Winner of the World Fantasy Award 2019, Best Collection. <br> <br> For fans of Ken Liu and Gene Wolfe. <p><b>Khaim, the last city of a once-great empire, clings to life.</b></p> <p>This is a world <b>poisoned by its addiction to magic</b>. Every time a spell is cast, toxic bramble sprouts, bursting forth from tilled fields, thrusting up from between cobblestones. A bit of magic, and bramble follows <b>until whole cities are consumed by tangling vines</b>. Armies hack and burn... yet in a world that can't give up magic's sweet succour, <b>the bramble can't be stopped</b>.</p> <p>When Jeoz the alchemist discovers a potent new weapon to wield against the bramble, his invention promises <b>Khaim freedom from fear and starvation</b>. But these are twisted times and the bramble is <b>not the only corruption that blights the land</b>.</p> <p><b>'Pulses with the siren call of power, the throb of remorse and dreams of redemption' <i>Daily Mail</i>.</b></p> <p><b>'Exploring themes of power, corruption, greed and thwarted hope, the authors deliver an absorbing and sensitive fantasy' <i>Guardian</i>.</b></p>