Book One

THRAXAS

Princess Du-Akai, third in line to the throne, hires Thraxas to retrieve a missing letter. Thraxas is pitted against the ruthless killer Sarin the Merciless, who seems to be a lot more deadly than she used to be. Worse, she's in league with Horm the Dead, mad half-Orc sorcerer from the Kingdom of Yal. Meanwhile the city is riven by internal strife as Senators Cicerius and Rittius fight it out for the post of Deputy Consul, and the criminal gangs The Society of Friends and The Brotherhood struggle for control of the dwa trade. Makri is busy studying at the Guild College but needs no encouragement to pick up her sword and enthusiastically join in with the fighting. Thraxas's investigation leads him from the sewers of Turai right up to the Imperial Palace, where he finds himself face to face with the King's new dragon.

Read first chapter here

Book Two

THRAXAS AND THE WARRIOR MONKS

In the scorching heat of the Turanian summer, Thraxas is doing his best to avoid working. But his plans for a spell of uninterrupted beer drinking and gambling go wrong when the Civil Guard arrest a man for murder, right in Thraxas's office. Outraged at this insult to his dignity, Thraxas goes into action. Soon he finds himself in the middle of a deadly war between two rival bands of ferocious warrior monks. Things get complicated when a sorcerer is killed and a consignment of the King's gold goes missing. To add to his difficulties, Makri decides to give shelter to a wanted criminal which is bound to attract a lot of unwanted attention from the city authorities. Worse, Sarin the Merciless is back in town, and the bodies are piling up at an alarming rate.

Read first chapter here

Book Three

THRAXAS AT THE RACES

It's a bad day for Thraxas when he's fined in court and threatened by two old enemies – Rittius, head of security at the Palace, and Glixius Dragon killer, a very unfriendly sorcerer. Things look up when Thraxas is hired by his old army commander to find a missing painting but quickly go wrong when the commander ends up dead. Thraxas finds himself embroiled in a murder enquiry when really all he wants to be doing is gambling at the chariot races. An Elvish chariot arrives for the big race and so, to Thraxas's surprise, does a chariot belonging to an Orc lord. Thraxas and Makri – surprisingly keen on gambling herself – find themselves obliged to assist the Orc lord when his chariot is sabotaged. The situation worsens when Thraxas becomes the chief suspect in the murder he's investigating. Meanwhile Turai plunges into despair as the unending rain threatens to wash the city away. With the climate, the authorities and a cunning murderer all ranged against him, can Thraxas solve his case, and, just as important, emerge from the chariot races with a healthy profit?

Read first chapter here

Book Four

THRAXAS AND THE ELVISH ISLES

Thraxas is pleased to be invited to the Elvish Island of Avula, to investigate a crime on behalf of an old friend. Sailing south means he can avoid the harsh Turanian winter, and also get away from Makri, who's recent behaviour has been such as to outrage all decent citizens of Turai. Naturally Makri refuses to be left behind, and muscles her way into trip, much to the displeasure of the Turanian Prince who knows that her Orcish blood isn't going to be welcome in any Elvish land. Once there, Thraxas finds himself deeply involved in the puzzling case of the Elves sacred tree and Makri starts giving sword fighting lessons to a very puny young Elf. Meanwhile the poets are making ready for their festival, though some of the younger Elves seem to be experimenting with dwa, a deadly drug that's already ravaged the city of Turai. As a restful holiday, Thraxas's voyage south doesn't work out as well as he hoped. There's a lot more crime among the Elves than he expected and his actions in trying to sort it out leads him into conflict with the Lord of Isles, the Prince of Turai, and virtually everyone else on Avula.

