THE SWORN SOLIDIER by T. Kingfisher Production Update

T. Kingfisher’s The Sworn Soldier, the only place in which all three of her Alex Easton novellas are collected, with a full-color dust jacket and interior illustrations by John Jude Palencar, continues to progress nicely at the printer.

We’ve now seen almost all of the separate elements for the book, including the dust jacket proof, and the printed but not yet bound pages. We're waiting for a sample of the binding, after which the book will await its spot at the bindery, and upon completion of that will be sent our warehouse.

About the Book:

Alex Easton is no stranger to the horrors of the world. Hailing from Gallacia—a small European country known for its gloomy weather, turnip carvings, and fierce warriors—the former military officer survived the war only to find themself entangled in a series of deadly mysteries. Set in a uniquely reimagined nineteenth century, The Sworn Soldier features three interconnected novellas that detail Easton’s explorations into the strange and supernatural. 

In What Moves the Dead Easton is called to the ancestral home of Madeline Usher, a childhood friend suffering from a grave malady. Easton arrives to find the house in disrepair and Madeline and her brother, Roderick, as ghosts of their former selves. Most peculiar of all though is the unusual fungi and uncanny hares inhabiting the land around Usher house. 

What Feasts at Night finds Easton at a hunting lodge in the cold, damp Gallacian forest. Upon learning that the lodge’s caretaker has died, Easton, accompanied by loyal batman Angus and talented mycologist Miss Potter, must confront local superstitions about a creature of nightmares.

What Stalks the Deep reunites Easton with Dr. James Denton, a fellow survivor of the tragedy at Usher house. When Denton’s cousin goes missing in an abandoned West Virginia coal mine, the doctor seeks out Easton for assistance in discovering what dangers lurk in the mine’s depths.  

The Sworn Soldier draws inspiration from several sources, including Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and the moroi of Romanian folklore. Visceral, evocative prose demonstrates T. Kingfisher’s horror sensibilities, while narrator Alex Easton gives voice to the author’s wit and wry humor. A seamless blend of terror and charm, Kingfisher reinvents gothic horror for the contemporary reader.

Limited Edition Features: 

• 6 x 9 trim size
• Printed offset in two colors (black and Pantone®) on 60# archival quality paper;
• Full-color dust jacket art by John Jude Palencar
• One full-color interior illustration, and two full-page grayscale illustrations;
• Smyth-sewn binding
• 424 pages

 

Lettered: 26 signed copies, specially bound, housed in a custom traycase: $850 

Limited: 400 signed numbered hardcover copies: $175 

Table of Contents:

• What Moves the Dead
• What Feasts at Night
• What Stalks the Deep 

***

Speaking of Kingfisher, you might want to check out her newest novel, Wolf Worm, which a bunch of us at the warehouse have read and loved, and which has been garnering strong reviews everywhere.