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Table of Contents
About the Book
Featuring stenciled edges and original art for the front and back endpapers.
The instant national bestseller about a London rocker is faced with a life-or-death choice when he realizes that a league of necromancers are the only ones keeping London safe in this music-infused fantasy cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson along with author-musician Peter Orullian.
Jack Solomon is walking home with his mentor Henry, owner of the iconic London rock club The Iron Horse, after another night when they are both shot dead by an assassin painted in corpse makeup. When Jack wakes up on the street, somehow alive, yet without Henry, he has found himself in a London where an ancient league of necromancers known as thanatists are entering a civil war, and he’s now at the center of it.
Gathering his friends at the Iron Horse, Jack is on a crash course to learn how to be a thanatist and navigate the Strata—living eras of the past sprawling beneath today's London—in order to win this fight. What is revealed is that a slow revolution to rewrite history to favor the near-forgotten dead, through music, is coming to a boil, and the Iron Horse is essential to keep
London safe.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson has partnered with heavy metal musician and fellow fantasy author Peter Orullian to create a unique contemporary fantasy series, The Strata Wars, lifting the veil to a hidden magical world where musical history and necromantic magic is intertwined, and has been for centuries.
The instant national bestseller about a London rocker is faced with a life-or-death choice when he realizes that a league of necromancers are the only ones keeping London safe in this music-infused fantasy cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson along with author-musician Peter Orullian.
Jack Solomon is walking home with his mentor Henry, owner of the iconic London rock club The Iron Horse, after another night when they are both shot dead by an assassin painted in corpse makeup. When Jack wakes up on the street, somehow alive, yet without Henry, he has found himself in a London where an ancient league of necromancers known as thanatists are entering a civil war, and he’s now at the center of it.
Gathering his friends at the Iron Horse, Jack is on a crash course to learn how to be a thanatist and navigate the Strata—living eras of the past sprawling beneath today's London—in order to win this fight. What is revealed is that a slow revolution to rewrite history to favor the near-forgotten dead, through music, is coming to a boil, and the Iron Horse is essential to keep
London safe.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson has partnered with heavy metal musician and fellow fantasy author Peter Orullian to create a unique contemporary fantasy series, The Strata Wars, lifting the veil to a hidden magical world where musical history and necromantic magic is intertwined, and has been for centuries.
About the Authors
Photograph by Howard Lyon
In May 2005, Brandon Sanderson published his first novel, Elantris, followed by the Mistborn trilogy, its follow-up The Alloy of Law, Warbreaker, and The Way of Kings, the first in a projected ten-volume series called The Stormlight Archive. The fifth book in that series, Wind and Truth was an immediate #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller. In 2022, Sanderson broke Kickstarter records by raising over $40 million to self-publish four "Secret Project” novels. Brandon won the Hugo Award in 2013 for his novella “The Emperor’s Soul”, and the David Gemmell Legend Award. His books have hit the New York Times Best Seller list twenty-five times and have been published in forty languages. At the end of each year, thousands of Sanderson’s fans gather at his Dragonsteel Nexus convention to celebrate his stories and to get a first glimpse of what Brandon will be writing next. Visit his website for behind-the-scenes information on all his books at BrandonSanderson.com.
Photograph by Neil Lim Sang
Peter Orullian is an American fantasy author, composer, and performer. As a musician, he has toured internationally—fronting various rock and metal bands—written and released multiple albums, and recently founded his own symphonic rock group, Symphony North, which focuses on building trans-media properties to combine music and narrative. The first of these, entitled The Bell Ringer, was recently released as a full concept album, and will embark on a US tour in holiday of 2026. The novelization of The Bell Ringer will release in tandem with the tour. As an author, Orullian has also novelized chart-topping concept albums for Grammy Award–winning metal giant Dream Theater. In 2012, he was shortlisted for the David Gemmell Morningstar Award. He has written numerous short stories as well as several other novels, including The Vault of Heaven, all of which use music as a driving force for worldbuilding and magical systems. Since 2018, he has been collaborating with Brandon Sanderson on developing and writing The Strata Wars series. Visit Peter Orullian at Orullian.com.
Product Details
- Publisher: S&S/Saga Press (June 16, 2026)
- Length: 464 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668068144
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Raves and Reviews
“This well-realized magic system, which feels like classic Sanderson, will draw readers in, and though the fast-paced plot takes some complicated turns, the authors stick the landing. It’s an entertaining start.”
– Publishers Weekly
“Sanderson's touch is evident in the complexity of the magic system, and Jack's journey of discovery is an entertaining diversion, with plenty of conflict to drive sequels.”
– Booklist
“A headbanging beginning to what could be a remarkable urban fantasy series.”
– Kirkus
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
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Book Cover Image (jpg): Songs of the Dead
Hardcover 9781668068144
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Author Photo (jpg): Brandon Sanderson Photograph by Howard Lyon(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit
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Author Photo (jpg): Peter Orullian Photograph by Neil Lim Sang(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit
