Book of Orm

Praise for A J Dalton’s writing

• SFX: ‘An interesting setting and a devilishly good villain’
• SciFi Now magazine: ‘Engaging, filled with sacrifice, adventure and some very bloody battles!’
• Waterstones central buyer: ‘The best young British fantasy author on the circuit at the moment’
• Sfbook.com: ‘Different, fresh and unique’

The Book of Orm was published by Kristell Ink in April 2015. It’s available through the normal channels – Waterstones stores, Amazon (where it has top-notch reviews), etc.

The Book of Orm is a collection of six of my short fantasy stories (although two of them are technically novellas), plus a story each from Nadine West (Bridport Anthology) and Matthew White (prize-winning scriptwriter). The collection is dedicated to the memory of David Gemmell, and definitely has a heroic fantasy feel (albeit mixed with my usual metaphysical vibe).

The collection is inspired by Scandanavian mythology, so includes trolls, nisse, Vikings, water-spirits, a dragon, and so on. It was very satisfying to write, and there is some of the best stuff I’ve ever done there. Monsters, magic, myth and mayhem! Here’s an excerpt from the longest of the stories included, Warrior of Ages:

Raggar refused to tire or submit. With savage energy he sought to lay ahold of the god and strangle him. For the briefest of moments it seemed he would find a grip or sink his bared teeth into the deity’s throat. His strength was prodigious. Yet it was in that fatal moment that the god slipped him and threw him down. The deity stamped on the ancient warrior’s back, attempting to snap his spine.

And the cover was done by my long-suffering artist Oliver Flude, the chappie who also did the covers for The Flesh & Bone Trilogy, bless his hessian socks (www.oliverflude.com).