The Last Seal

17th century London – two rival secret societies are caught in a battle that threatens to destroy the city and beyond. When a truant schoolboy, Ben, finds a scroll revealing the location of magical seals that binds a powerful demon beneath the city, he is thrown into the centre of a dangerous plot that leads to the Great Fire of 1666.

The Last Seal by Richard Denning: a Historical Fantasy Novel.

September 1666: a struggle between two secret societies threatens to destroy London. Three hundred years previously the Praesidum defeated and incarcerated a demon beneath the city. Now the Liberati aim to release it and gain its power for themselves. Meanwhile agents of the King are seeking four suspected foreign spies who are, in reality, disparate and unlikely heroes: GABRIEL, the sole remaining member of the Praesidum, crippled by his fear of failure; FREYA, a young thief orphaned by the Great Plague, driven by poverty and self-interest; TOBIAS, a cynical physician, obsessed by his desire for vengeance against the Liberati cavalier who killed his father, and finally and most vitally, BEN, a Westminster schoolboy, whose guilt over his parents’ death threatens to destroy him. Thrown together by chance when Ben finds an ancient scroll revealing the location of arcane seals that bind the demon beneath London, the story launches into a battle between the Liberati and Praesidium, a battle which takes place within the Great Fire of London. These four must overcome their personal problems and work together if they are to foil the plans of the Liberati, protect the city and gain the means to defeat the demon.

Reviews:

“A diamond of a compulsive read.” – Helen Hollick, Author of Sea Witch

“At times, I literally couldn’t put the book down and was hooked to finding out what happened next. I was extremely impressed by your ability to keep the reader engaged with the action throughout.” – Stephanie Williams, editor, Rebel Books

“The historical elements really shine and kept me interested, as did the atmosphere of a burning London and all the darkness and bleakness surrounding the terrifying Dantalion... The tension and suspense in the latter part of the book were terrific.. at several points I had butterflies in my stomach.” – Leigh Ferrani, author, Oxford Literary Consultancy