Mark ChadbournWorlds End
Pbk published September 2000 by Millenium at £6.99
ISBN: 1-85798-980-5
Book One of the Age of Misrule
The ages-old prophecy said: 'In Britain’s darkest hour, a hero shall arise…
When Jack Churchill and Ruth Gallagher encounter a terrifying, misshapen giant beneath a London bridge they are plunged into a mystery which threatens the end of the world as we know it. All over the country, the ancient gods of Celtic myth are returning to the land from which they were banished millennia ago. Following in their footsteps are creatures of folklore: the Fabulous Beasts, wonders and dark terrors - there are dragons buzzing jet planes and shapeshifters on industrial estates, but their existence threatens the very fabric of the modern world. For the first time in many years, the lonely places and the high places of the once-peaceful countryside have become a no-man's land.
As technology starts to fail, Church and Ruth are forced to embark on a desperate quest for four magickal items from the barely remembered days when the myths first walked the world the last chance for humanity in the face of powers barely comprehended. Three other companions join Church and Ruth on their arduous journey to Britain's most mysterious ancient sites, but these are not the heroes of old: some of the biggest obstacles they must overcome spring from their own human nature: jealousy, mistrust and deceit.
With time drawing short and the modern world falling into twilight, can the five terribly flawed companions find it within themselves to be heroes - or will humanity be swept aside in the dawning of a dark new age?
World's End draws on Celtic myth, Arthurian legend and British folklore to tell an epic fantasy of wonder, terror, awe and magick. ‘Appealingly different’ Locus
‘Buy it. Read it. You won’t be sorry. In fact, you’ll be anxiously waiting for Part Two, Darkest Hour…’ The British Fantasy Society
‘Chadbourn edges up the tension notch by notch in this absorbing and spooky tale, ending (since this is a first volume) on a cliff-hanger. Hugely enjoyable. I can’t wait for Book Two!’ Starburst About The Author Born in 1960, Mark Chadbourn was raised in the mining communities of South Derbyshire. After studying Economic History at Leeds University, he became a journalist, covering riots, murders and natural disasters in the provinces, before moving to London where his bylines appeared in most of the national newspapers. As an investigative journalist, he was shot at in the desert in California, set on fire with NATO troops in the Arctic and attacked by gangsters in Brighton. Following a brief spell working for an American magazine in Los Angeles, he became Music Editor and Senior Feature Writer at the now-defunct Today newspaper. He turned freelance in 1992 to write for a range of national newspapers and magazines, and to work as a journalist for BBC TV.
Away from journalism, Chadbourn has laboured as a fitter's mate at a power station, toilet cleaner and a Marmite production line worker, as well as running the independent record company Faith, and managing bands, including one top five chart act.
His writing career began in 1990 when his first published short story won the Best New Author award in Fear magazine. His first novel, Underground, was followed by Nocturne, which was nominated for Best Novel in the prestigious British Fantasy Society Awards, The Eternal and Scissorman, all published by Gollancz, and the non-fiction study of the paranormal, Testimony.
Titles by Mark Chadbourn at Amazon.co.uk
Mark ChadbournDarkest Hour
Pbk published October 2000 by Gollancz at £9.99
ISBN: 0-57506-903-1
Book One of the Age of Misrule
The ancient gods of Celtic mythology have returned and technology has become redundant. It is myth and magic that now reign supreme in the new Dark Age ... this Age of Misrule.
The Eternal Conflict between the Light and Dark once again blackens the skies and blights the land. On one side stand the Tuatha De Danann, golden-skinned and beautiful, filled with all the might of angels. On the other are the Fomorii, monstrous devils hell-bent on destroying all human existence.
And in the middle are five flawed individuals, determined to use the strange power that binds them to the land in a last, desperate attempt to save the human race.
Church, Ruth, Ryan, Laura and Shavi have joined forces with Tom, a hero from the mists of time, to wage a guerrilla war against the iron rule of the gods. But they didn't count on things going from bad to worse ...
For the Fomorii are plotting to resurrect the Heart of Shadows, also known as Balor, the one-eyed god of death believed destroyed when they first walked the world an aeon ago. And if this ultimate Evil casts its grim shadow across the country once more, it really will mean the end of everything ... ‘Things get fun - and surreal ... Appealingly different’ Locus
‘A very fine, intensely suspenseful dark fantasy’ Science Fiction Chronicle About The Author Born in 1960, Mark Chadbourn was raised in the mining communities of South Derbyshire. After studying Economic History at Leeds University, he became a journalist, covering riots, murders and natural disasters in the provinces, before moving to London where his bylines appeared in most of the national newspapers. As an investigative journalist, he was shot at in the desert in California, set on fire with NATO troops in the Arctic and attacked by gangsters in Brighton. Following a brief spell working for an American magazine in Los Angeles, he became Music Editor and Senior Feature Writer at the now-defunct Today newspaper. He turned freelance in 1992 to write for a range of national newspapers and magazines, and to work as a journalist for BBC TV.
Away from journalism, Chadbourn has laboured as a fitter's mate at a power station, toilet cleaner and a Marmite production line worker, as well as running the independent record company Faith, and managing bands, including one top five chart act.
His writing career began in 1990 when his first published short story won the Best New Author award in Fear magazine. His first novel, Underground, was followed by Nocturne, which was nominated for Best Novel in the prestigious British Fantasy Society Awards, The Eternal and Scissorman, all published by Gollancz, and the non-fiction study of the paranormal, Testimony.
Titles by Mark Chadbourn at Amazon.co.uk
Mark Chadbourn
Worlds End
