The Gallows Black

The Grave of Empires #0.5

by Sam Sykes

A standalone epic fantasy novella starring Sal the Cacophony, who Pierce Brown called a "protagonist for the ages," from Sam Sykes' widely acclaimed Seven Blades in Black. To the city of Last Word, one of the last freeholds in a land rent asunder by magic, Sal the Cacophony comes with gun, a blade, and a burning need for revenge.But when the gallows threatens to deny her the satisfaction of the kill, Sal the Cacophony decides to free her query -- it's the principle of the thing. And in doing so, she sparks a war that will shake the city's fragile peace to its core.To escape with her life and her kill, she'll have to save a a Freemaker, versed in the forbidden arts of magic and machinery. But the weight of their secrets may be too heavy to let them escape in one piece.For more from Sam Sykes, check The Grave of EmpiresSeven Blades in BlackThe Affinity for Steel TrilogyTome of the UndergatesBlack HaloThe Skybound SeaBring Down HeavenThe City Stained RedThe Mortal TallyGod's Last Breath

Genres: Fantasy, Novella, Lesbian, Short Stories, Fiction, Steampunk, Queer

139 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2019

About the author

Sam Sykes is the author of Tome Of The Undergates, a vast and sprawling story of adventure, demons, madness and carnage. Suspected by many to be at least tangentially related to most causes of human suffering, Sam Sykes is also a force to be reckoned with beyond literature.

At 25, Sykes is one of the younger authors to have arrived on the stage of literary fantasy. Tome Of The Undergates is his first book, published in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Holland, and Canada. He currently resides in the United States and is probably watching you read this right now.

Reviews

[Mira Mio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Я в расстроенных чувствах.

Новелла куда короче, чем кажется, потому что в конце ознакомительный фрагмент Seven Blades in Black.

Читать ее после Seven Blades скучно, потому что автор пытается заинтриговать вопросами, на которые мы уже знаем ответы.

Читать ее перед Seven Blades нельзя, потому что спойлеры, тысячи их.

Романтика в духе "они узрели друг друга и тут же упали в койку". Ну такое.

Впрочем, пару пафосных дуэлей и один стертый с лица земли город тут есть, так что пойдет.

[XR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great intro to Sal and Liette and an exciting look into The Grave of Empires.

[Timandra Whitecastle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first taste of Sam Sykes‘ writing and it’s totally my jam. It has a neat Final Fantasy feel with the big guns and swords and magic and cannons, but the real heart of the story was the relationships between the characters.

That banter!! I love it.

I’m really looking forward to Seven Blades in Black now!

[Vigasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a nice novella about how Sal met Liette. But of course it isn't a simple love story, because there is a lot of killing, running and being in deep shit... well typical Sal the Cacophony story. It was so good to meet her again. And I love Sam Sykes snark and witty comments.

[Clarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was just thinking, as I finished Seven Blades in Black, how badly I wanted a short story about how Sal and Liette met when I saw the author talk about it The Gallows Black on Twitter.

Absolutely everything I hoped for; but it still wasn’t able to stop my mighty need for book 2. I just keep wanting more and more. I am completely in love with these characters and universe.

[Tyler Deren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I definitely have to read more of Sam Sykes work!

[Rhiannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn’t love a good meet-cute?

That being said, this definitely gave me a lot more insight into Sal and Liette and the relationship they have, tenuous and uncharted as it is. I really enjoyed this little novella, but it still somehow didn’t tide me over in my desire to return to the world, and I found the one-shot less engaging than the book. I’m so looking forward to Ten Arrows of Iron! August can’t come fast enough!

[Jason Aycock · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Grave of Empires is shaping up to be a new favorite fantasy series. Filled with humor, wit, and memorable if somewhat questionable characters who you can’t help but root for, Sam Sykes’ latest series is just a joy to read. The Gallows Black picks up on the explosive energy of Seven Blades In Black and fills in a gap in the history of Sal and her friend/lover Liette. If you loved Seven Blades In Black you’ll definitely want to read this prequel novella.

