WAR OF THE DRAGON THRONE SERIES
HISTORICAL MILITARY FANTASY SET DURING THE MEDIEVAL MING DYNASTY
It is the late 15th century and the empire of the Ming Dynasty rules the Middle Kingdom. From his capital in Beijing, the virtuous emperor reigns supreme upon the Dragon Throne. In his command are millions of loyal soldiers and thousands of civil officials and bureaucrats across the realm. However, ancient mechanisms nearly lost to time have been reawakened by forbidden relics. Then a powerful race of nonhumans have emerged from the shadows and the ruins to reclaim its domains. Now the mighty Ming Empire finds itself fighting a vicious war against ancient forces bent on restoring the old world order established long before humanity's first cities.
The emperor will have to mobilize his army and elite bodyguard units while a skilled secret society of warrior scholars and a band of wayfaring rogues and misfits cross paths and come to the empire's aid. Meanwhile, a mysterious sage claims that the only path to victory lies in following the will of Heaven.
BECOME IMMERSED IN THE MING DYNASTY
Welcome to the historical military fantasy world of War of the Dragon Throne, set during the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Being one of medieval China’s most affluent and influential empires, it is headed by the emperor who commands one of the largest armies in the world and who directs a vast and powerful centralized imperial bureaucracy full of political intrigue and internal factionalism. Ming China was a world unto itself, dotted by locations with thousands of years of history. Across its vast expanse are large cities, bustling towns, and diverse landscapes inhabited by hundreds of millions of people. Many foreign delegations flock to the Ming Empire’s shores in the hopes of establishing trade and diplomatic relations with the dynasty, and to sample a taste of its great wealth.
Within its borders, however, are secret societies, guilds, religious warrior sects, and various village associations. Many contend with the empire’s power and challenge its sovereignty to defy the emperor. Vigilantes and vagabonds who excel exceedingly in the martial arts also roam the land in search of new contracts and adventurous quests.
The War of the Dragon Throne series combines the elements of real world history with the Wuxia genre of martial arts fiction as well as Western fantasy traditions. In this epic journey, the Ming Dynasty encounters enigmatic nonhuman characters from a distant and uncharted land where fantastical creatures roam.
THE EMPIRE'S BLADESMEN: FORBIDDEN RELICS
(War of the Dragon Throne Book 1)
Captain Shao Lian, a battle-hardened veteran of the Ming Dynasty’s imperial army, had become a respected officer in the emperor’s elite bodyguards. This notorious and politically-powerful secret service organization, known as the Jinyiwei (brocade-clad guards), also functioned as the emperor’s premiere intelligence agency and as an extension of his iron fist. They were the empire's bladesmen.
After Shao Lian was assigned to eliminate a ruthless crime lord after he had seized power over several frontier towns, he discovers that the Blood Foot Syndicate had awakened a powerful and terrifying adversary from a bygone era. Shao Lian and the soldiers in his command suddenly find themselves waging a harrowing war of survival against allied criminal gangs and an ancient being who commands hordes of monstrous man-eaters.
Shao Lian later discovers the secrets of prehistory and unravels a conspiracy that set ancient mechanisms into motion that now threaten the Ming Empire and the rest of the 15th century world.
THE EMPIRE'S WAYFARERS: MORTAL LEGIONS
(War of the Dragon Throne Book 2)
As Captain Shao Lian battles through his harrowing campaign in the cold deserts of the western frontier, powerful enigmatic nonhumans arrive on the shores of the Ming Empire. The foreigners claim to seek trade and establish diplomatic relations, but a secret society of warrior-scholars launch intensive investigations to uncover the truth of their agenda to restore the ancient world order of prehistory. Now the emperor, his court, and the entire Ming Dynasty fall under the threat of invasion while rebel forces and criminal groups from the underworld rise to bring civil war and chaos in the realm.
The warrior-scholars employ Sun Xin, a legendary wandering swordsman, and a group of wayfaring rogues to come to the emperor’s aid and take back control of the nation. As the emperor and his generals rally the imperial armies, a mysterious sage emerges from obscurity to warn everyone that the real battle is, in fact, a spiritual one, and that victory lies in following the will of Heaven.
THE EMPIRE'S WARBANDS: MARTIAL UNDERWORLD
(War of the Dragon Throne Book 3)
The biggest factions of the Martial Arts Underworld are rallying together in the name of the Terukk. Destabilization efforts continue from internal enemies in the hopes of the dynasty's downfall. Sun Xin, the legendary wandering swordmaster, and his unlikely team of rogues, embark on a mission to discover Wulin's plot and prevent a disaster before the invasion of the Terukk. Meanwhile, the emperor scrambles to mobilize his troops and gather alliances of his own from across the nations to prepare for the greatest war in human history.
Imperial Guardsman, Captain Shao Lian, then continues his quest to eradicate traitors from within the imperial bureaucracy and discover more ancient secrets that are keys to surviving the Terukk onslaught as well as the doorway to the secrets of their home world.
