Edward Cox‘s critically-acclaimed debut, THE RELIC GUILD, is out tomorrow in paperback. Published by Gollancz in the UK, it is the first in an epic fantasy series. Here’s the synopsis…

In the sealed Labyrinth, a young woman must find a way to control her magic and escape her prison in this remarkable debut fantasy.

Magic caused the war. Magic is forbidden. Magic will save us.

It was said the Labyrinth had once been the great meeting place, a sprawling city at the heart of an endless maze where a million humans hosted the Houses of the Aelfir. The Aelfir who had brought trade and riches, and a future full of promise. But when the Thaumaturgists, overlords of human and Aelfir alike, went to war, everything was ruined and the Labyrinth became an abandoned forbidden zone, where humans were trapped behind boundary walls 100 feet high.

Now the Aelfir are a distant memory and the Thaumaturgists have faded into myth. Young Clara struggles to survive in a dangerous and dysfunctional city, where eyes are keen, nights are long, and the use of magic is punishable by death. She hides in the shadows, fearful that someone will discover she is touched by magic. She knows her days are numbered. But when a strange man named Fabian Moor returns to the Labyrinth, Clara learns that magic serves a higher purpose and that some myths are much more deadly in the flesh.

The only people Clara can trust are the Relic Guild, a secret band of magickers sworn to protect the Labyrinth. But the Relic Guild are now too few. To truly defeat their old nemesis Moor, mightier help will be required. To save the Labyrinth — and the lives of one million humans — Clara and the Relic Guild must find a way to contact the worlds beyond their walls.

And here is just a sample of the great reviews the novel has already received…

‘A terrific debut novel, with plenty of scope for expansion and some really good world-building. Most importantly, lots of fun. Looking forward to the next one.’ — Joanne Harris

‘THE RELIC GUILD is an intriguing, original and enjoyable book, a daring mix of genres…’ — Starburst

‘Part science fantasy, part steampunk thriller, part horror novel… THE RELIC GUILD reads in places like a vividly-described high fantasy merged with Victorian penny dreadful… Cox has written a mighty fine first novel… I was hooked and enjoyed the world that Cox has created and the characters that inhabit it, and look forward to stepping into “the darkness that leads somewhere else” and see what happens on the other side in book two.’ — Interzone

The sequel, THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS, is due to be published by Gollancz on October 15th, 2015. Recently, Ed was interviewed for the Gazette…