A Murder of Mages
Authors: Marshall Ryan Maresca
Raves for Marshall Ryan Maresca’s
The Thorn of Dentonhill
:
“Veranix is Batman, if Batman were a teenager and magically talented. His uncompromising devotion to crushing the local crime boss encourages him to take foolish risks, but his resourcefulness keeps our hero one step ahead of those who seek to bring him down. Action, adventure, and magic in a school setting will appeal to those who love Harry Potter and Patrick Rothfuss’s
The Name of the Wind.
”
—
Library Journal
(starred review)
“Maresca brings the whole package, complete and well-constructed. If you’re looking for something fun and adventurous for your next fantasy read, look no further . . . an incredible start to a new series, from an author who is clearly on his way to great things.”
—Bibliosanctum
“Books like this are just fun to read.”
—The Tenacious Reader
“This is hang-on-to-your-toothpicks adventure with a mystery bent as Veranix tries to learn how to control the new magic he has and discover why some powerful people want to kill him for it. It’s action-oriented—swashbuckling Indiana Jones meets the burglar Bilbo Baggins of
The Hobbit
—but the characters have a warmth and conflicting goals and attitudes that make them worth following.”
—Kings River Life Magazine
“I loved every minute . . . this was a great debut novel and I can’t wait to see more of Maresca’s work”
—Short and Sweet Reviews
“Maresca’s debut is smart, fast, and engaging fantasy crime in the mold of Brent Weeks and Harry Harrison. Just perfect.”
—Kat Richardson, national bestselling author of
Revenant
DAW Books presents the
novels of Marshall Ryan Maresca:
THE THORN OF DENTONHILL
*
A MURDER OF MAGES
Copyright © 2015 by Marshall Ryan Maresca.
All Rights Reserved.
Cover art by Paul Young.
Cover design by G-Force Design.
DAW Book Collectors No. 1696.
DAW Books are distributed by Penguin Group (USA).
All characters and events in this book are fictitious.
Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
ISBN: 978-0-698-18010-9
DAW TRADEMARK REGISTERED
U.S. PAT. AND TM. OFF. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES
—MARCA REGISTRADA
HECHO EN U.S.A.
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Contents
Praise for Marshall Ryan Maresca
Acknowledgments
This book would not exist without the assistance of quite a few people.
First of all, there is my amazing and incredibly patient wife, Deidre Kateri Aragon. She has been an anchor in my life for the past fifteen years, giving me the ability to pound away at a keyboard day after day to make this book happen. But more importantly, she got me on task in the first place, moving me from being that guy who just talked about “writing a book at some point” to actually making writing a real focus in my life. She, as well as my son Nicholas, have been a source of constant support and strength through the process of becoming a novelist.
No less important to thank are my parents, Louis and Nancy Maresca, and my mother-in-law, Kateri Aragon, all of whom have contributed in innumerable ways to make it possible for me to write this book.
Next, there are all the many people who read versions and drafts of
A Murder of Mages
, and gave useful advice that helped shape it into a stronger, better work. This includes Anne Soward, Amy Sterling Casil, Miriam Robinson Gould, and the Bat City Novelocracy crew: Kevin Jewell, Abby Goldsmith, Ellen Van Hensbergen, Katy Stauber, Nicole Duson, and Amanda Downum. And a huge portion of those thanks have to go to Stina Leicht, who has been running the ArmadilloCon Writers Workshop for many years, and after I had attended it several times, brought me on board to run it with her. Stina has been a friend, a mentor, a sympathetic ear, and a good source for the occasional much-needed whap upside the head, which is exactly what every writer needs.
I can’t emphasize enough how much is owed to my agent, Mike Kabongo. He’s handled with grace and humor the arduous task of dealing with my constant harassment while shopping my work. Back when he first responded to an unsellable draft of
Thorn of Dentonhill
, he said, “Clearly you are a writer I want to watch. Even if you decide I’m not the agent for you, do let me know when you hit the shelves, I want to buy something with your name on it.” So far he’s continued to show the same enthusiasm for each manuscript I’ve sent him, and I hope to not let him down.
Further thanks are owed to my editor Sheila Gilbert, Joshua Starr, and everyone else at DAW. I am deeply grateful for all the hard work they’ve done to make this the best book it can possibly be.
Finally, there is my dear friend Daniel J. Fawcett, who has been my sounding board and bent ear on everything creative I’ve done since the seventh grade. Nothing in this book would be what it is without his influence. I wouldn’t be who I am today without his friendship.
Chapter 1
