The Last Vigilant

The last member of an ancient order is forced out of hiding to defeat a great evil in this thrilling epic fantasy debut perfect for fans of Richard Swan and Anthony Ryan. 

Shunned by the soldiers he commands, haunted by past tragedies, Sargent Holt Hawley is a broken man. But the child of a powerful ally has gone missing, and war between once peaceful nations is on the horizon. So, he and his squad have been sent to find a myth: the Vigilant. They are a rumored last survivor of an ancient order capable of performing acts of magic, and they’ve been lost to the world for decades. No one truly expects Hawley to succeed.

When he is forced to abandon his men, he stumbles upon a woman who claims to be the Last Vigilant. Enelda Drake is wizened and out of practice, and she seems a far cry from the heroes of legend. But they will need her powers, and each other, to survive. For nothing in the town of Scarfell is as it seems. Corrupt soldiers and calculating politicians thwart their efforts at every turn.

And there are dark whispers on the wind threatening the arrival of an ancient and powerful enemy. The Last Vigilant is not the only myth returning from the dead.

• "A wonderful tale set within a well-drawn fantastical world. I loved it."
  John Gwynne, New York Times bestselling author
• “David Gemmell meets The Name of the Rose in a page-turning mix of mystery and epic fantasy.”
  Anthony Ryan, New York Times bestselling author
• "Latham uses his incredible world-building skills and all-consuming storytelling style to bring the reader deep into the village of Scarfell, where politics, magic, and corruption collide in a world-shaking explosion ... In a genre where tropes can be overused, Latham is an adept at creating sympathetic characters and reinventing fantasy in a way that will have influence on many books after The Last Vigilant."
  Booklist (starred review)
• “A genuinely intriguing mystery, genuinely harrowing fights, and a lovingly intricate setting.”
  Gareth Hanrahan, author of The Sword Defiant
• "This book crawled out of the deepest, darkest woods with violence in its heart. A terrific new world by a master fantasy author. I loved it."
  Jackson Ford, author of The Bone Raiders
• "Latham, known for his steampunk novels and Sherlock Holmes pastiches, skillfully brings his knack for plotting mysteries and investigations into an epic fantasy setting. The multilayered machinations and propulsive pacing will grip readers, but the book’s greatest strength lies in its characters ... With warmongering, political intrigue, and themes of standing up for the weak, this marks the start of a compelling fantasy series that is perfect for fans of David Dalglish and Justin Lee Anderson."
  Library Journal