Oof…I really can’t express how much I’m enjoying this new series. I know I said it above but I want to say it again. The Grave of Empires is just plain fun. Vulgar fun perhaps, but that’s part of the enjoyment.

The Gallows Black is a prequel to Seven Blades In Black and I’d recommend reading the latter first. You don’t have to, but it will make a lot more sense and some of the story line will be much more meaningful. The Gallows Black is a novella and therefore a quick read. The format works really well for the story as it is really a chapter that details how Sal The Cacophony first met Liette and all the chaos that ensued. Because lets face it if you were to ever meet Sal what ensues could only be chaos.

The plot picks up on the overall story from Seven Blades In Black in that Sal is searching for a person on her list. If you haven’t read book one I won’t explain the list, but if you have you’ll know why anyone on it is so important to her. The person on the list is about to be sent to the gallows in the Freehold of Last Word. Only Sal needs to kill him before he’s executed, because how could she get her revenge if she doesn’t? But, as often happens with Sal things don’t go to plan, and well she has to improvise when everything goes sideways. During the cluster that ensues Sal ends up saving the life of a Freemaker also condemned to die…none other than the infamous Twenty Two Dead Roses In A Chipped Porcelain Vase…or Liette for short. And that’s what this book is really about; it is the story of how these two lovers met and further explains the dynamic between the two.

Let me say now that I LOVE Liette. Almost as much as I love Sal. We already knew she was nerdy, wicked smart, and that Sal was absolutely in love with her (and so we too love her), but in this installment we find out she’s freaking deadly. We already knew she was one of the most wanted criminal Freemaker’s in the land and now we are told why. That combo of freaky smarts used toward deadly ends was fantastic. But…there’s more. There’s a darker side to Liette too. I won’t tell you what it is, but I was a bit surprised. Then there’s that moniker…Twenty Two Dead Roses In A Chipped Porcelain Vase…I just love that. And the fear the name alone instills in people is such a wonderful contrast with the picture of Liette you get from her other description. LOVE. THIS. CHARACTER.

And speaking of characters I want to add something about Sal’s gun The Cacophony. We already got the sense of The Cacophony as a character and not just an instrument in Seven Blades In Black. In The Gallows Black we see even more of it, especially it’s angry, brooding, and sullen nature. We see more of how it communicates and speaks with Sal and the strange bond and dynamic between the two. It’s a weird mixture of object and character that I absolutely dig.

Then there’s Sal. Still the main character and still her old snarky irreverent self, Sal just keeps on keepin on. What we get now is some depth to her softer side as it relates to Liette. You see early on how she falls for Liette, and falls hard, and falls fast! You see how it shakes Sal up a bit because it’s unexpected. And you see how meaningful it is to her. This book also digs a little deeper into Sal’s psyche as it relates to loss, and doing things to someone’s body without permission. These last two are not something new for Sal, but they get fleshed out a little more and we see the impact on her relationships.

The Gallows Black has that same western fantasy feel that Seven Blades In Black had. And by that I mean western (wild, wild, west) as a genre, not western style fantasy (like western Europe). Once again we find mages from the Empire, soldiers of the Revolutionary Guard, and Freemakers who want to subvert all their authority in the quest for knowledge. And then of course Vagrants like Sal. We encounter new types of machinery like the Marcher, a tank-like tower of war. This story though has the feel of that classic western where you get the shoot-out on Main Street at high-noon. In fact we get the shoot-out on main street at high-noon while they proceed to destroy the town…and it was marvelous. If you like an action story with gunfights galore you’ll love this one.

But it isn’t just action. It’s a love story. I’d argue it’s more of a love story than an action one. Because while all the gunfights and stabby-stabby, and explosions are happening all around the characters, at the heart of it is this love at first sight that develops between Sal and Liette. The explosive action all around them comes to mirror their own explosive and exciting relationship.

It’s also a story of loss and the things people do to fill the void that loss creates. Sal’s story is an obvious one and the book opens with what she’s doing to try to deal with the void her loss has created in her. Liette fills part of that hole, but she can’t replace what Sal is missing. Other characters are also dealing with loss which really comes to impact the overall narrative of the book. I can’t say more because spoilers, but suffice it to say loss becomes a major driving force of the plot.

