Egil & Nix Series

The hard-fighting, harder-drinking fortune hunters of The Hammer and the Blade and A Discourse in Steel are back to test their mettle and tempt fickle fate.

Fantasy fiction has long welcomed adventurous rogues: Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, George R. R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg, and Scott Lynch’s Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen have all made their mark. In his Egil & Nix series, New York Times bestselling author Paul S. Kemp introduces a daring new duo to the ranks of fantasy fame—or is it infamy?

Nix is a nimble thief with just enough knowledge of magic to get into serious trouble. Egil is the only priest of a discredited god. Together, they seek riches and renown, but somehow it is always misadventure and mayhem that find them—even in the dive bar they call home. And their luck has yet to change.

All Nix wants to do is cheer Egil up after a bout of heartbreak. And, of course, strike it so rich that they need never worry about their combined bar bill. But when the light-fingered scoundrel plunders a tomb and snatches mysterious golden plates covered in runes, the treasure brings terrifying trouble. Pursued by an abomination full of ravenous hunger and unquenchable wrath, Egil and Nix find all they hold dear—including their beloved tavern—in dire peril. To say nothing of the world itself.

Praise for A Conversation in Blood

“An adventure perfect for fantasy fans and action-movie lovers. It will take readers on a wild ride with heart-pounding fights, harebrained schemes, and several laugh-out-loud moments.”—Booklist

“If you enjoy storytelling with the content sensibilities of Game of Thrones, then imagine George R. R. Martin forced to write while strapped to the front of a War Boys’ car going 100 mph, pumped full of Jolt Cola and Pixy Sticks with Metallica blaring from the speakers and you approximate the full Egil & Nix experience that [Paul S.] Kemp delivers.”—Rebels Report

For fans of Brent Weeks, Joe Abercrombie, Peter V. Brett, and Scott Lynch comes a fast-paced, hilarious new sword-and-sorcery series featuring two wise-cracking protagonists straight out of the golden age of epic fantasy.Once the most daring—some would say reckless—grave robbers around, Egil and Nix are now retired, having opened their own tavern with a side business as a brothel. The warrior-priest and the dashing rogue are done with adventuring. But is adventuring done with them? When two beautiful sisters run afoul of the notorious Thieves’ Guild, the semi-respectable entrepreneurs are called upon to defend their honor. And if they find an opportunity to enrich themselves along the way, no one could blame them.Soon they’re going toe-to-toe and hammer-to-skull with some of the deadliest cutthroats in town. There’s just one catch: The quest to settle this vendetta once and for all leads straight into the Blackalley, a ghostly byway that appears at random to suck unsuspecting passersby into its voracious maw. Only a fool or a madman would enter willingly. Luckily for Egil and Nix, they might just be both.Praise for the Egil and Nix novels“[Paul S.] Kemp delivers sword and sorcery at its rollicking best, after the fashion of Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.”—Library Journal“Egil and Nix might not be the safest guys to go adventuring with, but they’re sure good company.”—Ed Greenwood, bestselling creator of Forgotten Realms“Did I mention how much fun Egil and Nix are? So. Much. Damn. Fun.”—Tordotcom

For readers of Brent Weeks, Joe Abercrombie, Peter V. Brett, and Scott Lynch comes the first book in a fantastic, hilarious new sword-and-sorcery series that puts a clever new twist on the golden age of epic fantasy.Robbing tombs for fun and profit might not be a stable career, but Egil and Nix aren’t in it for the long-term prospects. Egil is the hammer-wielding warrior-priest of a discredited god. Nix is a roguish thief with just enough knowledge of magic to conjure up trouble. Together, they seek riches and renown, yet often find themselves enlisted in lost causes—generally against their will.So why should their big score be any different? The trouble starts when Nix and Egil kill the demonic guardian of a long-lost crypt, nullifying an ancient pact made by the ancestors of an obscenely powerful wizard. Now the wizard will stop at nothing to keep that power from slipping away, even if it means freeing a rapacious beast from its centuries-old prison. And who better than Egil and Nix—the ones responsible for his current predicament—to perform this thankless task?Praise for The Hammer and the Blade and Paul S. Kemp“A gripping tale [with] the feeling of a classic Dungeons & Dragons campaign.”—Publishers Weekly“Most heroes work up to killing demons. Egil and Nix start there and pick up the pace.”—Elaine Cunningham, author of the Thorn Trilogy“Kemp delivers sword and sorcery at its rollicking best, after the fashion of Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.”—Library Journal