<p><b>In K. J. Parker's new whip-smart dark fantasy, a group of scholars must do the impossible for a ruthless king. The cost of refusal, of course, is death.</b><br><br><i>History isn't truth, it's propaganda.</i><br><br>Seeking war with his neighbor, the tyrannical ruler of Aelia convenes several of his kingdom's professors for a chat. First Citizen Gyges only just invaded Aelia a few years back and, naturally, his public image can’t take the hit of another unjustified assault.<br><br>His totally sane solution? Simple, really. These scholars must construct a fake ancient city from scratch to verify Gyges’s apocryphal claims.<br><br>Now these academics must put their heads together to make history. Because if they don't, they'll lose their heads <i>altogether</i>.<br><br>At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.</p>