SciFiNow is delighted to launch the cover today for Splinter, the final book in Joshua Winning’s compelling, critically acclaimed dark fantasy series, The Sentinel Trilogy.
This cover was designed by Scott James, a designer at Peridot Press, and holds a number of clues about what we can expect from the book.
We asked the author to tell us some secrets about Splinter…
SciFiNow: What’s it like to finish the trilogy?
Joshua Winning: A huge relief! It’s been such a long journey – the first book, Sentinel, was published in 2014 – that I actually have a file on my computer marked ‘IF I DIE’ containing all my story ideas for Splinter. That way, somebody could finish the trilogy if I ended up going down in a plane crash. Nobody has ever accused me of being under prepared.
Did you have the whole trilogy planned out from the start?
I did, and as I went along, I promptly threw that plan in the bin. I had originally intended on sending our hero, Nicholas, into parallel universes and playing around with time travel, but I quickly realised that what makes the Sentinel Trilogy so fun is that all the weird stuff happens in our world. I thought I’d leave the dimension-hopping to Philip Pullman – he’s way better at it.
What surprises are in store for our heroes in Splinter?
So much death! No, in all seriousness, it was a joy to bring the trilogy to a close and, in the words of Jamie Kennedy in Scream 3, this time “all bets are off”. There’s a surprising romantic development for Nicholas, plus some BIG battles, and a new cat in the mix. Plus, of course, Malika is back.
Describe the trilogy for those who haven’t read it yet…
It’s for anybody who loves monsters, magic and cats. I was inspired by things like Buffy and Robin Jarvis’ Wyrd Museum trilogy and Hammer horror films. It’s a real cauldron of weird, and hopefully it has a lot of heart, too.
You can read the synopsis here:
The critically acclaimed Sentinel Trilogy comes to a thrilling conclusion in Splinter, the final instalment of the dark fantasy series.
The world is falling apart around Nicholas Hallow. Amid rumours that the Dark Prophets have returned, a deathly gloom pollutes England, unleashing a savage hoard of nightmare creatures. Fighting the tide of evil, Nicholas returns home to Cambridge, where an old ally helps him seek out the mysterious Skurkwife, who could help Nicholas stop Malika and the Prophets for good.
Meanwhile, Sam Wilkins unites the Sentinels against the forces of darkness, but with Jessica’s sanity slipping, and Isabel suspicious of her shadowy past, it’s a battle that could cost the Sentinels everything.
Sentinel and Ruins, the first two books in The Sentinel Trilogy, are currently just 99p on Kindle. Splinter will be published on 9 July. You can pre-order it here.
