"Outstanding. Beautifully written, perfectly paced and assured. Kept me reading well into the early hours of the morning. A wonderful first book — a wonderful book, period — that should be at the very top of your to-read list."—James Islington, author of The Shadow of What Was Lost
"Dead gods, dread magic, and a lead that feels like a breath of fresh air. Great fun."—Peter Newman, author of The Vagrant
"Often poignant and always intriguing, Age of Assassins reveals its mysteries with the style of a magic show and the artful grace of a gifted storyteller."—Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wild
"Simply unputdownable ... the perfect mix of fantasy and mystery."—Fantasy Book Review
"With an original, immersive world that wouldn't let me go and a pair of assassins worth rooting for, Age of Assassins is a pleasure to read. I can't wait for more!"—Melissa Caruso, author of The Tethered Mage
"A dark-humored game of cat and mouse between assassins with traitors on all sides."—David Dalglish, author of the Shadowdance series
"Age of Assassins builds a compelling fantasy world and peoples it with characters you can care about. Riddled with intrigue and dangerous magic, this is a hugely enjoyable debut."—Jen Williams, author of The Copper Promise
"Age of Assassins is a beguiling story of action and intrigue combined with a poignancy and humor that are as sharp as any blade."—Jon Skovron, author of Hope and Red
"Barker undercuts the standard fantasy cliche of the badass lone assassin ... The most interesting treatment of the fantasy assassin trope in a while, and an involving narrative in its own right."—RT Book Reviews
"This is one readers will find hard to put down."—Booklist
"Age of Assassins is one of the greatest debuts of the year, and RJ Barker is an author to look out for."—Book Nest
"The best damn political fantasy to hit shelves since Robin Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice. Clear your schedule, as you will not be able to put Age of Assassins down."—Pop Verse
For nearly two decades, Jim Killen has served as the science fiction and fantasy book buyer for Barnes & Noble. Every month on Tor.com and the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Jim shares his curated list of the month’s can’t-miss new SFF releases.
We don’t know about you, but there are still dozens of 2016 books on our teetering mountain of books we really, really want to read, provided we manage to live long enough. Which is why we approach the massive post below with equal parts excitement and trepidation. We asked sci-fi and fantasy editors from all the […]