And then there’s the issue of doing things to someone else’s body without their permission.This also is a major theme of the book that is picked up from the first installment. Sal REALLY doesn’t like it for reasons fleshed out in book one, and it comes to the fore in The Gallows Black in a way that complicates the character’s lives. I won’t say more because spoilers yet again, but this really is a major driving factor for Sal.

Sam Sykes manages to do a lot with just a little in The Gallows Black. He offers us wonderful character depth, fills in some background, and gives us a highly entertaining read filled with all the banter (oh the banter), action, and just plain irreverent fun that you’d want from another Grave of Empires book. If you enjoyed Seven Blades In Black you won’t want to miss this addition to the story of Sal and her quest for vengeance.

And Sam Sykes if you’re reading this can we get more of Sal and Liette soon? Please and thank you. (Yes I know book two comes out later this year…but I want it now.)

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. When Liette and Sal first crossed paths in Seven Blades in Black - one of my favorite scenes in that book, by the way - it was clear that there was an immense weight and depth to their history that was wedged between them and yet neither ever really spoke on it. A lot of empty pauses, allusions of past and present pain, a palpable love despite it never having the opportunity to be voiced. At the end of that book, I wished I knew what they were like before Sal pulled a Sal and... it was different.

Sam Sykes granted my wish with a glimpse into how Sal and Liette met.

I LOVED IT.

This novella made me love both Sal and Liette more, as well as the relationship between them. Liette in particular, as she is given a backstory, and oh wow she might be one of my favorite characters ever.

With this event's given place in time, we also get to see Sal in the early days of her revenge quest. That too was exceptionally well done, and the extra additions to the world building of the first novel were solid.

Fantastic read.

[Donna Bull · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Sal met Liette.

If you love Seven Blades then you want to know how it happened. And you know it couldn't have happened without mayhem and destruction, cause it's Sal, and that's what she does. Vintage.

[Alexandra Engellmann]

DNF at 20%. not my cup of tea

[Drakeryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You make it sound easy."

"If you happen to be an incredible genius possessed of the only mind in the Scar - indeed, perhaps the world - of coming close to resurrecting the dead, it is." Liette turned toward me, adjusted her glasses. "It's me, by the way. I'm the one who is an incredible genius."

"Yeah, no, I got that."

A prequel/companion novella to Seven Blades in Black, featuring Sal and Liette's meet-cute, and a lot of explosions. Also a lot of snark from Sal. You know, the usual. Nothing says romance like rescuing your girlfriend-to-be from execution and then having to fight off a squad of Imperial mages and a bunch of enraged Revolutionaries with siege weaponry.

I read this after Seven Blades in Black, which is probably ideal, since it assumes you know the relevant worldbuilding. On the other hand, it could also serve as a sampler if you're interested in Seven Blades in Black but hesitant to commit to a 700-page novel. While it doesn't quite stand alone, it gives you enough of a flavor for the characters/writing to decide if you want to continue.

No matter where we come from or where we're going, a giant mountain of flaming wreckage makes equals of us all, as the old saying went.

Or maybe that wasn't an old saying. I was pretty sure it was, but I was also pretty sure I had a concussion.

[Lana · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're going to write a prequel at least make it interesting. At least make it add intrigue to the main series, make it raise questions, make it engrossing enough that the reader can forget they know what comes after.

This short story didn't deliver in any of that.

While it was nice watching how Sal and Liette met, the introduction of an antagonist whose fate we know did a huge disservice to the story, I wasn't interested because I knew how things were going to end one way or another.

I don't know, it also doesn't feel like this adds anything to the story. You could delete it from the trilogy and things wouldn't change, my feelings for the first book would remain the same if I had never read this, and this also doesn't answer any questions left by SBiB.

In short, I felt like this could've accomplished a lot more. On the basic sense it was entertaining, funny and witty and action-packed, but it lacked a lot of substance.

