“It came to Hyam like a scent carried on a war-torn wind. But there was no hint of breeze within the city walls. Nor did he actually smell anything. But he knew it nonetheless, the electric potency of a spell not yet cast. He had almost forgotten how tantalising the flavour really was.” To read Thomas Locke’s Legends of the Realm series is to immerse yourself in another world – one that owes its magic to Mr Locke’s writing as much as it does the mage-force that operates within it. His writing is not just descriptive; it is atmospheric.