Fans of Philip Pullman, Jonathan Stroud, and George R.R. Martin are going to love this action-filled fantasy novel by an exciting and extremely promotable debut voice in the genre.
In the world of fifteen-year-old Raim, you tie a knot for every promise you make. Break that promise and the knot will burst into flames, scarring your skin and forever marking you as an oathbreaker. Raim has worn a simple knot around his wrist for as long as he can remember. No one seems to know where it came from or which promise it symbolizes, and Raim barely thinks about it at all--especially not since he became the most promising young fighter ever to train for the elite Yun guard. But on the day that he binds his life to that of his best friend (and the future king), Khareh, the rope ignites and sears a dark mark into his skin. Scarred now as an oathbreaker, Raim has two options: run or be killed. He chooses to run, taking refuge in the vast desert among a colony of exiled oathbreakers. Will he be able to learn the skills he needs to clear his name? And even if he can, how can he keep a promise he never knew he made in the first place?
About the Author
AMY McCULLOCH is an editor and writer based in London. A pop-culture obsessive, she has published several teen-oriented non-fiction titles under the pseudonym Amy Rickman, including Gleeful! A Totally Unofficial Guide to the Hit TV Show Glee and Blood Brothers , a double-biography of the actors from the hit series The Vampire Diaries. Her love for teen culture is matched only by her love of science fiction and fantasy, which she edits for a major publishing house in the UK. She is originally from Ottawa, Ontario.