Under Heaven

Shen Tai is the second son of a celebrated general in Kitai, an empire modelled on Tang Dynasty China and touched lightly by magic. For two years he has lived alone at Kuala Nor, burying the bones of soldiers from both sides of his father's last campaign.

Someone has noticed. The dowager empress of a rival power sends him two hundred and fifty Sardian horses, a gift of such value that it could raise him to wealth and rank or get him killed. It pulls him away from the lake and toward Xinan, the glittering capital, where danger is as plentiful as luxury.

His sister Li-Mei travels the other way. She is married to a steppe ruler so that her family can keep its standing at court. Their two paths run in opposite directions and then converge, crossing the lives of poets, courtesans, generals and assassins as a rebellion gathers force.

This is historical fantasy, with the fantastic kept to a light touch over a world built from real history. The climax draws on the An Lushan Rebellion, and the book is the author's first major move away from the European-inspired settings of his earlier novels. Expect a court-centred story of politics and intrigue, with a large cast and the pressure of a coming war.