Waterblack

THE DEAD ARE RISING. Nathan Treeves leads an army of ghosts from the underwater city of Waterblack, heading to the final, destructive confrontation with the forces ranged against him. But although he is more powerful than ever, he also has new challenges to face. Most notably, Sharli, an assassin whose journey we follow - from her perilous childhood in Malarkoi, to slavery in Mordew, working in a nail factory, to making murder her trade under the ever watchful eye of the terrifying Mr Padge. And on to the climactic encounter between Nathan, The Master, The Mistress and the Atheistic Crusade... In this, the monumental conclusion to the Cities of the Weft trilogy, Waterblack pushes the boundaries and possibilities of the fantasy genre further than ever, with more style than ever, posing vital questions about the way power can be abused, who decides who has it - and what it means to have none. It's a book that speaks to and about our own times with magnificent eloquence. It is a trilogy for all time.

Alex Pheby lives with his wife and two children in Scotland, and teaches at the University of Newcastle. Alex's second novel, Playthings, was shortlisted for the 2016 Wellcome Book Prize. His third novel, Lucia, was joint winner of the 2019 Republic of Consciousness Prize. Mordew, the first book in the Cities of the Weft trilogy, was selected as a Book of the Year by The Guardian, The I, Tor.com and Locus Magazine. It was a Waterstones Fantasy Pick in 2020 and a Waterstones Paperback of the Year in 2021. The second book in the trilogy, Malarkoi, was released in 2022 to similar acclaim.