A dazzling fantasy debut set in a futuristic city where pain is the currency of magic.

Today isn't Rojan's day. His latest bounty almost killed him three times, his girlfriends all found out about each other and trashed his rooms - and his niece has been kidnapped. Now he's got to use his magic to find her - and there is a good chance it will end up destroying him.

Rojan follows his niece's trail to the Pit, the underbelly of the city. The Pit was evacuated when the Synth-tox wiped out most of the city's residents - and a new city was built over it. But what he wasn't told is that the Pit was never emptied. And Rojan isn't the only one using pain magic. And there is more at stake than the life of one little girl.

“The world building is crazy interesting, the characters are very noir, and the plot was enough to keep me on my toes... I’m very excited to read the second in the series for sure!” – Felicia Day

Published
February 23, 2013

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Rojan Dizon series

The series

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The series is set in the vertigo-inducing fantasy world of Mahala, where the streets are built upwards from the shadow of a steep valley. While the dregs of society lurk in the city’s shadowy depths, the sinister Ministry rules over everyone from the privileged sunlit summit.

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The novels feature the reluctant hero Rojan Dizon, a mage whose power relies on drawing magic from pain – both his own and other people’s. His powers are officially forbidden, but it turns out that he’ll have to use them if this city’s going to survive. And only one thing’s sure: it’s going to hurt.

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