England in the fourteenth century: a land of poverty and opulence, prayer and plague…witchcraft and necromancy.As a child, Elisha witnessed the burning of a witch outside of London, and saw her transformed into an angel at the moment of her death, though all around him denied this vision. He swore that the next time he might have the chance to bind an angel’s wounds, he would be ready. And so he became a barber surgeon, at the lowest ranks of the medical profession, following the only healer’s path available to a peasant’s son.Elisha Barber is good at his work, but skill alone cannot protect him. In a single catastrophic day, Elisha’s attempt to deliver his brother’s child leaves his family ruined, and Elisha himself accused of murder. Then a haughty physician offers him a way out: come serve as a battle surgeon in an unjust war.Between tending to the wounded soldiers and protecting them from the physicians’ experiments, Elisha works night and day. Even so, he soon discovers that he has an affinity for magic, drawn into the world of sorcery by Brigit, a beautiful young witch…who reminds him uncannily of the angel he saw burn.In the crucible of combat, utterly at the mercy of his capricious superiors, Elisha must attempt to unravel conspiracies both magical and mundane, as well as come to terms with his own disturbing new abilities. But the only things more dangerous than the questions he’s asking are the answers he may reveal.E. C. Ambrose writes with a razor’s ruthless precision, and draws new blood from the medieval world you thought you knew. Review"ELISHA BARBER is an edgy, vivid story with engaging characters and a well-drawn setting that's almost, but not quite, our own history. I was drawn right in, quick as a slash of a barber's razor." --Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times bestselling author of CLOCKWORK ANGELS"A vivid, violent, and marvelously detailed historical fantasy set in the perilous world that is medieval England in the middle of a war. Elisha Barber wades through blood and battle in his pursuit of arcane knowledge—forbidden love—and dangerous magic." --Sharon Shinn, author of TROUBLED WATERS"In a grim world of medieval warfare, witch-hunts and primitive surgery, E. C. Ambrose has crafted a shining tale of one man's humanity and courage. A gritty read for those who like realism as well as hope in their fantasy." --Glenda Larke, author of STORMLORD'S EXILE"ELISHA BARBER is a stunning debut from a gifted storyteller. It didn't just keep me up all night, it transported me to a vivid, gritty 14th-century England, and left me feeling like I'd been touched by the wing of that dark angel. A magical first novel." --Steven H. Savile, author of PRIMEVAL: SHADOW OF THE JAGUAR"Blending magic and history, strong characters and gripping action, E.C. Ambrose brings a startlingly unique voice to our genre. Part epic fantasy, part medical thriller, part historical novel, ELISHA BARBER is at once dark, powerful, redemptive, and ultimately deeply satisfying." --D. B. Jackson, author of THIEFTAKER

Elisha was a skillful barber-surgeon, cutting hair and stitching wounds for poor peasants like himself in 14th century London. But that was before catastrophe ruined his family. Before he was falsely accused of murder, and sent to die in an unjust war. Before he discovered his exceptional potential for a singularly deadly magic, and was forced to embrace his gifts and end that war...by using his newfound abilities to kill the tyrannical king. Elisha is no longer the lowly barber he was, but it is hard to tell exactly who he is now. The beautiful witch Brigit, his former mentor, claims him for the magi, all those who have grasped the secrets of affinity and knowledge to manipulate mind and matter, and who are persecuted for it. Duke Randall, the man who first rose against the mad King Hugh, has accepted him as a comrade and ally in the perilous schemes of the nobility. Somehow, he has even become a friend to Thomas, both the rightful king and, something rarer, a good man....

In this fifth and final installment of The Dark Apostle, barber-surgeon-turned-sorcerer Elisha must save plague-stricken England from its path of destruction—or risk succumbing to the very dark magic he is trying to eradicate.Elisha was once a lowly barber-surgeon from the poorest streets of 14th-century London; now, he may be the most powerful magus alive. He faces the necromancers, a shadowy cult of magi who draw their power from fear and murder—and who have just unleashed the greatest plague the world has ever known upon a continent already destabilized by wars, assassinations, and religious conflict. Empires and armies are helpless with no clear enemy to fight. The Church loses its hold upon the faithful as prayers go unanswered. Europe has become a bottomless well of terror and death, from which the necromancers drink deep as the citizens sink into despair. Elisha knows that if there is to be any chance of survival, he must root out the truth of...

Elisha Mancer is the fourth novel in the Dark Apostle historical fantasy series set in an alternate 14th-century Europe.Elisha was once a skilled barber-surgeon, but healing is no longer his finest art. After discovering his exceptional potential for a singularly deadly magic, Elisha has slain a king, stopped a war, and even had the regency thrust upon his own commoner's head until he could rescue the true heir, Thomas. With Thomas back on the throne of England, Elisha must now work on his king's behalf to fight an even greater threat than civil war: the specter of the necromancers, a shadowy cabal that has already corrupted priests and princes, and that may have even grander, darker plans. Elisha travels to the continent to warn England's allies of the mancer threat, as well as to discover the full extent of the mancers' plans. But it soon becomes clear that if he is to have any hope of stopping those plans from coming to fruition, he must forge new...