The Heartless Knaves

The final chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Grand Father Nikodemus finally arrives back at the Sunken Abbey to find that quite a few things have changed... Expect Christopher to have a new station in life, Brunhilda to return to The Kitty's Whiskers, lots of different people and animals to be missing Sally, Rooks to finally go home, prophecies to come true across the Whale Road, Diesirae - n...

The penultimate chapter of The Pale Princess , in which The Other attacks Lludden, Christopher makes a mad dash to reunite with Diesirae, and Silkin and Rooks speed home just in time to get involved... Expect zombie bears, a goodly number of explosions, mass-scale slaughter, for almost every major character in the narrative to finally end up in the same place at the same time, the goodies to kick...

The thirty-seventh chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Father Nikodemus makes it back to Prydain, Silkin and Rooks leave Brygof, and Christopher departs from Lludden to go home. Expect massage oil, sneaky plotting, for Brian to have fallen in love, and for a villain who had seemingly disappeared for a while to make a triumphant return, seeking something vital from Archbishop Daevas... Set in a...

The thirty-sixth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Rooks continues to defend Southgate from anyone seeking to flee Laugborg, and Silkin drags his heels about leaving it himself. Expect Herild and Gillian to make their way to The Auric's stables and for high drama to ensue, for Sally and Silkin to exchange a particularly meaningful kiss, Ruby and the other fine ladies of Bongle's House of Clu...

The thirty-fifth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Diesirae is escorted to The Alabastrine in the middle of the night, while in Laugborg Vestran's masquerade is in full swing... Expect Sir Felix Sable to give Umbrago some grief, the big reveal about those red outfits and all of Herild's paper flowers, extraordinary violence, lashings of death, exploding lobsters, and for the Crown of Prydain...

The thirty-fourth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Sally and Silkin team up, Rooks becomes a one man wrecking crew, and the good ladies of Bongle's House of Clunge enjoy a night in the big city... Expect subterfuge, guards getting shot with crossbows, Silkin to knock himself unconscious, a little palace intrigue, pear brandy, and some very, very large explosions. Set in a twisted version of...

The thirty-third chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Daevas and Isfrid reconnect with the High Council, Rooks completes the final steps of his plans, Diesirae learns who Sister Signe really is, and Silkin and Sally have a day out in Laugborg. Expect icy deaths, a bit of welding, some playing of chess, dirty water to be spilled, a very pretty dress, things to not be quite as they appear, and to...

The thirty-second chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Diesirae wakes up in The Alabastrine's dormitory, her heart now sealed into a Ventricular Sphere. Expect Mother Bodril to be well meaning, for Cordelia to arrive with a 'Sister Signe', and to finally catch up with Sally. She, once settled into a very grand hotel in Laugborg, finally gets some space from Herild and reconnects with Silkin - a...

The thirty-first chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Rooks acquaints himself with some friendly sewer rats. Expect a boat trip into a very dark cave, an excessive number of spiders, for Silkin to be Silkin, and for Rooks to be reunited with an old friend from school who is more than happy to help... Set in a twisted version of the English Renaissance, the story hinges on the macabre adventures...

The thirtieth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which, after quite while, we catch up with Father Nikodemus... Expect plenty a bit of surgery, to meet a crafty old bishop and a Valladrian who has been having visions, an audience with the Queen of Gallia, and for the forging of an agreement which might just shape the fate of Prydain for several generations... Set in a twisted version of the English...

The twenty-ninth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Silkin and Rooks set about infiltrating the Blue Keep... Expect plenty of Gothic decay, some arcane mystery, rain, thunder, lightning, for Rooks to get bored and set about improving things, Silkin to kidnap a dog, and for things to not go quite as well as either of them expected them to. Set in a twisted version of the English Renaissance, t...

The twenty-eighth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which the Hands make good on their threats, Grubenholm is burned, and Nanny makes a stand at the Sunken Abbey. Expect Colin the goat to rampage, flocks of rampaging murder chickens, Ned the horse to wake up slightly confused, and for Nanny to both bury the hatchet with Griselda and make her last stand in an inferno of rage, and love, towering fla...

