret Owen, Brian Staveley, V. E. Schwab an...

  • Hall of Smoke synopsis, comments

    Hall of Smoke

    H.M. Long

    Epic fantasy featuring warrior priestesses, and fickle gods at war, for readers of Brian Staveley's Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne.Epic fantasy featuring warrior priestesses and f...

  • Priest of Gallows synopsis, comments

    Priest of Gallows

    Peter McLean

    Gangster, soldier, priest. Queen's Man. Governor.'If you haven't yet picked up this riveting and unique series, I highly recommend you do' Fantasy Book Critic Tomas Piety has every...

  • Pillar of Ash synopsis, comments

    Pillar of Ash

    H. M. Long

    Yske, a healer and daughter of the warrior priestess Hessa, holds the balance of power in a worldshattering war of the gods, in this thrilling, mythical and emotional epic fantasy ...

  • Priest of Crowns synopsis, comments

    Priest of Crowns

    Peter McLean

    'Praise be to Our Lady of Eternal Sorrows, and blessed be the Ascended Martyr.' Those were the words on lips of the faithful: Blessed be the Ascended Martyr, and woe betide you if ...

  • Barrow of Winter synopsis, comments

    Barrow of Winter

    H. M. Long

    Thrilling epic fantasy adventures set in the world of HALL OF SMOKE and TEMPLE OF NO GOD, featuring murderous conspiracies, howling icy wastelands and the Children of Winter, for r...