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Imaginary friends should be a comfort when other consolations fail. But what if these longed-for companions think different? What if they're none too pleased to be summoned? What if untamed magic can spawn creatures from daydreams or nightmares? Could something eerie half-glimpsed in a shadow actually be there?

Shadow Histories of the River Kingdom introduces a brand new fantasy setting from acclaimed author Juliet E McKenna. This volume brings together stories previously available in a range of publications, not all easily found, as well as some new material.

Welcome to the River Kingdom, where shadows can be all too solid and dangerous.

The legendary epics of King Arthur and Camelot don't tell the whole story. Chroniclers say Arthur's mother Ygraine married the man that killed her husband. They say that Arthur's half-sister Morgana turned to dark magic to defy him and Merlin. They say that the enchantress Nimue challenged Merlin and used her magic to outwit him. And that Arthur's marriage to Guinevere ended in adultery, rebellion and bloodshed. So why did these women chose such dangerous paths?

As warfare and rivalries constantly challenge the king, Arthur and Merlin believe these women are destined to serve Camelot by doing as they are told. But men forget that women talk. Ygraine, Nimue, Morgana and Guinevere become friends and allies while the decisions that shape their lives are taken out of their hands. This is their untold story. Now these women have a voice.

Set in the Archipelago, the first book in THE ALDABRESHIN COMPASS tells the story of Daish Kheda, ruler of a peaceful southern domain. From the outer islands comes the news that a powerful sorcerer is wreaking chaos and destruction. But the locals are wary of magic and refuse to fight fire with fire. His own family and domain threatened, Kheda resolves to defeat the unknown power of the south - a decision that will lead to battles of sword and wizardry, and the discovery of a magical force the like of which has never been imagined. The Aldabreshin Compass is a major new epic of empire and intrigue from an author whose storytelling has set fantasy fiction alight.

The Aldabreshin Archipelago has been ravaged by war, its fragile alliances sundered by new enemies, enemies wielding forbidden elemental magic and spreading terror throughout the scattered southern realm. Warlord Daish Kheda has vowed to reclaim his people's land but in the process loses his own kingdom, is exiled from his family and is forced to journey north to seek answers. The wizard Dev has pledged to assist Daish, hungry to discover the secrets of this powerful dark magic. This causes turmoil among Dev's northern countrymen, leading to a political battle where strength in magic is key to the highest rank of all.

Warlord Daish Kheda has been building political alliances, working to consolidate power over his new realm. Although he has saved his people from the twin evils of wizardry and dragons, he feels tainted by association with forbidden magic and fears he may bring great ill-fortune to his people. So Kheda resolves to once more join his Northern wizard allies in the hope of removing the dragon threat once and for all, and to seek whatever purification he can find. Only time can tell whether he will be condemned for his actions, or whether magic is less a sin than he was brought up to believe ...He tells his son in secret that he may not return, and sets his face to the future.

The Archipelago is still plagued by dragons and its peoples live in terror of their coming. Kheda, Risala, and Velindre chase rumors of a water dragon, as they alone have gathered secrets of how to repel these fearsome beasts. Yet this has won them no friends as they are forced to travel incognito, their lives at risk. The delicate political balance of the islands teeters as rival factions spar and warfare threatens. Kheda is reluctantly drawn into the fray as his dragon fighting powers become a powerful political tool—but he and his companions are tainted by the suspicion of forbidden magic. This not only places them in great danger but also has wider implications for the power structure of the islands. Kheda's contact with northern magic has caused him to doubt the very foundations of his people's ancient beliefs, placing his future as a warlord in doubt and the making the succession of his realm a dark and bloody question. The Archipelago was first established in McKenna's previous series The Tales of Einarinn.

Lescar is a country mired in ancient grudges, with shifting ducal alliances persistently undermining any progress towards peace.

Those Lescari living in exile think they're helping by sending goods and money to their suffering kith and kin but that only sustains this on-going strife. Some exiles understand this, like the young scholars Tathrin and Aremil, in the distant city of Vanam.

Can they do anything to prompt change? Perhaps, if they can grasp the role of trade and finance in Lescar’s wars, as explained by Gruit, the venerable wine merchant who fled Lescar in his youth. If they can make common cause with the likes of Reniack the rabble-rouser, who escaped just before his own dukes’ militiamen hanged him.

Only if they can enlist the support of those Lescari nobles who turn to scholarship rather than risk politics, such as Lady Derenna. If they can contact those brave men and women still living in Lescar, who conspire to save the next generation from the worst of their own suffering.

Can magic be of any assistance, when the Archmage's edict forbids the use of wizardry in Lescar's wars, on pain of his extreme displeasure? But the elemental magics of air, earth, fire and water aren't the only enchantments in this world. There's Artifice, the ancient and subtle mental magic that intrigues some scholars. The Archmage has never claimed authority over that.

Scholarly debate is all very well but to turn such plans into action, they'll need soldiers and tactical information. Where will they find those?

