Broken Things: A Tale of Durstan

by George Mann

The goddess Amaranth, Queen of the Broken, has been reborn for the first time in generations and now resides once more in her distant tower, observing the world through her strange, fractured eyes. Three pilgrims set out on the trail to find her, each for their own reasons: Pallor, the Knight of Perish, who wishes to die by a worthy hand and will challenge the goddess to a fight to the death; Nok, the tribal Wolkin, who carries her brother’s bones to beg Amaranth to restore him to the afterlife; and Ambrose, the monk, charged by his Order to seek the answer to the unanswerable question at the heart of his faith. Each of these pilgrims will be tested on the road to their inevitable convergence—and each will be granted answers, of a sort, from the Broken Queen…

Genres: Fantasy

109 pages, Hardcover

Published December 1, 2020

About the author

George Mann is an author and editor, primarily in genre fiction. He was born in Darlington, County Durham in 1978.
A former editor of Outland, Mann is the author of The Human Abstract, and more recently The Affinity Bridge and The Osiris Ritual in his Newbury and Hobbes detective series, set in an alternate Britain, and Ghosts of Manhattan, set in the same universe some decades later.
He wrote the Time Hunter novella "The Severed Man", and co-wrote the series finale, Child of Time.
He has also written numerous short stories, plus Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes audiobooks for Big Finish Productions. He has edited a number of anthologies including The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, The Solaris Book of New Fantasy and a retrospective collection of Sexton Blake stories, Sexton Blake, Detective, with an introduction by Michael Moorcock.

Reviews

[Nighteye · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very good writing with a cool setting and characters. Wish it would be longer however. Really good story, intresting snipet of a full fledged story standing on its own giving a glimpse to a brutal dark world where Gods walk among humans and creatures stalk the earth. Want to read more of this world.

[Alias Pending · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent start. This introduction to Durstan is a dark and melancholy fairy tale that feels like a lament for those still living in a scarred world. Our reluctant protagonists are flawed, fragile and, most importantly, interesting as they struggle for connection and redemption across a hostile and haunted landscape. I need to see what happens next.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have liked a little more content about their journey. The world was really interesting and the characters seemed great. I want to read more of their story