Gareth Hanrahan and Thomas D Lee In Conversation

The Dungeon Book

‘Full of wit and adventure, twists and turns, wonderful monsters and astonishing revelations. An absolute joy’ M. R. Carey, bestselling author of Once Was Willem

Enter a world of dungeons and dragons, magic and manticores, goblins and gargoyles in this captivating standalone fantasy from the author of The Gutter Prayer

Bait doesn’t remember a time before the dungeon, before the dragon stole her from her cot. She doesn’t know what her name was before she was handed over to the monstrous denizens of the dungeon beneath the sorcerer’s tower. Luckily for Bait, they decided not to eat her. And so, she grew up in the dark - the goblins her adopted family, a vengeful minotaur her protector, a sentient skull her tutor and a faithful blob of corridor slime her main source of nutrition.

But the labyrinthine dungeon, with its haunted halls, buried temples and forgotten magics, draws treasure hunters like moths to a flame. And as the outside world starts to intrude, Bait will learn what it means to be monstrous, and she will have to decide where she truly belongs.

Gareth Hanrahan

Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan is a writer and game designer. Originally qualified as a computer programmer, he took a three month break to see how “this writing thing” would go. More than fifteen years later, he’s still on that break. The writing thing seems to be going.

Gareth has published more role-playing games and supplements than he can even recall, including the award-winning The Laundry RPG, Adventures in Middle Earth and The Dracula Dossier.

He describes writing as “the process of transforming tea and guilt into words”.

His debut novel, The Gutter Prayer was published by Orbit Books in 2019. Its sequel, The Shadow Saint came out in January 2020. The third book in the series, The Broken God, comes out in May 2021. More books are in the works.

Gareth lives in Cork, Ireland with more dogs, children and fish than he ever anticipated.

Thomas D Lee

Dr. Thomas D. Lee is a Sunday Times bestselling author of fantastical and historical fiction. His first novel PERILOUS TIMES was described by the Guardian as an ‘audacious, original debut’ and was the winner of the Fantasy Hive Debut of the Year award for 2023. It has since been translated into French and German. The prequel THE KNIGHT WATCH will be published by Orbit Books in June 2026.

Tom holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Manchester’s Centre for New Writing, specialising in queer retellings of the Arthurian mythos. Since 2024 he has enjoyed working as a Visiting Lecturer at City St. George’s University of London, mentoring MA Creative Writing Students. Since January 2026 he has also worked as a mentor for The Write Advice, supporting aspirant authors on the path to publication.

Tom frequently considers emulating Merlin and becoming a hermit in the woods who speaks only in riddles. He has previously worked as a copywriter and a high-school teaching assistant. When not writing, Tom can be found playing Dungeons & Dragons and letting his cup of tea go cold.

The Knight Watch

A thousand years ago, the Knights of the Round Table made an oath to protect the realm forevermore.

It’s safe to say they didn’t think it all the way through.

Now Britain is embroiled in the Second World War, and the knights are still fighting the enemies of the realm. They’re also fighting each other - Kay and Lancelot haven’t spoken since Agincourt, and everyone wishes Agravain would stop speaking entirely.

Isolde - known in myth and legend for her tragic romance with the knight Tristan - is fed up with her tragic reputation. In a time when women have more freedom than ever before, she’s determined to strike out on her own. But when she discovers old enemies working alongside the Nazis, she realises she can’t fight all of them by herself. It might be time to get the old band back together . . .

From the Sunday Times bestselling Thomas D. Lee comes this sharp and witty caper, asking what happens when knights in armour return to fix the problems of a more modern world . . .