An End to Kings - A King Without a Crown, #2

In the highly anticipated conclusion to A Seat for the Rabble, former NPR reporter Ryan Schuette returns to Odma, a richly detailed world not unlike our own. Riven by social injustice, wealth inequality, and ancient magic, the Kingdom of Loran stands on the brink of war . . . and the bastard prince, Jason Warchild, means to save it.

With an army of Cloudlanders at his back, Jason marches to the Kingstrials, where he must kill his rivals—including his zealot uncle, Shaddon—to claim his father's crown and return peasants to power. But winning this deadly game will take more than martial skill and an army. If he fails to win all three Trials, he'll need the fractious Worthy Assembly to crown him directly—or he'll lose the kingdom, along with his head.

As class anger festers, Jason's allies find themselves embattled. At the capital, Princess Lorana Eddenhold navigates her realm's troubled politics to stamp out plots against her half-brother, even as she dreads Prieslenne Edenia's return. In the west, Rathos Robswell risks his life to persuade the Loyal Company's firebrands to cease their infighting and see the bastard prince—along with the dream of a just realm—through a crucible of swords, dragons, and griffons.

Only supernatural forces seem to see all ends. Accompanied by a sorcerer, Zuran races against time to confront the real evil . . . the one exploiting chaos in a kingless land.

Praise for A Seat for the Rabble and An End to Kings

"From its electric first pages, Schuette's epic adult fantasy debut grips with a rich, tense, multi-perspective story of a kingdom in unrest. . . . A journalist, [he] writes crisp, compelling scenes that demonstrate an understanding of power, conflicted loyalties, and the ways that history—both ancient and recent, true and made up—powers contemporary conflicts." —BookLife by Publishers Weekly (Grade: A)

"Schuette's extensive world is an enticing one. Religion, class systems, and past events play large parts in the conflict. . . . Griffins fly; swords cleave; and the unsuspecting are sometimes slaughtered. . . . Yet the fighting and feuding are matched in such a way to keep the intriguing plot moving swiftly. The competing interests make for a curious, highly detailed, engrossing fantasy." —Kirkus Reviews

"Masterful storytelling and epic worldbuilding make this a must-read for fans of political fantasy. Ryan Schuette weaves a complex world of political intrigue, class conflict, and the pursuit of power in this enthralling epic fantasy." —ALEXANDRIA DUCKSWORTH, Independent Book Review

"If you like getting marooned in a book, so far removed from real life that there's no need for rescue, then A Seat for the Rabble was made for you! . . . [It's] a sumptuous feast for the mind." —NICKY FLOWERS, Indies Today (Rating: ★★★★★)