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Mortedant's Peril
What to expect
‘An engrossing, ingenious story in a beautifully crafted world’ – Adrian Tchaikovsky
A Sunday Times bestselling tale of mystery, murder, magic and mayhem from RJ Barker, award-winning author of The Bone Ships.
Mortedants can speak to the dead – and Irody Hasp is the greatest of them. Not that they’ll admit it. And not that anyone actually likes the Mortedants, or Irody in particular. Nonetheless, Elbay is a city of tradition, and tradition calls for Mortedants to attend a death.
But when Irody reads the corpse of a low-level record-keeper, he’s dragged into a conspiracy that will see someone close to him murdered and Irody framed for the crime. With only days to prove his innocence before he is executed, Irody is forced to work with unlikely and unwanted allies: a street urchin and a hulking, inhuman mercenary from the sea people’s city of Oknusoka. With danger lurking around every corner, Irody is running out of time. He must save himself and his friends, as well as Elbay – the magnificent, terrifying, complicated city that he loves. Or darkness will fall on them all.
Mortedant's Peril is an epic historical fantasy perfect for fans of Six of Crows and City of Last Chances.
* * *
'A plot that gently sinks its claws into you and pulls you along from one chapter to the next. I loved it from the first page'
– John Gwynne, author of The Faithful and the Fallen
'Mortedant’s Peril is a fabulous fantasy mystery set in a fresh, imaginative world'
- Sebastien de Castell, author of Traitor's Blade
'Fabulous, frantic and moving’
– The Daily Mail
‘A splendid fantasy work . . . Highly recommended’
– Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time
Mortedant's Peril was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 25/05/2026.
Critics Review
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Mortedant’s Peril is a fabulous fantasy mystery filled set in a fresh, imaginative world and featuring a trio of underdog characters with nothing in common except an unfolding sense of justice that propels them into one engrossing caper after another. Long live Irody, Mirial and Whisper!
Sebastien De Castell, author of Traitor's Blade
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This is the murder mystery conspiracy thriller fantasy epic you've been looking for. Wonderful stuff!
M. R. Carey, author of The Girl with all the Gifts
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Mortedant’s Peril is great, with a capital G. Believable, quirky characters, a well-built, layered world full of magical sects and political intrigue, and a plot that gently sinks its claws into you and pulls you along from one chapter to the next. I loved it from the first page and would recommend it highly. Another cracking read from RJ Barker
John Gwynne, author of The Faithful and the Fallen
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A great read which drags the reader in and doesn’t let go. Stayed up way too late to finish it
Genevieve Cogman, author of The Invisible Library
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Mortedant's Peril is like a fantastic dream I didn’t want to wake up from! Characters I adore follow a twisty mystery that winds through a weird and wonderful city, in a story full of action and humor and stakes that cut straight to your heart. More, please!!!
Melissa Caruso. author of The Tethered Mage
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RJ Barker does it again! Mortedant's Peril is the perfect blend of humour, darkness and puzzle box mystery
Sunyi Dean author of The Girl with a Thousand Faces
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An engrossing, ingenious story in a beautifully crafted world
Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time
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With plots and mysteries, unexpected friends and foes alike, strap in for a baroque romp of squalor and grandeur, horror and humour. Fabulous, frantic and moving
The Daily Mail
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A deeply wonderful fantasy that made me fall in love with the genre all over again
Grimdark Magazine
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I’d already considered Barker a brilliant, imaginative writer, but Mortedant’s Peril is a shining demonstration of an author going from strength to strength
The Fantasy Hive
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Mortedant’s Peril is a superior fantasy that drags you in, managing to use old tropes but then adding something new to the mix
SFFWorld
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Barker excels at making you care for unusual characters
SFX Magazine
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- RJ Barker
- Narrator
- Joe Eyre
- Duration
- 16 hours 10 minutes
- Release Date
- 21 May 2026
- ISBN
- 9781035064311
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- Crime and / or mystery fiction, Epic fantasy / high fantasy, Urban fantasy
Synopsis
Irody can speak to the dead. But the living want him silenced.‘An engrossing, ingenious story in a beautifully crafted world’ – Adrian TchaikovskyA Sunday Times bestselling tale of mystery, murder, magic and mayhem from RJ Barker, award-winning author of The Bone Ships.Mortedants can speak to the dead – and Irody Hasp is the greatest of them. Not that they’ll admit it. And not that anyone actually likes the Mortedants, or Irody in particular. Nonetheless, Elbay is a city of tradition, and tradition calls for Mortedants to attend a death.But when Irody reads the corpse of a low-level record-keeper, he’s dragged into a conspiracy that will see someone close to him murdered and Irody framed for the crime. With only days to prove his innocence before he is executed, Irody is forced to work with unlikely and unwanted allies: a street urchin and a hulking, inhuman mercenary from the sea people’s city of Oknusoka. With danger lurking around every corner, Irody is running out of time. He must save himself and his friends, as well as Elbay – the magnificent, terrifying, complicated city that he loves. Or darkness will fall on them all.Mortedant's Peril is an epic historical fantasy perfect for fans of Six of Crows and City of Last Chances.* * *'A plot that gently sinks its claws into you and pulls you along from one chapter to the next. I loved it from the first page'– John Gwynne, author of The Faithful and the Fallen 'Mortedant’s Peril is a fabulous fantasy mystery set in a fresh, imaginative world'- Sebastien de Castell, author of Traitor's Blade'Fabulous, frantic and moving’– The Daily Mail ‘A splendid fantasy work . . . Highly recommended’– Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time Mortedant's Peril was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 25/05/2026.
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