The twenty-seventh chapter of The Pale Princess , in which we meet Jorund, The Speaker of Truths, as Umbrago and Brunhilda parade through Lludden. Expect to catch up with Cordelia and her shadowy working in The Alabastrine, Aggie, Foxglove, and Diesirae, as she is made ready to have her heart sealed in glass in preparation for her upcoming marriage... Set in a twisted version of the English Renais...

The twenty-sixth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Rooks organises the fencing of goods, Silkin helps, and Ruby hangs around until he's ready to play pirates... Expect to meet a quite particular witch with an owl familiar, a man called Teddy who might not quite be all there, to encounter the Akkurok, some fun new weapons, and for Silkin to eventually say "Gyargh!" Set in a twisted version of...

The twenty-fifth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Nanny is forced to address the problem of the King's Hands who have been bothering the Sunken Abbey, and The Other brings the residents of Grubenholm to church... Expect Christopher to use some of his new training, Nanny to finally let loose a little bit, Marco to make himself useful, blood to spill, tea to be made as guided by a cat, and fo...

The twenty-fourth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which we follow Diesirae through a night in The Pit, a day in the Grey Keep, and an adventure through Lludden's streets... Expect fighting, disfiguration, and for the solution to the off-hand problem, to catch up with Gironde and Eris during a session of portraiture, for Umbrago to poke his nose in, and to then head out into the city with Mathias...

The twenty-third chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Silkin gets fed up of camping, Grouseboller meets a sticky end, and we arrive at a home from home: Bongle's House of Clunge. Expect a little light breaking and entering, some torture, a series of delightful sex worker sisters, and to meet Luca, The Speaker of Lies, better known to his friends as "The Apple Cutter..." Set in a twisted version...

The twenty-second chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Nanny begins training Christopher, Marco regains consciousness, and Gavriel welcomes a new visitor to the Grey Keep. Expect punches, kicks, a bit of bowmanship, Eris having none of Gironde's nonsense, and The Other feeling a little bit possessive about his new best friend... Set in a twisted version of the English Renaissance, the story hin...

The twenty-first chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Vestran and his assistant unearth the treasure they have been looking for and Daevas frees a half-mad warrior nun who is justifiably hungry for revenge. Expect giant spiders, wyvern bones, Silkin trying to be friendly with Sally, a spot of ice magic, and for Archbishop Salles to finally get what was coming to him... Set in a twisted version...

The twentieth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Silkin and Rooks finally hit the road - and Silkin lets off some steam by fighting an entire tavern worth of people... Expect to also catch up with Beni, Diesirae, and Brunhilda - who is once again conscious - and to meet a very annoying highwayman called Lesley Fortinbras... Set in a twisted version of the English Renaissance, the story hinges...

The nineteenth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Patrick encounters the sea, Thorsten and Marco find themselves some lodgings, and Nanny refuses to say goodbye. Expect Silkin being both sweet and a little bit annoying, Jarn getting some horns to the testicles, Sally learning how to shoot a crossbow round corners, and Rooks not only getting tooled up, but finally being equipped with clothes t...

The eighteenth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Mildri, Jarn and Old Slag deliver the results of their labour... Expect Silkin being both sweet and a little bit annoying, Jarn getting some horns to the testicles, Sally learning how to shoot a crossbow round corners, and Rooks not only getting tooled up, but finally being equipped with clothes that make him look as he wants to be seen... The...

The seventeenth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which Nanny goes to Lludden for the day, The Other is reunited with his body, and Umbrago has his much-needed bath. Expect a chance meeting on a very old road, some revelations about an old optician, a frosty conversation between Nanny and her sister, a plague pit filled with blood, and some musings on what it would be like to transform into a bird...

The sixteenth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which the Master of Revels is roused in the night, the gang reunite at the Sunken Abbey, and Umbrago stays up well past his bed time. Expect to meet Beni's wife, Silkin showing off his new sword, Sally losing her patience, Christopher to find an outlet of sorts, and a jolly nice shindig with Sudwork's finest, Brunhilda and Foxglove included... The He...

The fifteenth chapter of The Pale Princess , in which an Archbishop tries to exercise his perversion, Sally and Silkin wend their way home, and Diesirae has a training session with a difference... Expect lamb chops getting short shrift, The Other being seen from a distance (then wisely fled from), and the introduction of a very cool sword... The Heartless Knaves is a new dark fantasy audiobook pod...