Last of the Exalted — D.P. Prior / Derek Prior

One of the best fantasy novels I have read so far this year.Rebecca Ross (Reedsy Discovery)When a bloodthirsty horde storms out of the north, refugees flee for their lives, among them the skald Nyra Sahtis and Sister Caelin, a priestess who was once a trainer of armies.But with the capital, Jeridium, under siege from a second incursion, there is nowhere left to run.As rival armies converge on Jeridium, the Senate are reduced to clutching at straws. In a desperate last gambit, they send the assassin Shadrak the Unseen past enemy lines and into the mountains, where he must find a grief-stricken warrior and his mythical axe.Derek Prior always produces masterpieces of storytelling, with great characters full of life, relentless plots, and gripping and intense fight scenes.Mitchell Hogan, author of A Crucible of Souls