The Rarkyn's Familiar (The Rarkyn Trilogy Book 1)
Description
Monster, her mind whispered again. She sensed the darkness twitch inside her; gathering its strength to consume her. Soon.
"A stunning debut." ?Aurealis Magazine
"Steeped in other-worldly magic and adventure." ?Andromeda Spaceways Magazine
An orphan bent on revenge. A monster searching for freedom. A forbidden pact that binds their fates.
Lyss has heard her father's screams, smelled the iron-tang of his blood. She witnessed his execution.
And plotted her revenge.
Then, a violent encounter traps Lyss in a blood-pact with a rarkyn from the otherworld, imbuing her with the monster's forbidden magic-a magic that will erode her sanity.
To break the pact, she and the rarkyn must journey to the heart of the Empire.
All that stands in their way are the mountains, the Empire's soldiers, and Lyss' uneasy alliance with the rarkyn.
But horrors await them on the road-horrors even rarkyns fear.
The most terrifying monster isn't the one Lyss travels with.
It's the one that's awoken inside her. Monsters of a feather flock together.
THE RARKYN'S FAMILIAR is an epic, dark fantasy perfect for fans of Andrzej Sapkowski's THE WITCHER, Leigh Bardugo's GRISHAVERSE and Brandon Sanderson's MISTBORN.
Awards:
2023 Sir Julius Vogel Award Winner (Best Youth Novel)
2022 Foreward INDIES Book of the Year Bronze Winner (Young Adult Fiction)
2022 Aurealis Award Finalist (Best Young Adult Novel)
2022 Indie Ink Award Winner (Best Friendship)
2022 Indie Ink Award Winner (Prettiest Prose)
2022 Indie Ink Award Winner (Side Character MVP)
2022 Indie Ink Award Finalist (Best Debut)
2022 Indie Ink Award Finalist (Best Morally Grey Character)
2022 Indie Ink Award Finalist (Writing the Future We Need: Mental Health Representation)
More details
Person
Nikky Lee is an award-winning author who grew up as a barefoot 90s kid in Perth, Western Australia on Whadjuk Noongar Country. She now lives in Aotearoa New Zealand with a husband, a dog and a couch potato cat. In her free time, she writes speculative fiction, often burning the candle at both ends to explore fantastic worlds, mine asteroids and meet wizards. She's had over two dozen stories published in magazines, anthologies and on the radio.
Her short fiction has been shortlisted six times in the Aurealis Awards with her novelette Dingo & Sister winning the Best Young Adult Short Story and the Best Fantasy Novella categories in 2020. In 2021, she received a Ditmar Award for Best New Talent. Her debut novel, The Rarkyn's Familiar, won the 2023 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Youth Novel, three 2022 Indie Ink Awards, Bronze in Young Adult Fiction at the 2022 Foreward INDIES Book of the Year Awards, and was a finalist in the 2022 Aurealis Awards for Best Young Adult Novel.
