Books with author Rob Ryan

Men hunt him. Magic stalks him. A hero's heart drives him.Lanrik's enemies will stop at nothing to get his legendary sword. He'll do anything to keep them from it - until they poison Erlissa and give him an unthinkable choice.In their hands, the sword will wreak mayhem upon the land. But without the cure they offer in exchange, the girl he loves will die. Cornered, he fights back with a daring plan. It offers hope to save Erlissa, and a chance to prevent chaos, but at a price few would pay.He begins a quest to challenge fate itself, for it will lead him to the tombs of the Letharn - the very place where Erlissa foretold his death.

Four Horsemen shall come, the prophecy warns, and they will trample the world beneath hooves of fire…Gil will be king one day – if his enemies don’t kill him first. To protect himself, he learns what he must. History teaches him to understand people. The warrior arts offer protection against assassins. And the secrets of the mystic armor him against dark spells. He will need it all. His enemies are strong, and they have hated him since before he was born. The blood in his veins makes it so. His great ancestor defeated them in ages past, and he seeks to discover his hidden heritage. But they plot to prevent him learning his destiny.But defeating Gil is not enough. The sorceress Ginsar stretches forth her power. Prophecy forebodes that she will summon the Four Horsemen – creatures of the pit. With them, she could lead vast hordes on a rampaging conquest of other kingdoms. Gil must stop her. Not just for his people, nor other realms. But because summoning dark magic comes at a terrible price. One that could destroy the world…

Ancient evil wakes from eons old sleep, and pits its strength against the world of man…Brand, exiled since his youth from the land he should rightfully rule, returns home. But nothing is as it seems, and the usurper who murdered his parents and sent countless assassins to kill him is not his greatest threat.A magician serves the usurper, and his power is of a kind both deadly and rare. Brand does not know of his existence, but the magician divines his coming and his purpose. He cannot let Brand live, for he is the sort of man who can tumble thrones and challenge fate itself.Brand, intent on righting past wrongs, gathers an army as he journeys. But enemies beset him. Beasts of magic hunt him. And the pale swordsman who is not a man stalks him across the land. Brand enters a world of magic, a time of chaos and a crossroads of destiny. For a dark shadow of evil reaches forth to conquer, and one man will not stop it, nor will one kingdom sate its lust for dominion…

A marauding horde. A famed city. A lone man who stands between them.Can one man defy an army? Only one of the legendary Raithlin would try. But trying is not succeeding - nor even surviving.Lanrik is confident in the time-honored skills of the Raithlin scouts. He tries to slow the army long enough for a warning to reach his home city. But treachery, political intrigue and ties of loyalty test him more than the enemy.He forms a bold plan against overwhelming odds to protect all that he loves. But his choices lead him ever deeper into a life-changing struggle. Dark forces of sorcery and witchcraft are on the move. So too are the powers that contend with them. The conflict draws him into a quest for the safety of the whole land and toward a girl who comes to mean more to him than anything. He enters a world of magic: sometimes beautiful, often perilous and always unpredictable.

Blood magic stirs. Evil lurks in every shadow. And prophecy rushes to fulfillment… Gil, Prince of Cardoroth, must solve a deadly problem. The sorceress Ginsar has invoked forbidden magic and summoned the Four Horsemen, creatures of the pit, to help her conquer the realm. He must break the spell…but he does not know how.Time is running out. The forces of evil gather for a final assault. And should Ginsar defeat him, she will unleash the Horsemen upon a rampage of world-spanning conquest. Prophecy calls Gil Sword of the Blood. He is supposed to protect his people, but he can use neither titles nor prophecy as weapons. However, he learns Ginsar unwittingly drew something else into the world with the Horsemen, and if he discovers its nature he may yet unlock the secret to saving all he loves. But knowledge, like magic, comes at a cost…

War strides across the land, and ancient gods pull the threads of destiny…Brand has passed through sorcery and battle, surviving everything his enemies have sent against him. So far. But each time he discovers an enemy, he finds only another, and a greater, behind them.Now, his enemies number not just Unferth the Usurper nor Horta the Magician, but also ancient gods that once walked the world. And they dream of bending it to their will again.He learns that the Trickster, one of the greatest of the old gods, has set a trap for him. But he can spare little time to think on that, for a more obvious danger is coming. War. And the outcome will decide not just his own destiny but that of the realm. Unless the Trickster kills him first…

From the author of Dead Man’s Land comes a gripping thriller featuring beloved Dr. John Watson who must solve another case. Deep within England’s green and lush countryside, something evil lurks…Dr. John Watson is back home, recovering from his time in the trenches of Flanders Fields. The horrors of war weigh heavy on his mind, and now his task is to help rehabilitate soldiers suffering from the crippling effects of shellshock. But the war is not yet over and in one corner of England lies a secret, one that the establishment is determined to keep under wraps. For in the woodlands of the lush countryside, the government is building the secret weapon which will win the war for Britain. Here, they are developing the never-before-seen tanks which the army is convinced will end the stalemate on the Western Front. But then disaster strikes. After a training exercise in one of the tanks, eight men are mysteriously struck down, seven of them dead. There is just the one survivor, and he’s not talking. It is clear something is horribly wrong, and the army calls in the only man who will know how to solve the mystery: Dr John Watson.

