Category: The King of Shadows

At the Leviathan book launch, Robert McCammon told me that, now that the series was complete, he would love to see other people write Matthew Corbett fan fiction.

Author Pete Mesling has done just that, and we’re proud to present “Troubling the Past,” his story set in Matthew Corbett’s world!

Pete also narrates the story in a YouTube video on his channel. From Pete:

“Troubling the Past” is my foray into fan fiction. Set in the world of Robert McCammon’s Matthew Corbett books, my story occurs before the events of The King of Shadows and aims to do a little after-the-fact foreshadowing of that novel. I wouldn’t say it contains any spoilers per se, but you may find “Troubling the Past” more enjoyable if you’ve read McCammon’s novel first (all of the Corbett novels, actually).

You have several options available:

We’d love to see more! From Robert McCammon: “The fun and interesting thing here is that you can do straight mystery stories, character studies, or delve into the supernatural as much as you please.” Submissions can be sent to the webmaster.

 

The trade paperback edition of The King of Shadows, book 8 in the Matthew Corbett series, has now officially been published. You can order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Bookshop.org, or your local indie.

COMING SOON! Seven Shades of Evil is the ninth volume in the series, and this fascinating installment features a wide range of adventures undertaken by both Matthew and his friends over the years. The World’s First Edition will be the trade hardcover published on October 24, and the sold out signed & slipcased Limited Edition will be out this winter.

Alabama Booksmith hosted Robert McCammon on Saturday, December 3, 2022, for the public launch of The King of Shadows. I managed to make it down to Birmingham for the event, and it was great to see so many people turn out for it. The crowd—80 to 100 people—was easily twice the size of the turnout for the Cardinal Black launch in 2019. Considering how small the bookstore is, that was a lot of people!

Before signing books, Mr. McCammon read an excerpt from The King of Shadows and answered audience questions. Thanks to Alabama Booksmith, the event was livestreamed on Facebook, and I’ve uploaded it to YouTube.

In addition, thanks to Tony Thomas, better video of just the reading from The King of Shadows is also available on YouTube:

Finally, YouTube user It’s Terrific has posted a video of his experience and the items he had signed.

Finally, finally, YouTube channel The Jeff Word also posted a video of his experience.

Check RobertMcCammon.com in a day or two for some photos from the event.

It’s publication day for the trade hardcover edition of The King of Shadows, book eight in Robert McCammon’s Matthew Corbett series! Copies ordered from Lividian Publications and their resellers are signed. Copies ordered from Amazon, B&N, etc, are not. Signed copies can also be ordered from the Alabama Booksmith (they also have a few other signed books available).

Order The King of Shadows from Lividian Publications | Alabama Booksmith (signed) | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | B&N

Audiobook: Audible US | Audible CA | Amazon UK | Audible AU

Ebook: Kindle (Amazon US) | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU | Barnes & Noble  | Kobo | Kobo CA | iTunes | Google

From the Lividian Publications website:

Lividian Publications is proud to be publishing a deluxe trade hardcover edition of The King of Shadows by Robert McCammon, the eighth volume in his acclaimed Matthew Corbett series. This beautiful hardcover edition features new Vincent Chong full-color artwork for the dust jacket.

Retail Price: $37.50
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Page Count: 472

Please note: this trade hardcover edition contains the exact same text as the Limited Edition, but with different spacing for the interior page design, to reduce the page count and keep the retail price as reasonable as possible in the current market. It’ll still be very readable!

Production Features for the FIRST PRINTING only:
• Full-color dust jacket artwork by Vincent Chong (different from the Limited Edition)
• Offset printed on an acid-free archival quality paper stock
• Hot foil stamping on the spine
• Smyth-sewn to create a more durable binding
• Twine head and tail bands
• Colored endpapers

About the Book:
It’s January of 1704, and Matthew Corbett continues his mission to Italy, accompanied by Hudson Greathouse and former enemy Professor Fell. They seek Brazio Valeriani and information about the mirror created by his father, the sorcerer Ciro. Legend claims the mirror can be used to summon demons from beyond.

But fate has other plans for Matthew as their ship is disabled by a pod of whales, and they seek refuge on a secluded island. The islanders welcome them with a massive feast, but all is not what it seems. As the island pulls them deeper into its influence, the castaways struggle to maintain their grip on reality, even their very identity. Matthew must keep his wits about him and solve the mystery enshrouding the other side of the island, where an active volcano looms and a secretive creature lurks.

The King of Shadows is the eighth installment in bestselling author Robert McCammon’s acclaimed series of historical thrillers featuring Matthew Corbett, a brave “problem-solver” who now faces a challenging foe that threatens to take over his most valuable resource: his own mind.

About the Author:
Robert McCammon is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-six books. He is the winner of five Bram Stoker Awards and a World Fantasy Award. He is best known for Swan Song (1987), The Wolf’s Hour (1989), and Boy’s Life (1991). More recently, McCammon has published The Five, which Stephen King called his best novel ever, and The Border, and is writing the Matthew Corbett series, a nine-book series of historical thrillers that USA Network has called “the Early American James Bond.” McCammon lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

Reviews and Praise:
“Admirers of action-packed suspense with paranormal elements… will find much to like.”
— Publishers Weekly

 

Lividian Publications released the following announcement:

The King of Shadows by Robert McCammon
Signed Copies of the 1st Printing!

We’re very pleased to announce a surprise bonus for The King of Shadows trade hardcover edition, which will be published on December 6.

Earlier this year, Robert McCammon generously agreed to sign signature sheets for this edition, which means that any copies ordered directly from Lividian Publications or one the retailers below will be a 1st printing signed by the author. This includes copies already ordered, you do not need to order again.

Bad Moon Books * Camelot Books * Cemetery Dance Publications * Dark Regions * Kathmandu Books * Overlook Connection * SST Publications (UK Store!) * Subterranean Press * Ziesings

The Alabama Booksmith is also receiving 1st printing copies, but without the signed tip sheet because Robert McCammon will be visiting their store for a launch event and personally signing all of their copies. If you cannot attend this signing, you can also preorder a copy through their website.

Please Note: We’ve received a surge of orders over the last six weeks and we’ve reached the point where Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the other bigger retailers will not be getting first printings. Given the current supply chain problems with the printers, there is no way to rush a second printing in time for pub day, so we will also be publishing this title as a print-on-demand hardcover using the same printer Cemetery Dance used for Gwendy’s Final Task. If you order from a bigger retailer, the odds are good that is what you will receive. They’re still very nice books, and a huge leap forward from where POD was just five years ago, but we wanted to be clear that those copies wouldn’t be part of the offset 1st printing we’re talking about above.

Read more or reserve your copy today!

If you haven’t read this incredible series yet, please visit the The Matthew Corbett Trade Paperback SIGNED First Printing Bundle product page for more information about how you can order the new trade paperbacks including one SIGNED by Robert McCammon.

The Alabama Booksmith has announced that Robert McCammon will sign his new book, The King of Shadows, there on Saturday, December 3, 2022, at 3 PM!

The event will start with a presentation with Mr. McCammon discussing and, most likely, reading from The King of Shadows.

Copies of his in-print novels, including The King of Shadows, will be available for purchase, and attendees are welcome to bring other books for Mr. McCammon to sign.

NOTE that masks are required inside the Alabama Booksmith! I expect this to be true in December, too.

For details, including information about ordering a signed copy, visit the Alabama Booksmith website.

If you’re coming from out-of-town, you may check out the special rate the beautiful Valley Hotel offers Alabama Booksmith customers (they’re just a short walk away) by Clicking Here