Orbit UK is delighted to have acquired the UK & Commonwealth rights to a brilliant epic fantasy series from South Korean author Sung-il Kim, translated into English by the award-winning Anton Hur. The first book, BLOOD OF THE OLD KINGS, will publish in October ’24. Senior Commissioning Editor James Long pre-empted rights from Chris Scheina at St Martins.

There is no escaping the Empire.
Even in death, you will serve.

In an Empire run on necromancy, dead sorcerers are the lifeblood. Their corpses are wrapped in chains and drained of magic to feed the unquenchable hunger for imperial conquest.

Born with magic, Arienne has become resigned to her dark fate. But when the voice of a long-dead sorcerer begins to speak inside her head, she listens. There may be another future for her, if she’s willing to fight for it.

Miles away, beneath a volcano, a seven-eyed dragon also wears the Empire’s chains. Before the imperial fist closed around their lands, it was the people’s sacred guardian.

Loran, a widowed swordswoman, is the first to kneel before the dragon in decades. She comes with a desperate plea, and will leave with a sword of dragon-fang in hand and a great purpose before her.

Step into a world of necromancy, murder, and twisted magic. A world in need of a hero.

About Sung-il Kim

Sung-il Kim was born in Seoul, in 1974. Despite his lifelong dream of writing fiction, he only got around to it in his forties. He writes science fiction, fantasy, horror, or some blend of those. In South Korea, he is known for Blood of the Old Kings, I Will Go to Earth to See You, and The Knight of La Mancha, the last of which earned him an Excellence Award in SF Awards 2018. He spends most of his time in his downtown Seoul apartment with his wife and two cats.