Gorgeous words and stunning illustrations combine in a book for anyone aged 8-80, by internationally renowned papercut artist Rob Ryan. Rob Ryan has collaborated with Paul Smith, Liberty, Fortnum and Mason and Tatty Devine, amongst others.This is a story about a prince. He lived in a palace that seemed to have been specially designed to make someone who already felt small feel even smaller. He rarely saw his parents, who were always busy being the King and Queen; and, unlike other children, the Prince never spent time dreaming about what he would be when he grew up because he knew that when his father died, he would become King. It was his destiny. The only person who treated the Prince like a normal child was the Bootman. Understanding that everyone needs something to call their own, the Bootman gave the Prince a pen with invisible ink and a special torch that allowed him to create a world that only he could see.One night, as the Prince was drawing on the curtains that surrounded his bed, he noticed a small hole and beyond that a trapdoor, which led to the attic. And in the attic he found a window and a way to sneak out of the palace and experience the real world…THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM is about a small boy, a big imagination and learning to be your own person.

The final battle draws near, and the fate of men and gods hangs in the balance…Brand has defeated the army of Unferth, and the usurper lies dead. His magician, Horta, is also humbled. From the ruins of battle, Brand forges alliances and brings warring tribes together toward a single, all-important purpose.But time is running out. Nor does he have soldiers enough to face what comes. For the army of the Kar-ahn-hetep is on the move, and the gods of that warlike people march with it. Dread flies before them, and darkness falls over the land.What must follow is a battle Brand cannot win. But he will fight it anyway. Yet, unknown to him, a desperate hope exists. That spark is held by Horta, his enemy, and the magician might as easily snuff it out as flare it to life. But the will of the Dark God is bent upon the world, and his only thought is to crush Brand forever…This is the final book of the Dark God Rises trilogy.

Against the raging swords of the enemy . . . they sent one man.Brand is the youngest bodyguard ever to protect the king, but he may never get the chance to discover his future. A horde of mankind's ancient enemies lays siege to Cardoroth city. During the day, the clang of blades, the mad shrieks of the foe and the hiss of swift-flighted arrows cuts the air. At night, the sorcerous chanting begins.Brand ignores it all. His duty is to shield one man from death. But fate forces him to leave the king that he swore to guard, the man who is like a father to him, in deadly peril. For the king sends him on a last-chance quest to save the realm.Enemies track him across strange lands. Beasts of foul magic stalk him. A beautiful but deadly girl aids him - for reasons of her own. She reveals that more is at play than the fate of kings and realms. Ancient forces, drenched in long-forgotten blood, seek to plunge the world into the dark. The odds pile against him. But he is Brand, and not for nothing did he earn the king's trust.

The final battle approaches, and the threads of prophecy tighten…Gil has not discovered how to defeat the sorceress who threatens the realm. And time has run out. Ginsar commands not only blood magic, nor just the terrifying Horsemen, but also a vast army – and it is massed mere days away.But Gil’s people will not cower behind walls of stone. No enemy has ever breached the city defenses, but aided by sorcery this one will. So, Gil leads the army on a sudden march to take the fight to Ginsar before she is ready. It is a desperate gamble, and one that could turn to ruin and despair. Strategies come to fruition, ploys unfold and traps are set. Prophecies for the future vie with secrets hidden in the past. It is a time of turmoil, a time of chaos, and a time where gambles could triumph – or destroy worlds. Gil is at its heart, ready to be king, but perhaps fated to see all that he loves burned to ash and smoke… This is the final book of the Son of Sorcery trilogy.

Gorgeous words and stunning illustrations combine in a beautiful tale, the first in a trilogy, by the Prince of Papercuts, Rob Ryan This is a story about a prince. He lived in a palace that seemed to have been specially designed to make someone who already felt small feel even smaller. He rarely saw his parents, who were always busy being the King and Queen; and, unlike other children, the Prince never spent time dreaming about what he would be when he grew up because he knew that when his father died, he would become King. It was his destiny. The only person who treated the Prince like a normal child was the Bootman. Understanding that everyone needs something to call their own, the Bootman gave the Prince a pen with invisible ink and a special torch that allowed him to create a world that only he could see. One night, as the Prince was drawing on the curtains that surrounded his bed, he noticed a small hole and beyond that a trapdoor, which led to the attic. And in the attic he found a window and a way to sneak out of the palace and experience the real world. This is a story about a small boy, a big imagination, and learning to be your own person.