Do we have a treat for you today!

David Wragg is back with his second instalment in the Tales of the Plains trilogy, The Company of the Wolf and we’re honoured to be revealing the cover! 

Before we reveal the cover and the full wraparound artwork, here’s what the book is all about:

Full of David Wragg’s unique blend of humour, heart, and high stakes, The Company of the Wolf is the epic next instalment in the Tales of the Plains trilogy.

Seeking a better life, Ree and Javani have travelled west into the mountains, and left their pasts – and their troubles – behind. But new places bring new problems, and when they stumble across a lone traveller under bandit attack, they make the mistake of lending a hand.

Forced to take refuge in the traveller’s village, they quickly find allies among the lush, wooded hills.

But then the true nature of the bandits is revealed.

With winter approaching and a vengeful company of mercenaries circling like wolves, Ree and Javani must uncover the secrets of this peaceful valley… or risk the ruin of it all.

Here’s what David had to say about it:

The Company of the Wolf is the second book in the Tales of the Plains trilogy, and despite being a part two, it can be enjoyed as an (almost) standalone, without having read The Hunters first. The story takes Ree and Javani from the rocky desert of Mining Country of the first book into the lush and chilly mountains, still trying to find a new life for themselves, and finding only trouble along the way.

The story is a riff on the classic Villagers vs Bandits, in the style of Seven Samurai (or, as we’re dealing in Westerns, the Magnificent Seven), but with a modern edge. It’s a chance to deepen Ree and Javani’s characters, their relationship and histories, but also explore some timely themes around what it means to live in peace. I think it’s my best book yet, and I cannot wait to unleash it on the world

Without further ado, here’s the cover!

(Art by Gavin Reece, design by Emily Langford) Twitter: @Meiklejohn_

Instagram: @gavinreece62 and @Meiklejohn_ 

Isn’t it bloody stunning?!

Here’s David Wragg’s thoughts on the cover:

The cover for The Company of the Wolf is not only a stunning piece of art in its own right, but ties beautifully into the world and characters of the story. You’ll see immediately that we’ve moved from the deserts and plains of the first book into the verdant mountains, and that winter is around the corner. Ree remains her cagey, suspicious self, while Javani has grown – in height, at least – and is more dangerous than ever.

There’s a whole new cast of characters to meet in the book, heroes and villains and all shades in between, and one very large, very good dog. The full wraparound gives a magnificent flavour of the excitement and madness to come, and I can’t wait for people to see it.

 A note from Beth:

This book is so close to my heart because Dave asked me to give it a sensitivity read! He has some characters he wanted to instil with Welsh mannerisms, and I was so touched he asked me and grateful that he showed that respect to reach out to a Welsh person. It is something of a pet peeve of mine when people crow-bar what they think is Welsh culture into their fantasy work to give it “a more fantasy feel” and they get things completely wrong (there was one book that utterly confused me when a character was calling his horse sweet (flavoured) – and then I realised the author had just Google translated “sweet” as a term of endearment, assuming Welsh terms of endearment would be the same as English ones. Sweet is only ever used in terms of an adjective for food in Welsh. Anyway, I digress). I can’t wait for you to meet Dave’s new characters, but especially a particular grumpy and foul-mouthed archer. Gavin has absolutely nailed him on the cover!

The Company of the Wolf is released 29th August 2024

Pre-orders are massively helpful to authors, you can pre-order The Company of the Wolf from:

Amazon | Bookshop.org | Waterstones