Those exiles and rebels determined to bring peace to Lescar discover the true cost of war. Courage and friendships are tested to breaking point.

Who will pay such heartbreaking penalties for their boldness? Who will pay the ultimate price?

The dukes of Lescar aren't about to give up their wealth and power without a fight.They won't pass up any chance to advance their own interests either, if one of their rivals suffers in all this upheaval.

The duchesses have their own part to play, more subtle but no less deadly.

A few stones falling in the right place can set a landslide in motion.

That's what Lescari exiles told themselves in Vanam as they plotted to overthrow the warring dukes.

But who can predict the chaos that follows such a cataclysm?

Some will survive against all the odds; friends and foes alike. Hopes and alliances will be shattered beyond repair.

Unforeseen consequences bring undeserved grief as well as unexpected rewards. Necessity forces uneasy compromise as well as perilous defiance.

Wreaking havoc is swift and easy. Building a lasting peace may yet prove an insuperable challenge.

A thief and gambler who plies her trade in the back streets of the kingdom, Livak succumbs to the irresistible impulse to join an expedition to Hadrumal, fabled city of the Archmage, unaware that the stolen tankard she is carrying contains the secrets of a powerful ancient magic.

Swordmaster. . .

Ryshad was a warrior, a sworn man pledged to defend the Empire and his lord with his sword and his life. Livak was a thief, a woman as dangerous and cunning as she was beautiful. Brought together by fate—and the wily wizard Shiv—these unlikely allies once traveled to the frozen lands of the North to find answers to an ancient mystery. Instead, though, they discovered death and worse at the hands of the Elietimm, a band of evil sorcerers who nearly destroyed them.

Or Slave?

Now, the Elietimm have infiltrated the Empire using their strange and deadly power. It is up to a reunited Ryshad and Livak, joined by Shiv, to discover the secret knowledge that can save the Empire—a mission that will lead them far from the lands they know. It is Ryshad, though, who will journey farthest, to a distant country where nothing is what it seems, not even the magical sword that has long protected him. And if that sword should turn against him now...

Livak, a beautiful bandit, and her beloved, the swordsman Ryshad, search for a powerful, ancient, and forgotten magic that could save the Empire from total annihilation, but she must confront others who also seek to uncover these lost arts.

Einarinn's greatest warrior, the swordsman Ryshad, has sworn to protect his lord, Messire D'Olbriot, even if it means watching his love, the beautiful thief Livak, embark on a dangerous quest to find the lost aetheric magic on her own. But shadow and intrigue lie over the land, and a journey to recover magical artifacts leads the swordsman back to the lost colony of Kellarin, whose settlers have only recently been awoken from centuries of enchanted sleep. Amidst the intricate halls and deadly intrigues of this royal court, even the most cautious of strategems can fail, and Ryshad must fight to save the future of Einarinn itself.

Livak is bored. Winter in the Kellarin colony has its amusements but she's pretty much exhausted them and is eager to be doing something else. When Ryshad and Temar tell her of their plan to reclaim the southern settlement established by the original colonists, Livak reckons she may as well go along too. What she doesn't reckon on are the pirates looting the midway islands. Meanwhile In Hadrumal, the wizards are increasingly enmeshed in their own politics . With magical storytelling, powerful characters and a richly detailed world, Juliet E. McKenna concludes her wonderful Tales of Einarinn with THE ASSASSIN'S EDGE.

A hundred years ago, a man with a secret could travel a few hundred miles and give himself a new name and life story. No one would be any the wiser, as long as he didn't give anyone a reason to start asking questions. These days, that's not so easy, with everyone on social media, and CCTV on every street corner. So Daniel Mackmain keeps his head down and keeps himself to himself.

But now a girl has been murdered and the Derbyshire police are taking a closer look at a loner who travels from place to place, picking up work as he goes. Worse, Dan realises the murder involves the hidden world he was born into. When no one else can see the truth, who will see justice done?

When you do a good job for someone, there's a strong chance they'll offer you more work or recommend you elsewhere. So Daniel Mackmain isn't particularly surprised when his boss's architect brother asks for his help on a historic house renovation in the Cotswolds.

Except Dan's a dryad's son, and he soon realises there's a whole lot more going on. Ancient malice is stirring and it has made an alliance in the modern world. The Green Man expects Dan to put an end to this threat. Seeing the danger, Dan's forced to agree. The problem is he's alone in a place he doesn't know, a hundred miles or more away from any allies of his own.

Daniel Mackmain has always been a loner. As a dryad's son, he can see the supernatural alongside everyday reality, and that's not something he can easily share. Perhaps visiting East Anglia to stay with Finele Wicken and her family will be different. They have their own ties to the uncanny.

But something is amiss in the depths of the Fens. Creatures Dan has never encountered outside folk tales are growing uneasy, even hostile. He soon learns they have good reason. Can he help them before they retaliate and disaster strikes the unsuspecting locals? Can the Green Man help Dan in a landscape dominated by water for centuries, where the oaks were cut down aeons ago?

