Anji Kills a King
An unlikely assassin struggles to escape a legendary bounty hunter in this breakneck fantasy debut that will grab you by the throat―perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie, R.F. Kuang, and Christopher Buehlman.
She killed for a cause. Will she die for it too?
Anji works as a castle servant, cleaning laundry for a king she hates. So when a rare opportunity presents itself, she seizes the chance to cut his throat. Then she runs for her life. In her wake, the kingdom is thrown into disarray, while a bounty bigger than anyone could imagine lands on her head.
On her heels are the fabled mercenaries of the Menagerie, whose animal-shaped masks are magical relics rumored to give them superhuman powers. It’s the Hawk who finds Anji first: a surly, aging swordswoman who has her own reasons for keeping Anji alive and out of the hands of her fellow bounty hunters, if only long enough to collect the reward herself.
With the rest of the Menagerie on their trail, so begins an alliance as tenuous as it is temporary―and a race against death that will decide Anji’s fate, and may change the course of a kingdom.
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Evan Leikam
In the world of grimdark fantasy, few debut authors arrive with the kind of visceral clarity and underground buzz that surrounds Anji Kills a King. Evan Leikam didn’t take the traditional path into publishing—no MFA, no prestigious workshops. Instead, his journey began backstage in dimly lit venues and on long van rides across Europe and the U.S., drumming for an indie rock band and scribbling story ideas on the back of setlists. Somewhere between the stage and the solitude, a world took shape—one filled with haunted bounty hunters, fractured kingdoms, and a girl who topples an empire with a single, fatal act.
The Rising Tide
In a kingdom teetering on the edge of collapse, one quiet act of violence sends shockwaves through the realm—The Rising Tide begins not with a noble hero, but with a servant girl who kills her king.
This dark fantasy series unfolds in a brutal, unflinching world where justice is murky and rebellion is dangerous currency. At its center is Anji, a low-born castle servant whose decision to assassinate a tyrant does not liberate a kingdom—it fractures it. Hunted by the Menagerie, a secretive order of bounty hunters who wear animal-shaped masks and wield magic like a weapon, Anji's path becomes a tense game of survival through forests of blood politics, ruined sanctuaries, and faith twisted into fanaticism.
The Rising Tide consists of one book and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of two more books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
