Tim Leach - A Winter War

If you’d like to read further, I recommend The Sarmatians (Tadeusz Sulimirski, 1970) and Sarmatians (Eszter Istvánovits and Valeria Kulcsár, 2017) as excellent summaries of the archaeological and written record, and The Tales of the Narts (John Colarusso and Tamirlan Salbiev, 2016), and From Scythia to Camelot (C. Scott Littleton and Linda Malcor, 2000) for more on the mythological links.

As always, enormous thanks are due to everyone who has contributed to the book.

To Caroline Wood for her insightful guidance and storyteller’s instincts. To Nic Cheetham for his support and tremendous enthusiasm, and for setting me on the right path in the first place. To Wendy Toole for a careful copyedit, Mark Swan for the gorgeous cover, Clare Gordon for keeping everything on track, to Christian Duck, Lizz Burrell, Ben Prior, Avneet Bains, and Jade Gwilliam, and everyone else at Head of Zeus and Felicity Bryan for all they have done to help bring this book into the world.

To my colleagues at the Warwick Writing Programme for their wisdom, support, and good humour, and to my students for continuing to inspire me and to teach me the tricks of the trade (I hope that they occasionally feel they have learned something too).

To my parents, always, for everything.

To my friends, for at its heart this is a book about friendship. I suspect that those who are sceptical about the existence of the Amazon warriors have not met the climbing women of Sheffield – fierce, strong, and proud. This book is dedicated to one in particular, a very dear friend who has fought hard for me in the difficult times of my life. She was strong when I was not, brave when I was afraid. May I swallow your evil days, Ness – courage to the champion, and victory to her spear.

TIM LEACH is a graduate of the Warwick Writing Programme, where he now teaches as an Assistant Professor. His first novel, The Last King of Lydia , was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize.

The Last King of Lydia

The King and the Slave

Smile of the Wolf

‘Superb… This is a thoughtful, literary take on a world that is more often depicted in a boy’s adventure way. The focus in Leach’s book is not on the fighting, but on the strange, inescapable logic that makes the fighting inevitable’ The Times , Book of the Year

‘A poetic, absorbing narrative with many of the same qualities as the medieval Icelandic sagas that it echoes and reimagines’ Sunday Times , Book of the Year

‘ Smile of the Wolf bares its fangs from the first page. Like a medieval tapestry, the storytelling is rich with imagery. Readers will be lured spellbound into this lyrical and evocative Icelandic saga. It deserves huge success’ David Gilman

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Head of Zeus Books

First published in the UK in 2021 by Head of Zeus Ltd

Copyright © Tim Leach, 2021

The moral right of Tim Leach to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN (HB): 9781800242869

ISBN (XTPB): 9781800242876

ISBN (E): 9781800242951

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