576 pp
ISBN: 978-1-59102-694-5
Trade Paperback (6" x 9")
$15
November 2008
Cover Illustration: ©2004 Greg Bridges

Paperback Available November 2008
For hardcover edition click here.

In a remote city on the edge of two worlds, where blood has power and water is more precious than freedom, three far-flung friends unite on a quest to save their families. Sal Hrvati’s estranged father has brought more into the world than the woman he loved. Instead of saving her from the Void Beneath, he has summoned an unknown creature — a creature with a mission of its own and a past that stretches back to the beginning of the world. The quest to find both of them entangles Sal and his companions in a hunt for magical treasure on the floor of the Divide, a mighty crack in the earth inhabited by creatures that are not remotely human. Desert landscapes and dirigibles feature in a fast-paced fantasy that combines romance, adventure, and humor with an original take on magic.

The Books of the Cataclysm take inspiration from many arcane and mythological sources. In positing that this world is just one of many “realms,” three of which are inhabited by humans during various stages of their lives, it begins in the present world but soon propels the reader to a landscape that is simultaneously familiar and fantastic.

Reviews:

“[A] uniquely satisfying work....The Blood Debt is truly unique in that it is a ‘middle’ book of a multi-volume saga but also works very well as an ‘entry’ book to a multi-volume saga. Between the characters, the strange creatures, and the landscape, Sean Williams gives readers something fresh and mildly familiar in Epic Fantasy with his Books of the Cataclysm.” -SFFWorld.com

“Sean Williams has produced that rarest of gems, a fantasy book that really feels like you're visiting a new world, rather than a rehashed version of somebody else's milieu. The easy style and likeable banter between protagonists makes the book an enjoyable read and the plot keeps you wanting to come back for more. Expect to buy all four if you get the first!” - SFCrowsnest

"The detail of Williams's imagined world and his characters' concern with the moral consequences of their actions compel interest." - Publishers Weekly

"Set partly in the modern world and partly in a fantasy environment drawn from archetypal myths and legends, this epic belongs in most fantasy collections." -Library Journal

“Fans of Book 1 of Sean Williams' 'Cataclysm' series will have to have Book 2....Williams has a passion for building fantastic landscapes and riveting action, and The Blood Debt is a top pick for prior fans who will enjoy smooth, easy transition into this ongoing adventure.”

About
the
Author:

Sean Williams

Sean Williams is the author of numerous works for adults, young adults, and children, covering new space opera, science fiction thrillers, fantasy, and horror. He has also written for Star Wars and Doctor Who, two franchises he has loved since a child. A winner of the Writers of the Future Contest, recipient of the “SA Great” Literature Award, and a New York Times best seller, he lives with his wife and family in Adelaide, South Australia. You can visit his website at www.seanwilliams.com.

Also by Sean Williams: The Crooked Letter (Books of the Cataclysm: One), The Hanging Mountains(Books of the Cataclysm: Three), and The Resurrected Man.

Photograph: © Beth Gwinn