Part of the training requires Pyrre to pass an ancient trial sung about and passed on through the generations. This is a religion (whose members are known as Skullsworn) that kills indiscriminately and sees murder and assassination as offerings showing their true devotion. Skullsworn follows a young woman named Pyrre who is on her way to becoming a priestess in a strange, deadly religion that worships the god of death, Ananshael. Honestly, if you told me that this was the only book in the series I would believe you because I could probably read just this book and feel satisfied. The setting, characters, story, and world-building really are just that engaging. I feel confident in making that statement because I really enjoyed Skullsworn without any of the context the other books might have provided. Set within the same world and apparently telling the backstory of a character introduced within the original trilogy, Skullsworn is a standalone novel that holds it’s own even with readers who may not have explored Staveley’s Unhewn Throne universe before. At least, I wasn’t familiar with it until I decided to check out Skullsworn. remarkably intimate' - Publishers Weekly Skullsworn is a thrilling standalone set in the world of the Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne by Brian Staveley.While some of you are likely already familiar with Brian Staveley’s Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne series, I was not. 'Pleasantly grim and emotionally complex' - Kirkus Reviews 'Lush, evocative descriptions. Here Pyrre hopes to find love - and end it with the edge of her knife. So a month before the trial begins, she returns to the violent city of her birth, where she once offered an abusive father to the god. Pyrre's not afraid to die, but she hates to fail. However, Pyrre has never been in love, time is short, and if she fails she'll be given to her god. To pass the trial, she will have fourteen days to kill seven people detailed in an ancient song, including one true love, 'who will not come again'.

The problem isn't killing, as Pyrre has spent her life training for this. Or she will be, if she can pass her final trial. And she's not an assassin, but a priestess. It doesn't capture the beauty of her devotion to Ananshael, God of Death. Pyrre Lakatur doesn't like the description skullsworn. Schwab, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Darker Shade of Magic For one apprentice assassin, the clock is ticking. To pass the trial, she will have fourteen days to kill seven people.

Skullsworn by Brian Staveley