M. H. Ayinde’s highly anticipated sequel A Dance of Burning Blades publishes on 7th April (UK) Orbit Books and
August 11th 2025 (US/Canada) Saga Press!

If you loved, A Song of Legends Lost , A Dance of Burning Blades will thrill you even more! The second book in the Invoker Trilogy picks up after the greyblood attack on Lordsgrave, with Clan Adatali in open rebellion and the Nine Lands on the brink of war. At the center of the chaos: a tree feller who bears a striking resemblance to the missing invoker Jinao Mizito, still committed to avenging his brother.

Ayinde’s debut A Song of Legends Lost became a Sunday Times bestseller last year, earning praise for its Yoruba-inspired worldbuilding and ancestral invocation system. The novel draws from Yoruba cosmology, Filipino precolonial culture, and influences as varied as Final Fantasy summons and The Lord of the Rings, creating a science-fantasy world where noble-blooded warriors summon ancestral spirits to fight alongside them while ancient technology complicates the magic. The sequel promises deeper revelations about the greybloods and the Scathed civilization that created them, while continuing the multi-perspective storytelling that made the first book compelling. For readers who’ve been following Ayinde’s journey from Future Worlds Prize winner to bestselling author, A Dance of Burning Blades is the next chapter in what’s shaping up to be one of fantasy’s most distinctive trilogies.

Read the synopsis below:

Tension simmers across Nine Lands. In the capital, the people of Lordsgrave seethe with resentment after the horrors of the greyblood attack. Clan Adatali are in open rebellion against the king. And as war in the Feverlands rages on, a humble tree feller who looks a lot like missing invoker Jinao Mizito, has not forgotten the promise he made to avenge his brother.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, Lyela continues to move her pieces across the board. Will the people of Nine Lands reclaim their stolen history and unlock the secrets that have been kept from them for centuries? 

Order here.