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Annelie Geissler
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THE LAST VIGILANT

Mark Latham

THE LAST VIGILANT by Mark Latham, a thrilling epic fantasy debut in which the last member of an ancient order is forced out of hiding to defeat a great evil.
Shunned by the soldiers he commands, haunted by past tragedies, Sargent Holt Hawley is a broken man. But the child of a powerful ally has gone missing, and war between once peaceful nations is on the horizon. So, he and his squad have been sent to find a myth: the Vigilant. They are a rumored last survivor of an ancient order capable of performing acts of magic, and they've been lost to the world for decades. No one truly expects Hawley to succeed.
When he is forced to abandon his men, he stumbles upon a woman who claims to be the Last Vigilant. Enelda Drake is wizened and out of practice, and she seems a far cry from the heroes of legend. But they will need her powers, and each other, to survive. For nothing in the town of Scarfell is as it seems. Corrupt soldiers and calculating politicians thwart their efforts at every turn.
And there are dark whispers on the wind threatening the arrival of an ancient and powerful enemy. The Last Vigilant is not the only myth returning from the dead.

Mark A. Latham is a writer, editor, history nerd, proud dogfather, frustrated grunge singer and amateur baker from Staffordshire, UK. An immigrant to rural Nottinghamshire, he lives in a very old house (sadly not haunted), and is still regarded in the village as a foreigner.
Formerly the editor of Games Workshop's White Dwarf magazine, Mark designs tabletop games, and is an author of strange, fantastical and macabre tales.
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Published 2025-06-24 by Orbit

Comments

A wonderful tale set within a well-drawn fantastical world. I loved it.

A genuinely intriguing mystery, genuinely harrowing fights, and a lovingly intricate setting.

Orbit UK are publishing alongside us in the UK

Latham, known for his steampunk novels and Sherlock Holmes pastiches, skillfully brings his knack for plotting mysteries and investigations into an epic fantasy setting. The multilayered machinations and propulsive pacing will grip readers, but the book's greatest strength lies in its characters ... With warmongering, political intrigue, and themes of standing up for the weak, this marks the start of a compelling fantasy series that is perfect for fans of David Dalglish and Justin Lee Anderson.

David Gemmell meets The Name of the Rose in a page-turning mix of mystery and epic fantasy.

This book crawled out of the deepest, darkest woods with violence in its heart. A terrific new world by a master fantasy author. I loved it.

Latham uses his incredible world-building skills and all-consuming storytelling style to bring the reader deep into the village of Scarfell, where politics, magic, and corruption collide in a world-shaking explosion ... In a genre where tropes can be overused, Latham is an adept at creating sympathetic characters and reinventing fantasy in a way that will have influence on many books after THE LAST VIGILANT.