Songs of the Dead
Brandon Sanderson · Peter Orullian
Jun 2026 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Luke Daniels
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3 reviews
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14 hr 12 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
The instant national bestseller about a London rocker is faced with a life-or-death choice when he realizes that a league of necromancers are the only ones keeping London safe in this music-infused fantasy cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson along with author-musician Peter Orullian.
Jack Solomon is walking home with his mentor Henry, owner of the iconic London rock club The Iron Horse, after another night when they are both shot dead by an assassin painted in corpse makeup. When Jack wakes up on the street, somehow alive, yet without Henry, he has found himself in a London where an ancient league of necromancers known as thanatists are entering a civil war, and he’s now at the center of it.
Gathering his friends at the Iron Horse, Jack is on a crash course to learn how to be a thanatist and navigate the Strata—living eras of the past sprawling beneath today's London—in order to win this fight. What is revealed is that a slow revolution to rewrite history to favor the near-forgotten dead, through music, is coming to a boil, and the Iron Horse is essential to keep
London safe.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson has partnered with heavy metal musician and fellow fantasy author Peter Orullian to create a unique contemporary fantasy series, The Strata Wars, lifting the veil to a hidden magical world where musical history and necromantic magic is intertwined, and has been for centuries.
Includes an exclusive excerpt of an original song written by Peter Orullian and performed by Peter Orullian and Luke Daniels!
Jack Solomon is walking home with his mentor Henry, owner of the iconic London rock club The Iron Horse, after another night when they are both shot dead by an assassin painted in corpse makeup. When Jack wakes up on the street, somehow alive, yet without Henry, he has found himself in a London where an ancient league of necromancers known as thanatists are entering a civil war, and he’s now at the center of it.
Gathering his friends at the Iron Horse, Jack is on a crash course to learn how to be a thanatist and navigate the Strata—living eras of the past sprawling beneath today's London—in order to win this fight. What is revealed is that a slow revolution to rewrite history to favor the near-forgotten dead, through music, is coming to a boil, and the Iron Horse is essential to keep
London safe.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson has partnered with heavy metal musician and fellow fantasy author Peter Orullian to create a unique contemporary fantasy series, The Strata Wars, lifting the veil to a hidden magical world where musical history and necromantic magic is intertwined, and has been for centuries.
Includes an exclusive excerpt of an original song written by Peter Orullian and performed by Peter Orullian and Luke Daniels!
The instant national bestseller about a London rocker is faced with a life-or-death choice when he realizes that a league of necromancers are the only ones keeping London safe in this music-infused fantasy cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson along with author-music...
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Ratings and reviews
3 reviews
VegasLass
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July 16, 2026
The story is good though seemed quite complicated with the magic info dumping. Be prepared for a lot of music geek speak and references (enough of the latter I didn't get so it got annoying). Also it is a bit of a trauma drama so again, be prepared.
About the author
In May 2005, Brandon Sanderson published his first novel, Elantris, followed by the Mistborn trilogy, its follow-up The Alloy of Law, Warbreaker, and The Way of Kings, the first in a projected ten-volume series called The Stormlight Archive. The fifth book in that series, Wind and Truth was an immediate #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller. In 2022, Sanderson broke Kickstarter records by raising over $40 million to self-publish four "Secret Project” novels. Brandon won the Hugo Award in 2013 for his novella “The Emperor’s Soul”, and the David Gemmell Legend Award. His books have hit the New York Times Best Seller list twenty-five times and have been published in forty languages. At the end of each year, thousands of Sanderson’s fans gather at his Dragonsteel Nexus convention to celebrate his stories and to get a first glimpse of what Brandon will be writing next. Visit his website for behind-the-scenes information on all his books at BrandonSanderson.com.
Peter Orullian is an American fantasy author, composer, and performer. As a musician, he has toured internationally—fronting various rock and metal bands—written and released multiple albums, and recently founded his own symphonic rock group, Symphony North, which focuses on building trans-media properties to combine music and narrative. The first of these, entitled The Bell Ringer, was recently released as a full concept album, and will embark on a US tour in holiday of 2026. The novelization of The Bell Ringer will release in tandem with the tour. As an author, Orullian has also novelized chart-topping concept albums for Grammy Award–winning metal giant Dream Theater. In 2012, he was shortlisted for the David Gemmell Morningstar Award. He has written numerous short stories as well as several other novels, including The Vault of Heaven, all of which use music as a driving force for worldbuilding and magical systems. Since 2018, he has been collaborating with Brandon Sanderson on developing and writing The Strata Wars series. Visit Peter Orullian at Orullian.com.
Peter Orullian is an American fantasy author, composer, and performer. As a musician, he has toured internationally—fronting various rock and metal bands—written and released multiple albums, and recently founded his own symphonic rock group, Symphony North, which focuses on building trans-media properties to combine music and narrative. The first of these, entitled The Bell Ringer, was recently released as a full concept album, and will embark on a US tour in holiday of 2026. The novelization of The Bell Ringer will release in tandem with the tour. As an author, Orullian has also novelized chart-topping concept albums for Grammy Award–winning metal giant Dream Theater. In 2012, he was shortlisted for the David Gemmell Morningstar Award. He has written numerous short stories as well as several other novels, including The Vault of Heaven, all of which use music as a driving force for worldbuilding and magical systems. Since 2018, he has been collaborating with Brandon Sanderson on developing and writing The Strata Wars series. Visit Peter Orullian at Orullian.com.
In May 2005, Brandon Sanderson published his first novel, Elantris, followed by the Mistborn trilogy, its follow-up The Alloy of Law, Warbreaker, and The Way of Kings, the first in a projected ten-volume series called The Stormlight Archive. The fifth book in that series, Wind and Truth was an im...
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