Today we’re delighted to bring you an exciting cover reveal for The Collarbound by Rebecca Zahabi, coming 12th May 2022 from Gollancz. Let us tell you right now, this book sounds incredible!

As the world faces rebellion and chaos, two people – one an escaped slave, one an amnesiac mage – will discover that their pasts are entwined, and their futures destined to collide.

On the other side of the Shadowpass, rebellion is brewing and refugees have begun to trickle into the city at the edge of the world. Looming high on the cliff is The Nest, a fortress full of mages who offer protection, but also embody everything the rebellion is fighting against: a strict hierarchy based on magic abilities, and the oppression of the Kher community.

When Isha arrives as a refugee, she attempts to fit in amongst the other mages, but her Kher tattoo brands her as an outcast. She can’t remember her past or why she has the tattoo. All she knows is that she survived. She doesn’t intend to give up now.

Tatters, who wears the golden collar of a slave, knows that this rebellion is different from past skirmishes. He was once one of the rebels, fought beside them, and technically, they still own him. He plans to stay in the shadows, until Isha appears in his tavern. He’s never seen a human with a tattoo, and the markings look eerily familiar. Despite his fear of being discovered, Tatters decides to help her.

 As the rebellion carves a path of destruction towards the city, The Collarbound follows an unlikely friendship between a man trying to escape his past and a woman trying to uncover hers, until their secrets threaten to tear them apart.

 A tale that questions fate and finds strength in not-belonging, The Collarbound hooks from the opening pages and will appeal to fans of magical, brink-of-war settings, like that of The Poppy War, and lyrical, character-driven writing, as found in A Darker Shade of Magic.

Now let’s take a look at the cover, shall we?

Cover art by JungShan

Can we all agree that by that cover alone this looks like an intensely gripping adventure? Here’s a note from Rebecca from herself:

I’m very honoured that Jung Shan Chang, who illustrated The Poppy War, worked on The Collarbound. It’s incredible to see a world that’s only existed in my mind so far spring to life on the page!

Here’s a little bit about the author:

Rebecca Zahabi writes science fiction and fantasy from her home in Manchester. Her debut novel, THE GAME WEAVERS, is forthcoming from ZunTold, a small indie press.  She has translated a middle-grade novel, THE GRIMOIRE: A Practical Guide to Red Magic by Eric Boisset from French to English, and two of her short stories have been published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.  Furthermore, her first novella was longlisted for the Penguin WriteNow competition 2016-17, and an earlier version of this novel was longlisted for The Future Bookshelf program for BAME writers at Hachette UK.  Her first interactive novel came out with Choice of Games LLC in April 2020, and she is currently under contract to write another game for them.

The Collarbound is due for release May 2022 but is available for pre-order