I have read Beaulieu's debut a couple of years ago, The Winds of Khalakovo, a novel I liked well enough. I picked up the follow-up but was probably not in the right mood and returned it to the reading pile for later. And now, a new interesting series, the Song of the Shattered Sands, will begin on September 1st with Twelve Kings (also known as Twelve Kings in Sharakhai). Gollancz released the beautiful UK cover for the book and here's the blurb:
Sharakhai, the great city of the desert, center of commerce and culture, has been ruled from time immemorial by twelve kings—cruel, ruthless, powerful, and immortal. With their army of Silver Spears, their elite company of Blade Maidens, and their holy defenders, the terrifying asirim, the Kings uphold their positions as undisputed, invincible lords of the desert. There is no hope of freedom for any under their rule.
Or so it seems, until Çeda, a brave young woman from the west end slums, defies the Kings’ laws by going outside on the holy night of Beht Zha’ir. What she learns that night sets her on a path that winds through both the terrible truths of the Kings’ mysterious history and the hidden riddles of her own heritage. Together, these secrets could finally break the iron grip of the Kings’ power...if the nigh-omnipotent Kings don’t find her first.
