The Skewed Throne

After the White Fire had swept over Amenkor five years ago, the city has fallen into ruin and its only hope is Varis, a "Seer" who, trained as an assassin and in the art of survival, must go up against the Mistress of the Skewed Throne by journeying into the heart of Amenkor to meet her destiny--or her death.

The Skewed Throne (Throne of Amenkor)

Literature & Fiction

Palmatier, Joshua

United States

DAW Hardcover

The first book in the gripping and gritty fantasy Throne of Amenkor trilogy, the story of an unlikely heroine in a city devastated and altered by the mysterious White Fire Amenkor, city of legend―at its height, Amenkor was a center of wealth and culture. But a millennium ago, the city was caught in the White Fire, a force that swept across the land spreading madness, drought, famine, and disease in it wake. Now the Dredge―the bustling market street that snaked between the slums and the prosperous center of the city―marked the dividing line between plenty and poverty, safety and peril. Left a homeless orphan as a very young child, Varis learned to survive in the Dredge. And when the White Fire blasted through Amenkor for the second time, Varis―along with the entire city―was trapped in the overwhelming blaze of power. Though the current Mistress continued to reign from the Skewed Throne, Amenkor's decline escalated after the second Fire. For Varis, though, the chance to escape her hopeless existence unexpectedly presented itself when a guardsman of the Skewed Throne named Erick―one of the elite assassins known as Seekers―enlisted her to work for him. Because she had a gift for "Seeing" the true nature of people, Varis soon realized something was wrong, that some of those marked for death were not guilty. But how could the Mistress be mistaken? Trust in the all-knowing, all-seeing justice and wisdom of their ruler was the foundation of Amenkor's society. Then, one fateful day, Varis claimed a life that took her beyond the law. Suddenly, there is nowhere safe for her in the Dredge. There is only one place left to flee to―into the heart of Amenkor itself.

When the mysterious White Fire sweeps through Amenkor for the second time in a millennium, Eryn, Mistress of the Skewed Throne, is submerged in a world of madness, plunging the city into devastation, and Varis, an assassin, is forced to take over the throne and save the people of Amenkor.

The Cracked Throne

The second book in the gripping and gritty fantasy Throne of Amenkor trilogy, the story of an unlikely heroine in a city devastated and altered by the mysterious White Fire Varis learned to survive as a very young child in the slums of Amenkor. And when the mysterious White Fire swept through the city for the second time in a millennium, bringing madness, drought, famine, and disease to the land, Varis survived that as well. But she was changed by the Fire's spell, and she was not the only person marked by the White Fire. Eryn, Mistress of the Skewed Throne, still reigned over the city after the Fire's passing. Yet from that moment, Amenkor began a steady decline, and Eryn herself seemed to hover on the edge of madness. As Amenkor deteriorated, Varis came to the attention of some of the most powerful people in the city, people who could see her unique potential. And she found herself transformed from gutterscum to unofficial Seeker to bodyguard to assassin. Yet none of her skills could save her from a destiny she never wanted. Varis became the new Mistress of the Skewed Throne. Untrained, unprepared, not certain who she could trust, Varis took the Throne at the most perilous point in Amenkor's history. The city was on the brink of starvation, and the trading ships sent out to bring back supplies had disappeared without a trace. And both Varis and Eryn were obsessed with a vision they alone had shared―Amenkor invaded by an unknown enemy, the harbor watchtowers destroyed, wrecked ships sinking in waters stained red with blood, the city itself engulfed in flames....

Paying a dreadful price in the loss of both lives and property to survive a devastating invasion, the city of Amenkor is desperate to recover the power of the throne of Amenkor, which has been totally drained of its magic, life force, knowledge, and memories, and turns for help to its sometime ally, the city of Venitte, home to a throne that is twin in power. By the author of The Cracked Throne.

The Vacant Throne

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Fantasy

The final book in the gripping and gritty fantasy Throne of Amenkor trilogy, the story of an unlikely heroine in a city devastated and altered by the mysterious White Fire The city of Amenkor has stood for well over a thousand years as a premier trading center. Ruled by the Mistress of the Skewed Throne, Amenkor has weathered attacks by invaders and the madness, drought, famine, and disease brought by the mysterious White Fire. But now―betrayed from within and barely surviving a devastating attack by the mysterious Chorl―Amenkor reels on the brink of ruin. In Amenkor's time of greatest need, Varis―raised in the slums of the city, and trained not only to survive but to kill at need―has unwillingly become the ruler of the city―the new Mistress of the Skewed Throne. Untrained, unprepared, and not certain who she can trust, Varis takes the Throne at one of the most perilous points in Amenkor's long history, and is forced to draw on all of Amenkor's limited resources, both ordinary and magical, when the Chorl invade. And perhaps the price Varis pays is too high, as the very heart and soul of Amenkor's power―the Skewed Throne―is destroyed during the final desperate confrontation with the invaders. Now, with the threat of the Chorl's return still hanging over them, Varis has no choice but to turn to Amenkor's sometime ally, the city of Venitte, home to the only other throne that is a repository of magical power. Yet Varis and the people of Amenkor are not the only ones looking toward Venitte. The Chorl invaders are on the march, and whether Venitte will fare any better against the Chorl than Amenkor remains to be seen.