A while back, Daniel Mackmain's life took an unexpected turn. Now the Green Man expects him to resolve clashes between those dwelling unseen in wild places and the ordinary people who have no idea what's out there. Dan's father is human and his mother's a dryad, so he sees what's happening in both these worlds.

Once upon a time, giants walked this land. So says everyone from Geoffrey of Monmouth to William Blake. This ancient threat is stirring in the Wiltshire twilight, up on the chalk downs. Can Dan meet this new challenge when he can only find half-forgotten fairy tales to guide him? Will the other local supernatural inhabitants see him - or the giant - as friend or foe?

A modern fantasy rooted in the ancient myths and folklore of the British Isles.

The book also features a bonus short story starring Dan's boss, Eleanor Beauchene.

A teenage boy has turned up in Snowdonia, barely conscious and babbling about beautiful women and fairy feasts. The authorities blame magic mushrooms. The wise women say different and they want dryad's son, Daniel Mackmain, to investigate. He needs to watch his step in the mountains. Those who live in the hollow hills mask their secrets and intentions with sly half-truths.

Far from the woods he knows, Dan needs help from the allies he has made in past adventures. But he's a loner at heart. As the true power of his adversary becomes clear, he must decide if he's willing to see those he cares for put themselves in danger.

The Green Man sends Daniel Mackmain to stop threats from folklore making trouble in the everyday world. Now a naiad and dryad want him to deal with the big cat they've seen prowling in their woods. Reports like this turn up in the tabloid press from time to time, though no one has ever caught such a cat, or even found evidence of a large carnivore's kills.

Can Dan discover the truth behind this modern myth before social media turns his hunt into an internet sensation? He knows that not all animals are what they seem. A huge cat which can appear and disappear without a trace must be more than meets the eye. Dan knows one thing for certain. He's on the trail of a killer.

The Archmage rules the island of wizards. From here he enforces the Edicts of the Council of Wizardry. Foremost is the ban on magecraft in warfare. But there is a rumour of rogue wizardry in Lescar’s recent civil war. There’s the rise of Artifice, its adepts not subject to the Archmage’s edicts. Now the Emperor of Tormalin is offering them his protection. There are corsairs raiding the Caladhrian Coast, enslaving villagers and devastating trade. Barons and merchants beg for magical aid. But all help has been refused.

This is no comfort to Lady Zurenne whose husband has been murdered by corsairs. Now a man she doesn’t even know stands as guardian over her and her daughters. Corrain, former captain and now slave, knows that man is a rogue wizard, selling his skills to the corsairs. If Corrain can escape, he’ll see justice done. Unless Jilseth, magewoman and Archmage’s confidante, can catch the renegade first, before the full extent of his villainy is revealed.

If that happens, at a time when wizardry faces so many other challenges, the scandal could have dire consequences indeed!

Dangerous Waters is the first book in a stunning new fantasy series from a major voice in fantasy.

Captain Corrain is hailed as a hero but he knows all such praise would turn to anger if certain people knew what had really happened. The wizard who supposedly saved him and his comrades has merely claimed the island of the corsair's for his own. No one knows what this enigmatic newcomer intends to do next.

Corrain has good reason to fear the worst, as he confides in Lady Zurenne of Halferan. He knows he can trust her now that still more perilous secrets bind the two of them together.

This disastrous turn of events cannot be concealed from Hadrumal’s powerful mages. The Chief Mage Planir’s leadership is now openly questioned. Surely he will enforce his authority by crushing this upstart? But the Aldabreshin warlords act first.

The warlords are watching the ominous skies as a once in a lifetime conjunction of the stars approaches. Will the warlords be content to drive this solitary wizard out of the Archipelago or has the time come for them to destroy all magic?

Archmage Planir and the wizards of Hadrumal have demonstrated their devastating powers and the corsair threat is no more. The mainland rulers' relief is overshadowed with fear of one day facing such a threat to their own dominion. Will Tormalin's Emperor make an alliance with Solura's wizards who so openly covet Hadrumal's secrets? Will he seek out that other mysterious magic, Artifice, to counter Planir's magecraft? How will the aloof Aetheric adepts of the mountains answer such an appeal? Aldabreshin warlords have always forbidden wizardry. Now the Archmage has encroached so unforgivably on their domains, their laws demand a wizard's shed blood to wash away the taint and the Aldabreshi have countless men and ships for such a quest. With many of the Wizard Council disputing Planir's chosen course, he must look beyond the island city for allies. To Suthyfer, the controversial haven for mageborn far away in the Eastern Ocean. To Caladhria, where Corrain, Baron Halferan and Lady Zurenne believe they have finally won respite from all their trials. But absence of strife is hardly peace. The lull before winter's storms descend from the distant northern peaks will be a short one.