Bandits, soldiers, thieves, murderers: all thrive in the lawless hills . . . The author of A Dish of Spurs delivers a brutally violent historical thriller.
The Borders are at war. Henry VIII, fat and pained with a diseased leg, wants to burn them all; to burn the very water if he has to.
Batty Coalhouse is still haunted by Maramaldo, the warlord responsible for cutting off his arm. He’s given an intriguing offer: find some stray nuns and bring them to safety. In turn, that will lead him to his nemesis, now rampaging with an army not far away in the Cheviot hills.
What seems a routine assignment becomes a living hell, for in the Debatable Lands, nothing is as it seems . . .
Praise for the novels of Rob Low
“A company of warriors, desperate battles, an enthralling read.” —Bernard Cornwell, New York Times–bestselling author
“Low mixes history, archeology, mythology and nonstop, often-sanguinary action into a fast-moving adventure tale.” —Publishers Weekly
“An epic tale of hardship, triumph, betrayal and brotherhood.” —S. J. A. Turney, author of Marius’ Mules XV: The Ides of March
Robert Low was a Scottish journalist and historical novelist. He made his name with the Oathsworn Viking series, still heralded as a leading light of the genre. In later years, his series focused on Scotland through the ages, with books set during the Wars of Scottish Independence, in ancient Rome and most recently in the Scottish Borders during the reign of Henry VIII.
He was also a war correspondent, reporting from Sarajevo, Romania, Kosovo, and Vietnam over the course of his career. An avid Viking historical reenactor, he was a full time fiction author until his death in 2021.