Genre Fiction

First book in Joshua Palmatier's new epic fantasy trilogy, set in a sprawling city of light and magic fueled by a ley line network. Erenthrall—sprawling city of light and magic, whose streets are packed with traders from a dozen lands and whose buildings and towers are grown and shaped in the space of a day. At the heart of the city is the Nexus, the hub of a magical ley line system that powers Erenthrall. This ley line also links the city and the Baronial plains to rest of the continent and the world beyond. The Prime Wielders control the Nexus with secrecy and lies, but it is the Baron who controls the Wielders. The Baron also controls the rest of the Baronies through a web of brutal intimidation enforced by his bloodthirsty guardsmen and unnatural assassins. When the rebel Kormanley seek to destroy the ley system and the Baron’s chokehold, two people find themselves caught in the chaos that sweeps through Erenthrall and threatens the entire world: Kara Tremain, a young Wielder coming into her power, who discovers the forbidden truth behind the magic that powers the ley lines; and Alan Garrett, a recruit in the Baron’s guard, who learns that the city holds more mysteries and more danger than he could possibly have imagined . . . and who holds a secret within himself that could mean Erenthrall’s destruction -- or its salvation.

Shattering the Ley

First book in Joshua Palmatier's new epic fantasy trilogy, set in a sprawling city of light and magic fueled by a ley line network. Erenthrall—sprawling city of light and magic, whose streets are packed with traders from a dozen lands and whose buildings and towers are grown and shaped in the space of a day. At the heart of the city is the Nexus, the hub of a magical ley line system that powers Erenthrall. This ley line also links the city and the Baronial plains to rest of the continent and the world beyond. The Prime Wielders control the Nexus with secrecy and lies, but it is the Baron who controls the Wielders. The Baron also controls the rest of the Baronies through a web of brutal intimidation enforced by his bloodthirsty guardsmen and unnatural assassins. When the rebel Kormanley seek to destroy the ley system and the Baron’s chokehold, two people find themselves caught in the chaos that sweeps through Erenthrall and threatens the entire world: Kara Tremain, a young Wielder coming into her power, who discovers the forbidden truth behind the magic that powers the ley lines; and Alan Garrett, a recruit in the Baron’s guard, who learns that the city holds more mysteries and more danger than he could possibly have imagined . . . and who holds a secret within himself that could mean Erenthrall’s destruction -- or its salvation.

Second book in Joshua Palmatier's epic fantasy trilogy, set in a sprawling city of light and magic fueled by a ley line network. The Nexus—the hub created by the Prime Wielders to harness the magical power of the ley lines for the city of Erenthrall, the Baronial Plains, and the world beyond—has Shattered, the resultant pulse cascading through the system and leaving Erenthrall decimated, partially encased in a massive distortion. The world has fared no better: auroral storms plague the land, transforming people into creatures beyond nightmare; silver-white lights hover over all of the major cities, the harbinger of distortions that could quicken at any moment; and quakes brought on by the unstable ley network threaten to tear the earth apart. The survivors of this apocalypse have banded together in desperate groups, both in the remains of Erenthrall and in small enclaves beyond the city, scrounging for food and resources in an ever more dangerous world. Having survived the initial Shattering, Wielder Kara Tremain and ex-Dog Allan Garrett have led their small group of refugees to the Hollow, a safe haven in the hills on the edge of the plains. But the ley system is not healing itself. Their only option is to repair the distortion that engulfs Erenthrall and to fix the damaged ley lines themselves. To do that, they’ll have to enter a city controlled by vicious bands of humans and non-humans alike, intent on keeping what little they’ve managed to scavenge together. But as soon as they enter the streets of Erenthrall, they find themselves caught up in the maelstrom of violence, deception, and betrayal that the city has descended into—including the emergence of a mysterious and powerful cult calling themselves the White Cloaks, whose leader is known as Father.... He is the same man who once led the terrorist group called the Kormanley and brought about the Shattering that destroyed the world!

Threading the Needle

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Palmatier, Joshua. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Palmatier, Joshua

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Palmatier, Joshua. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Skewed Throne (Throne of Amenkor)

The Skewed Throne

The Cracked Throne

The Cracked Throne

The Vacant Throne

The Vacant Throne

Shattering the Ley

Shattering the Ley

Threading the Needle

Threading the Needle