Publisher Peter Crowther tells us that PS Publishing is now taking pre-orders for Steven Erikson‘s newest “novella” (he calls it a novella, but also tells us it’s 50,000 words long). Erikson has turned in the manuscript for Crack’d Pot Trail, which “features that loveable duo, Bauchelain and Korbal Broach.” It’s scheduled to be published in December.
The traycased edition is limited to 300 copies, signed and jacketed hardcovers with colour plates, for £50. There will be 700 copies of the trade hardcover edition, unsigned and unjacketed, for £15.
The publisher describes the story thus:
“It is an undeniable truth: give evil a name and everyone’s happy. Give it two names and… why, they’re even happier.
“The intrepid necromancers Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, scourges of civilization, raisers of the dead, reapers of the souls of the living, devourers of hope, betrayers of faith, slayers of the innocent, and modest personifications of evil, have a lot to answer for and answer they will. Known as the Nehemoth, they are pursued by countless self-professed defenders of decency, sanity, and civilization. After all, since when does evil thrive unchallenged? Well, often: but not this time.
“Hot on their heels are the Nehemothanai, avowed hunters of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. In the company of a gaggle of artists and pilgrims, stalwart Mortal Sword Tulgord Vise, pious Well Knight Arpo Relent, stern Huntsman Steck Marynd, and three of the redoubtable Chanter brothers (and their lone sister) find themselves faced with the cruelest of choices. The legendary Cracked Pot Trail, a stretch of harsh wasteland between the Gates of Nowhere and the Shrine of the Indifferent God, has become a tortured path of deprivation.
“Will honour, moral probity, and virtue prove champions in the face of brutal necessity? No, of course not. Don’t be silly.”