A Desert Torn Asunder

The final book in The Song of the Shattered Sands series closes the epic fantasy saga in a desert setting, filled with rich worldbuilding and pulse-pounding action. The plans of the desert gods are coming to fruition. Meryam, the deposed queen of Qaimir, hopes to raise the buried elder god, Ashael, an event that would bring ruin to the desert. Çeda and Emre sail for their ancestral home to bring the traitor, Hamid, to justice. To their horror, they discover that the desert tribes have united under Hamid's banner. Their plan? A holy crusade to annihilate Sharakhai, a thing long sought by many in the tribes. In Sharakhai, meanwhile, the blood mage, Davud, examines the strange gateway between worlds, hoping to find a way to close it. And King Ihsan hunts for Meryam, but always finds himself two steps behind. When Meryam raises Ashael, all know the end is near. Ashael means to journey to the land that was denied to him an age ago, no matter the cost to the desert. It now falls to Çeda and her unlikely assortment of allies to find a way to unite not only the desert tribes and the people of Sharakhai, but the city's invaders as well. Even if they do, stopping Ashael will cost them dearly, perhaps more than all are willing to pay.

The Last Days of Old Sharakhai is a Shattered Sands novella set near the end of A Desert Torn Asunder (Book 6 of The Song of the Shattered Sands) and answers the question: What happened to King Ihsan? King Ihsan, once thought invincible, is now a fugitive in the city he once ruled. Struck by the black mould, a deadly wasting disease, Ihsan knows his days of ruling Sharakhai are coming to an end. His goals are simpler now. He’s focused on his daughter Ransaneh and her prospects when he’s gone, and that means forging a lasting peace in the desert. When Ihsan’s grandsons try to convince him to return Sharakhai to its former, authoritarian rule, he’s left with a difficult choice. Siding with his grandsons and the city’s old guard could easily rekindle hostilities and lead to a resumption of the devastating war with the desert tribes, while a refusal would instantly turn him and Ransaneh into targets for revenge. With very few friends left, Ihsan allies himself with Shohreh, a legendary swordswoman who mere months ago would gladly have killed Ihsan with her bare hands. But Shohreh bore witness to the terrible war that just ended. The last thing she wants is a return of the bloodshed. What follows is a game of assassins, political intrigue, and desperate flights as Ihsan tries to stay ahead of his enemies and set Sharakhai on a path toward peace.