[Elena Hect · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh so THAT'S how sal and liette met. I don't know what else I expected (massive property damage, Sal gets beat up, small city destroyed)

Wait. [grave of empires overall] Oh my god. I just realized that part of why Liette is so fucked up over Sal in the main series is that the very first time they meet Sal the FUCKING Cacophony forgoes her all-important list for Liette. And then I don't think she ever does it again. So when Liette asks 'What am I doing wrong that you're choosing this over me?' in Seven Blades she's had her goalposts wrong the whole time, thinking that Sal's choice in Last Word can be the default instead of a glaring exception to her dedication to revenge...

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was on our kindle, so i read it. Did Josh read it? Who knows.

I, honestly, had a hard time with it. I don't think the story hung together very well - there was a lot of violence filling in for actual story, and a lot of cleverness that made it hard to follow instead of adding interest. I see that it is a novella associated with a bigger series, and maybe if i started with the series I'd get it more, but... mostly i was a little underwhelmed. If it has been a full length novel I don't think i would have finished.

Ah well, can't win em all.

[Lois Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant prequel to "Seven Blades in Black"!!!

In this novella, we learn about how Sal the Cacophony meets one of her strongest allies! Readers learn about the hypocrisy surrounding both the Imperium and the Revolution!!! This should be read AFTER "Seven Blades in Black" so that readers are not confused by the elements of world-building.

I'm looking forward to reading Book 2 in "The Grave of Empires"!!!

[Jeff Cosmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you wanted to read Seven Blades in Black but were put off by the fact that it’s the size of a large brick, then you should most definitely read this prequel. This was such a fun read with so many one liners, (“She stared at me as though I had just slapped her dead mother with her dead puppy.”) A great story come to life that is full of action. The only thing wrong with it is I have to wait much too long until the next book comes out.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

1-Sentence: The tale of Sal the Cacophony meeting Liette--in blood and chaos, naturally.

Gay?: Two gay idiots in love, yup.

Keywords: rescue, list, reanimation, demolition, new love

Like?: A quick lovely read with all the gayest--and stupidest--parts of SAl. I always dig that.

Rating: 4/5

[Shannon Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A prequel that perhaps should be read second

A messy but also lovely prequel to the first book in this series this short novella perhaps works best read after the first book Seven Blades in Black. Reading this would have spoiled some of the reveals of that first book. The worldbuilding continues to be impressive and it is a nice addition to the characters.

[A.davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sal is a memorable anti-heroine

Sam Sykes writes entertaining stories with astounding women. Action packed fantasy peppered with sarcastic quips and tempered by empathetic motivation and nuanced relationships. Definitely worth your time.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totally silly action fantasy with fun characters, ridiculous contrivances, and an angry magic gun. You’ll burn through it pretty quickly, roll your eyes more than once, but ultimately have a pretty good time.

[Jeremy Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good

I had not read this before Seven Blades in Black. After finally getting to it, I now must go back and enjoy Seven Blades In Black once more. Thanks you Mr. Sykes for the great storytelling!

[Zaphied · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are stories that are told sometimes that just fill the head with all the sounds and colours and images of what is just a few words on a page. This short was one of them. A wild run from start to end.

[Boulder Boulderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little fast-paced short story that introduces one of the main characters from the author's long novels. Probably better if you've read that, and it's a model becoming pretty standard in the industry, but very enjoyable for all that.

[Kevin K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the return to the Grave of Empires series.

This story details the first meeting between Sal the Cacophony and the Tinker Liette. It goes about as well as you'd expect, with the Empire and the Revolution clashing, many explosions, and lots of cursing.

I dig.

[AdjectiveBeaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great piece of work from Sam Sykes.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sal and Liette have their meet-cute through a public execution in the middle of a tense military standoff, because how else would that go for Sal the Cacophony? Good clean disastrous fun.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate novellas. Too short and a financial rip off. I don’t usually bother but I had read that this followed on from his other Grave of Empires book. It doesn’t, it takes place earlier. Poor.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a prequel to Seven Blades in Black. It features How Sal met Liette.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

SAL AND LIETTE <3333333333333333333333333333333333333
I love them so much and I just want them to be happy.
(And safe. And in love.)
(While also blowing things up and causing a ruckus.)