Books of the Cataclysm: The Blood Debt
When the Homunculus emerges from the Void Beneath, Sal and Shilly are enticed out of hiding to help track it down. In return, the Sky Wardens will not prosecute them for dabbling in arcane secrets. But just what is this strange creature? What is its connection to the world’s fragmented history? And what is the connection to Highson Sparre, Sal’s missing father?
Family secrets and political manoeuvring, live ghosts and dead bodies ... Sal and Shilly will have to deal with all these things to discover the truth about the Void Beneath, and about the mysterious Divide ...
"Most fantasy writers have a set-piece, battlefield kind of approach to their worlds, adding extra levels of fable or fiction to keep them interesting. But Williams has been much less mechanical in his approach, stepping through time, and coming from unexpected angles. This time, however, the sense of connectedness in all his landscapes and books is palpable, and various difficult-to-resolve threads have begun to twirl together. ... Williams' writing is suffused with themes of orphanhood, broken parenthood and flawed relations, and in this book the emotional themes and the physical landscape truly begin to reflect one another. It's the best of the books so far" (Adelaide Advertiser)