The Last Guard — K.J. Taylor

Guards stay at their posts, and die to defend their cities...

Southerner Sergeant Kearney "Red" Redguard is the last of a disgraced family, and a loyal guardsman. And with a murderer stalking the streets, the city guard is his city's best defense.

But in the North, King Caedmon TaranisAii is gathering his army, and the cruel Night God prepares for the downfall of the South. A new dark griffin roams the land, warning of the war to come.

Betrayed and sent on the run, Red must fight to save his homeland.
But it may already be too late...

..".intelligent high-stakes fantasy..." - Bookseller and Publisher

..".ever since The Dark Griffin came out in 2009, this has been my favourite fantasy series.
It's got more imagination than Lord of the Rings, more intrigue than Game of Thrones, and a better sense of humour than Harry Potter. It's brought tears to my eyes, it's made me laugh out loud..
My stock standard birthday gift for anyone remotely interested in fantasy." - author Jack Heath

..".that rare, astonishing, wonderful thing - an author with something new to say, and the writing and storytelling chops to pull it off in a way that grabs the reader by the heart... At the end I was nearly in tears."
- Russell Galen, New York literary agent

K.J. Taylor published her first work, The Land of Bad Fantasy, through Scholastic when she was just 18, and went on to publish The Dark Griffin in Australia and New Zealand five years later. The Griffin's Flight and The Griffin's War followed in the same year, and were released in America and Canada in 2011. The Shadow's Heir, The Shadowed Throne and The Shadow's Heart have now joined them in both Australia and the US.

Her achievements so far include being named Young Distinguished Alumni of the Year from the University of Canberra in 2011, winning the Critic's Award that same year, and being shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards in 2009 for The Dark Griffin.