Amazon Review
Scottish fantasy writer Ricardo Pinto returns with his eagerly awaited second book The Standing Dead, the follow up to his wonderful and critically acclaimed debut The Chosen.

The story picks up neatly where its predecessor ended and now finds Carnelian and Osidian, having escaped from Empress Ykoriana, held captive by one of the Earthsky tribes of the south plain--a captivity Carnelian grows to embrace along with the tribesmen and their ordered life. Meanwhile the fires of revenge are growing in Osidian and But the vampire-like Masters--whom the tribe refer to as "The Standing Dead" of the title--still inflict their terrible oppression on Carnelian's new-found home. But even more dangerous is the terrifying presence Carnelian himself has brought right to the Tribe's door.

Pinto's complex and beautifully written second fantasy is a book to be savoured and devoured slowly. He is immaculate in the detail of people, clothing, buildings and landscapes and purposely spends a lot of time introducing you to his intricately-imagined world. He continues to build the relationship between Carnelian and Osidian, a partnership that resonates with love and tenderness, but one that is also fraught with difficulties and the Masters are as loathesome and as frightening as ever. There are a lot timely lessons here on the persecution of those considered different or unwilling to conform to so-called majority law, but Pinto's story is not so black and white. Everyone is flawed to a point and their own convictions and motivations, no matter how worthy or distasteful, are as utterly convincing to us as they are to them.

Pinto writes beautifully and his prose is a refreshing antidote to much of the action-led fantasy that dominates the genre. This is a thoughtful, engrossing and dynamic piece of work that should establish Pinto as one of fantasy's most ambitious and creative exponents. If you aren't reading Pinto, you shouldn't be reading fantasy at all. --Jonathan Weir