Read first chapter here

Book Five

THRAXAS AND THE SORCERERS

Thraxas arrives back from the Elvish Isles rather too quickly for his liking. Turai is still gripped by a fierce winter. The only thing to do is drink beer in front of a roaring fire in the Avenging Axe. To his annoyance, the city authorities won't let him rest. Every Sorcerer in the Human lands is heading for Turai, to elect a new leader. The Turanian government is desperate for a Turanian sorcerer to be chosen as head of the guild. This will require cheating, bribery and corruption on a massive scale. Naturally, they turn to Thraxas. Unfortunately, while Thraxas is embarking on his own campaign of cheating, bribery and corruption, one of the foreign sorcerers is murdered and the Turanian candidate for head of the guild becomes the prime suspect. Thraxas has to clear her name, but the investigation proves difficult. The sorcerers' meeting is one of the most riotously drunken affairs ever seen in Turai, and with so much beer around, Thraxas has a lot of distractions. Meanwhile Makri finds her own unmatched fighting skills crumbling in the face of an excess of illegal substances, and when she's given the task of looking after the exotic Princess Direeva she seems likely to cause another diplomatic scandal, and once more outrage all decent citizens of Turai.

Read first chapter here

Book Six

THRAXAS AND THE DANCE OF DEATH

As reported in the Truthful Chronicle, purveyor of news to the city of Turai:

'WHY HAS NO ATTEMPT BEEN MADE TO ARREST THE RENEGADE TRIBUNE THRAXAS?'

'All signs indicate that Thraxas - a so called 'investigator' of whom we have had reason to complain before - is heavilly involved in the affair. Our enquiries show that in the last three days this man has been at the scene of a great many unexplained deaths. Several landlords report that Thraxas - a huge man of bestial appetites - visited their taverns only minutes before a series of savage murders were committed, leaving swiftly after searching the bodies for valuables.

Furthermore Thraxas, a known associate of several renegade sorcerers, has been repeatedly questioned by the Consul, after an attempt was made to blackmail Lisutaris Mistress of the Sky. While we have no absolute proof that Thraxas was behind this attempt, he has reportedly been trying to sell various personal items belonging to the Sorcerer, including a diary and items of jewellery. Reports from other sources indicate that guards at the Guild College were forced to eject him after he menaced Professor Toarius over a sum of five gurans.

Although it cannot yet be proved that Thraxas is responsible for the mysterious apparitions that have been troubling the city, he is known to have dabbled in the sorcerous arts, and may be in possession of several devastating Orcish spells (he is fluent in the Orcish language, and is rumoured to have several Orcish associates) It has recently come to light that he once threw down his shield and fled the field of battle, an offence for which he will shortly face charges in court. Why is this man still at liberty? And why, we would like to know, was he ever granted the office of Tribune? Even in a city as corrupt as Turai, surely a man of such reputation should not be able to bribe his way into a lucrative government position ...'

Read second chapter here

Book Seven

THRAXAS AT WAR

Winter has arrived and once more the city of Turai is as cold as the Ice Queen's Grave. Thraxas would like to spend the season in front of the fire, though Makri, still determined to continue her education, finds time complain that the Guild College is closed. Rumours abound that the Orcs are on their way. Lisutaris, Mistress of the Sky, is convinced that Prince Amrag will attack the city soon, though Turai's other sorcerers aren't convinced. Much against his will, Thraxas is drafted onto the war council, where he would be content to show his skill at the dinner table until, unfortunately, a senior member of the government is murdered and Thraxas finds himself once more dragged unwillingly into the investigation.

Book Eight

THRAXAS UNDER SIEGE

The city of Turai is menaced by an enemy army and Thraxas is troubled by a city-wide food shortage. With no yams to go with his stew, life hardly seems worth living. Things get worse when the city is gripped by plague and Thraxas finds himself surrounded by illness on all sides. Even the fearless Makri finds herself troubled by the way people are falling ill all around her. Soon you can't move in the Avenging Axe for casualties. To make matters worse, Thraxas is eager to participate in the biggest card game the Avenging Axe has ever seen, but he can't raise the money to join the game. The city needs saving and Thraxas needs money, so there's no alternative for the large investigator to get to work, solve some crime, and earn some gold.