The Steel Remains

A dark lord will rise. Such is the prophecy that dogs Ringil Eskiath—Gil, for short—a washed-up mercenary and onetime war hero whose cynicism is surpassed only by the speed of his sword. Gil is estranged from his aristocratic family, but when his mother enlists his help in freeing a cousin sold into slavery, Gil sets out to track her down. But it soon becomes apparent that more is at stake than the fate of one young woman. Grim sorceries are awakening in the land. Some speak in whispers of the return of the Aldrain, a race of widely feared, cruel yet beautiful demons. Now Gil and two old comrades are all that stand in the way of a prophecy whose fulfillment will drown an entire world in blood. But with heroes like these, the cure is likely to be worse than the disease.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Kirkus Reviews • Fantasy Book Critic “Pulpy and hard-core, but with a heart of gold.”—io9 The otherworldly Kiriath once used their advanced technology to save the world from the dark magic of the Aldrain, only to depart as mysteriously as they arrived. Now one of the Kiriath’s uncanny machines has fallen from orbit, with a message that humanity once more faces a grave danger: the Ilwrack Changeling, a boy raised to manhood in the ghostly realm of the Gray Places. Wrapped in sorcerous slumber on an island that drifts between this world and the Gray Places, the Ilwrack Changeling is stirring. When he wakes, the Aldrain will rally to him and return in force. But with the Kiriath long gone, humankind’s fate now depends on warrior Ringil Eskiath and his few, trusted allies. Undertaking a perilous journey to strike first against the Ilwrack Changeling, each of them seeks to outrun a haunted past and find redemption in the future. But redemption won’t come cheap. Nor, for that matter, will survival.

“Bold, brutal, and making no compromises—Morgan doesn’t so much twist the clichés of fantasy as take an axe to them.”—Joe Abercrombie A dark lord will rise. Such is the prophecy that dogs Ringil Eskiath—Gil, for short—a washed-up mercenary and onetime war hero whose cynicism is surpassed only by the speed of his sword. Gil is estranged from his aristocratic family, but when his mother enlists his help in freeing a cousin sold into slavery, Gil sets out to track her down. But it soon becomes apparent that more is at stake than the fate of one young woman. Grim sorceries are awakening in the land. Some speak in whispers of the return of the Aldrain, a race of widely feared, cruel yet beautiful demons. Now Gil and two old comrades are all that stand in the way of a prophecy whose fulfillment will drown an entire world in blood. But with heroes like these, the cure is likely to be worse than the disease. Praise for The Steel Remains “The award-winning author of Altered Carbon and Market Forces brings the same iconoclastic approach to his fantasy debut as he did to his sf technothrillers. . . . [Richard K.] Morgan’s storytelling talent and his atmospheric, hard-hitting prose make this a strong addition to mature fantasy collections.”—Library Journal “Spellbinding . . . There’s so much to like about the adventure.”—The Star-Ledger “Morgan has taken traditional sword and sorcery tropes and given them a hard, contemporary kick. The antithesis of the cosy fairytale, this one is for big boys.”—The Times (London) “[A] dark, gritty tale . . . The well-developed characters and realistic battle scenes ring true.”—Publishers Weekly

"This book provides an insight into the mechanical behaviour and testing of metals, polymers, ceramics and composites, which are widely employed for structural applications under varying loads, temperatures and environments. Organized in 13 chapters, this book begins with explaining the fundamentals of materials, their basic building units, atomic bonding and crystal structure, further describing the role of imperfections on the behaviour of metals and alloys. The book then explains dislocation theory in a simplified yet analytical manner. The destructive and non-destructive testing methods are discussed, and the interpreted test data are then examined critically."--Publisher's description.

High strength fibre composites (FRPs) have been used with civil structures since the 1980s, mostly in the repair, strengthening and retrofitting of concrete structures. This has attracted considerable research, and the industry has expanded exponentially in the last decade. Design guidelines have been developed by professional organizations in a number of countries including USA, Japan, Europe and China, but until now designers have had no publication which provides practical guidance or accessible coverage of the fundamentals. This book fills this void. It deals with the fundamentals of composites, and basic design principles, and provides step-by-step guidelines for design. Its main theme is the repair and retrofit of un-reinforced, reinforced and prestressed concrete structures using carbon, glass and other high strength fibre composites. In the case of beams, the focus is on their strengthening for flexure and shear or their stiffening. The main interest with columns is the improvement of their ductility; and both strengthening and ductility improvement of un-reinforced structures are covered. Methods for evaluating the strengthened structures are presented. Step by step procedures are set out, including flow charts, for the various structural components, and design examples and practice problems are used to illustrate. As infrastructure ages worldwide, and its demolition and replacement becomes less of an option, the need for repair and retrofit of existing facilities will increase. Besides its audience of design professionals, this book suits graduate and advanced undergraduate students.