FITZMARBURY WITCHES : Baratanac Trilogy (Part III)

Experience the terror and darkness of the BARATANAC TRILOGY Part III, from the #1 bestselling dark fantasy horror series on Kindle. Follow the stories of FITZMARBURY WITCHES, a series of must-read novels for fans of The Witcher, Game of Thrones, The Last Kingdom, and Penny Dreadful. In this thrilling conclusion to BARATANAC TRILOGY, the Silver Fleet of Carthage anchors in the icy waters of Baratanac (Britain). Emeshmoon emerges from the belly of the lead ship in terrifying ceremonial regalia. She conceals a fearsome artefact.The presence of the ambitious and ruthless priestess of Baal is viewed as a terrible omen aboardship. Sailors from across the Cargainian empire fear the worst as a group of Baal's monks row from shore to the ship. Emeshmoon welcomes them and reconfirms a secret pact with Admiral Himilco.Baratanac natives watch from nearby cliffs and call upon ancient curses to rid their land of Carthage and its ruthless new emissary. Once ashore, Emeshmoon is confronted by powerful native magic. She is undeterred and summons dark powers to her aid. Horrors multiply. Unholy ambitions conspire to claim a terrible glory for Baal, the merciless god that the priestess has been raised to serve since she was trafficked from Egypt as an innocent child. Will Emeshmoon's ambition lead to her downfall, or will she be able to claim the power she now so desperately craves? The BARATANAC TRILOGY Part III is a must-read for fans of dark historical fantasy and occult horror. Dive into the world of FITZMARBURY WITCHES! Follow the tale of predatory evil spanning eras and continents, filled with ancient cults, twisted romance, and remorseless terror. Don't miss out on the #1 Kindle Best Seller in Dark Fantasy Horror, Occult Horror, and Women's Historical Fiction, as well as the top-ranked novel in Action & Adventure Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure Fiction, and Low Fantasy. Read BARATANAC TRILOGY now! ✓ Also discover the WHAT HIDES IN THE DARK podcast, on D. J. Swales Gothic and Other Tales, a ★TOP 10★ ApplePodcasts audio drama podcast in more than 12 countries. Available on all major platforms. (Chartable Weekly Rankings 2020)

From the Inside Flap

Of all dead empires, Carthage is the one we are most left to imagine. Its archaeological record is sparse, its glory actively erased. Baratanac Trilogy (Book One of Fitzmarbury Witches) transports us to the pomp and underbelly of the simmering imperial city - a North African maritime metropolis of vast tentacled colonial influence, refinement and cruelty. A host of gods and richly robed cults serve the ambitions of its citizens, migrants, mercenaries and slaves - the orders of the Phoenician god Baal and his consort Tanit supreme among them. This book imagines events at the zenith of the Carthaginian empire, six decades after Persia crushed the 300 of Sparta. Privilege and injustice reign, spoils are split by the courageous and the corrupt. Purity of blood defines the city's ruling elite, supported by ruthless mercenaries. The poor and the destitute are crushed underfoot while the capital's walls, temples and institutions stand invincible and impervious - spearheading the empire's cultural and territorial expansion over large swathes of the Western Mediterranean. The trade routes of Carthage are zealously protected by its unrivalled navy, some extending beyond the boundaries of civilization - to the cold and savage frontier to the north, where druids chant, cannibals hunger, and the painted people of myriad tribes melt into the endless smothering forests. The enemies of Carthage covet the riches buried in the deep damp earth of the barbarians - riches monopolised by the empire. In 146 BC, Carthage was extinguished in a genocidal orgy of blood and flames - the grotesque culmination of more than one hundred years of wars with Rome - with the city's few survivors shipped away as slaves. Legend holds that Rome - an envious and vicious nemesis - sowed salt over the charred rubble and splintered bones so that life could never return. Aside from a few excavated ruins, such as those in Tunisia and Sardinia, only oblique traces of its former cultural glory remain. Scraps of Roman propaganda and anecdotal Greek accounts provide a pitifully limited lens, especially when compared to what was lost: the scrolls and manuscripts of Carthage's libraries hauled away as plunder by Numidian kings who had allied with Rome. The pathetic few documents that survived this devastation can only hint at the sophistication and accumulated knowledge of a thousand years that disappeared into the mountains and deserts - never to be seen again.Enter a lost world of spirits and superstitions. When the value of a life was measured in many ways . . . and sorcery wound its own path.- D. J. Swales

From the Back Cover

A NEW DARKNESS AT THE WORLD'S EDGE: A ruthless priestess of Baal sails from the imperial African city of Carthage, to breach new frontiers at the edge of the world in tribal Britain. Sixty years have passed since the Persians crushed King Leonidas and the Spartan 300. She is a hardened warrior, wrenched from the only love she ever knew and raised in merciless service to Baal. Her iron heart holds the secrets of a young girl trafficked across the Sahara from the decaying Egyptian city of Sekht-Am (Siwa). Ever threatened by the scandal of her origins, she proves herself by embarking on a series of perilous and violent missions. The African coast fades. The greatest fleet on earth steers into the fathomless Unknown Ocean . . .EVEN THE PUREST EVIL HAS A HISTORY: In 2017, an author flees the accursed London streets of Fitzmarbury, terrified and fearing for his life. In an isolated Barbados redoubt - on wild Atlantic shores - the author's mind and writings are haunted. Cruel voices speak horrifying revelations. A vast storm approaches as another visitor to Bathsheba - a presence - stalks him in the darkness.

About the Author

D. J. Swales is an accomplished author, poet, and mixed media artist, born in the midst of the tumultuous "Troubles" in West Belfast. Swales and his teenage mother were forced to flee due to the dangers they faced. As a result, Swales has lived in 12 countries and 3 American states, becoming a true "third culture" tumbleweed. Throughout his career, Swales has worked in a wide range of jobs and locations, including factory lines, Las Vegas casinos, Namdaemun, Fortnum & Mason, gem trading, Changi airport, construction labouring, Wall Street, Paris Fashion Week, and even collecting windblown trash at a city dump. But throughout it all, Swales has always remained committed to his passions for painting and writing.

Reviews

News