The Court of Broken Knives The first Empires of Dust novel

'Anna Smith Spark is a dynamic new voice in the field of grimly baroque fantasy, a knowing and witty provisioner of the Grand Guignol, a cheerful undertaker strolling across the graveyard and beckoning you to admire her newest additions.'
Scott Lynch

'This outstanding, unputdownable debut holds and horrifies like a blood-spattered tapestry. There's rough humour, high drama and a love of story-telling that shines through every page' -Daily Mail

'A confident first novel with deep veins of vice and brutality running through it, heralding the start of an atmospheric new series' -SFX

'Smith-Spark's style, like her story stretches the envelope of conventions . . . the writing is skilful, the descriptions evocative, the dialogue sparks entertainingly, while the plot twists, turns and branches sinuously . . . an innovative and entertaining debut' FantasyFaction

'This is a tumultuous, often nihilistic world - but also one where there is potential for great beauty . . . I had to keep on turning pages to see what happens next' -SFandF Reviews

'Beautifully inventive as it is brutally evocative . . . Anna Smith Spark's voice is equal parts mesmerising as it is magical . . . Once you get into the flow of things, you've dragged along, sucked down into the depths, and when you come back up you'll be gasping for air' -Fantasy Book Critic

'Fierce, gripping fantasy, exquisitely written; bitter, funny and heart-rending by turns' -Adrian Tchaikovsky