A01=K. J. Parker
Author_K. J. Parker
Category=FMT
creative
dictator
eq_bestseller
eq_fantasy
eq_fiction
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
fake news
fascism
fast paced
fastpaced
first-person
funny
high society
historical
lies
professor
quick
renaissance
romp
royalty
sarcastic
sardonic
sharp
smart
tyrant
war
Product details
- ISBN 9781250835789
- Weight: 102g
- Dimensions: 126 x 203mm
- Publication Date: 26 Feb 2026
- Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
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.
History isn't truth, it's propaganda.
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.
His totally sane solution? Simple, really. These scholars must construct a fake ancient city from scratch to verify Gyges’s apocryphal claims.
Now these academics must put their heads together to make history. Because if they don't, they'll lose their heads altogether.
Having worked in journalism, numismatics and the law, K. J. Parker now writes for a precarious living. He is the author of Devices and Desires, Evil for Evil, The Devil You Know, and other novels, and has won the World Fantasy Award twice. Parker also writes under the name Tom Holt.
