Jacey Bedford's Journal

Tom Holt writing as K.J.Parker

Saevus Corax has a sister. For years she’s been trying to have him killed by putting a 70,000 staurata bounty on his head, but now she’s in trouble for killing her husband, so who does she turn to? Yes, that’s right. And Saevus, while not entirely falling for it, rises to the bait. An excellent conclusion to the Corax trilogy. Highly recommended

KJ Parker is a pseudonym for Tom Holt, so expect a sure hand on the pen, quirkiness, and a delicious unreliable narrator. Saevus Corax (not his real name) deals with the dead in several ways. Firstly (and most literally) he leads a team of legal battlefield scavengers who reclaim armour, clothing, valuables etc. from the fallen and then dispose of the bodies. It’s a job, and he doesn’t have to actually fight the battles. Secondly he’s still dealing with the accidental death of his brother, an accident that drove him from home, on the run for murder, and caused him to change his name. But his past and his real name are both catching up with him when his uncle looks likely to die and our hero is kidnapped and taken to Sirupat, to face the inheritance he never wanted. Is he going to get out of this, and if so, how?