The Steel Remains : This is fantasy - just harder, faster and bloodier

Ringil, the hero of the bloody slaughter at Gallows Gap is a legend to all who don't know him and a twisted degenerate to those that do.A veteran of the wars against the lizards he makes a living from telling credulous travellers of his exploits.Until one day he is pulled away from his life and into the depths of the Empire's slave trade.Where he will discover a secret infinitely more frightening than the trade in lives. Archeth - pragmatist, cynic and engineer, the last of her race - is called from her work at the whim of the most powerful man in the Empire and sent to its farthest reaches to investigate a demonic incursion against the Empire's borders. Egar Dragonbane, steppe-nomad, one-time fighter for the Empire finds himself entangled in a small-town battle between common sense and religious fervour.But out in the wider world there is something on the move far more alien than any of his tribe's petty gods.Anti-social, anti-heroic, and decidedly irritated, all three of them are about to be sent unwillingly forth into a vicious, vigorous and thoroughly unsuspecting fantasy world.Called upon by an Empire that owes them everything and gave them nothing. Richard Morgan brings his trademark visceral writing style, turbo-driven plotting and thought provoking characterisation to the fantasy genre and produces a landmark work with his first foray. ******Praise for The Steel Remains'A brilliant book!This has to be one of the best books I've read this.A raw, gritty fantasy that pulls no punches.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?'Well, wow. A gay aristocratic war hero fallen into rough living, a bisexual knife-wielding black woman from a race of near-immortal engineers, and a hard-hitting, tough-talking, dragon-slaying warleader from the steppes who is immensely loyal to them both.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?'Fantastic book! I love Morgan's twisted world and his complicated characters.A gritty, shocking, refreshing, dark epic fantasy. I can't wait to read the next one.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?'So... What does this book do right? Everything. Gay main characters - done to perfection. A truly dark, grotesque, yet realistic and complex world.Action? Suspense? Horror? All of them.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?'One of the best fantasy novels I have ever read. Better than Tolkein, better than A Game of Thrones, better than A Wheel of Time.It's a relatively simple story that involves the right amount of backstabbing, bloodshed and political intrigue.' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?'Wow what more do you want from a fantasy? Viciously smart humour with a sort of dry, tongue in cheek delivery, paired with rich worldbuilding that subtly unfolds, a trio of broken heroes with complex inner worlds grappling with the mess of human existence in a dangerous world, all propelled at breathless breakneck speeds - yet nothing rushed.Well developed secondary characters, sexual politics that I can't get behind, rape recognized as the disgusting horror it is, yet plenty of violent fun to be had.Damn I can't wait to start the next, this is just picking up speed' Goodreads reviewer, ? ? ? ? ?