by Zoe Marriott
The astonishingly talented and lovely Maria Soler Canton for, as always, blowing my mind with cover-tastic beauty (and Heather, for similarly delighting me with my American cover art).
Gill Evans, Hilary Van Dusen, Miriam Newman, Victoria Philpott, Paul Black, Sawako Shirota and all the multitudes of talented and hardworking folk at both Walker Books and Candlewick Press.
The Furtive Scribblers, who forgave me even though I neglected them horribly whilst embroiled in this book’s clutches, and without whom I would never have had the idea for The Name of the Blade in the first place.
My online crew, including the marvellous UKYA bloggers, the Authors Allsorts and the YAThinkers, who sometimes were the only reason my laptop didn’t take a flying journey out of a window.
My whole family, with a special mention to my nieces Esme, Alexandra and Clemence, whose dawning geekery has gladdened my days in particular recently, and who reassure me that the force is still strong in the next generation.
Love The Name of the Blade series?
Love Zoë Marriott’s other books!
Visit Zoë online at www.zoemarriott.com
and thezoe-trope.blogspot.co.uk
Follow her on Twitter, @ZMarriott
PRAISE FOR
THE NAME OF THE BLADE BOOK 1
“Japanese mythology meets urban awesomeness (and a swoon-worthy romance!). The Night Itself captivated me.”
L. A. Weatherly, author of the Angel Trilogy
“Mio is a wonderful heroine who reminded me of some of my favourite superhero characters, and her connection with Shinobu is touching and believable. The Japanese mythology was refreshing, and I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the series!”
Karen Mahoney, author of the Iron Witch Trilogy and Falling to Ash
“A beautiful, awe-inspiring ride through an iconic London landscape harbouring extremely dangerous secrets. The Night Itself is a fantastic blend of Japanese folk tale and twenty-first-century thriller, populated by characters you will be rooting for at every breathless step.”
Katy Moran, author of Hidden Among Us
“I fell in love with sassy, courageous, wise-cracking Mio from page one.”
Ruth Warburton, author of the Winter Trilogy
Books by the same author
The Name of the Blade Book 1
The Night Itself
The Name of the Blade Book 2
Darkness Hidden
The Swan Kingdom
Daughter of the Flames
Shadows on the Moon
Frost Fire
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously. All statements, activities, stunts, descriptions, information and material of any other kind contained herein are included for entertainment purposes only and should not be relied on for accuracy or replicated as they may result in injury.
First published 2015 by Walker Books Ltd
87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ
Text © 2015 Zoë Marriott
Cover illustration © 2015 Larry Rostant
The right of Zoë Marriott to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted
or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:
a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-4063-6397-5 (ePub)
www.walker.co.uk
