18 months.

That’s how long it’s been since I released a new Landkist novel.

After releasing The Frostfire Sage in July of 2018, I took a hiatus from Landkist and epic fantasy altogether, signing a deal with Portal Books and expanding my writing palette with the debut of a Superhero LitRPG novel, while also working on a Cyberpunk martial arts story that you should be hearing about in the coming months.

All the while, the grand finale of The Landkist Saga, my greatest creative passion of the last five years, started to take shape. What was originally conceived to be one massive tome eventually turned into a two-parter that I often compare thematically to the two-part Avengers finale: Infinity War and Endgame.

For those who have been following along since 2016, when Valley of Embers’ modest 133,000 words landed in the dog days of summer, they’ll understand that the Landkist novels have gotten progressively longer with each volume, culminating with 2018’s The Frostfire Sage, which topped out at 265,000 words.

Well, as my editor will no doubt attest, what I first considered to be an anomaly has apparently become the new Landkist status quo, as Book 5 topped 275,000 words.

Time will tell if I bring the series home in a way that will satisfy Landkist readers and justify those MCU comparisons. And while it’s going to be a bit before we see the end END, for now, the Landkist drought has ended, and I’m pleased to present the penultimate chapter of the series:

[Warning: the following blurb contains spoilers for Landkist books 1-4!]

The last Sage is dying.

After a titanic battle fought among the frozen waves of the north, the War of Sages has come to an end. But as the heroes of the Valley have discovered, the centuries-long conflict between immortals was little more than a prelude.

In the wake of Queen Elanil’s folly, the World Apart has come in force, bringing with it the fury of a dark and vengeful god. The horizon is a ruin. Oceans burn. Last Lake shimmers and shivers under an assault the likes of which the Emberfolk have never seen before.

While the peoples of the world attempt to weather the war that was foretold,  Kole, Linn and the heroes of the Valley limp toward the broken lands of the south in the company of the man the Emberfolk have long held up as their greatest enemy.

The last Sage is dying.

And with him, the last hope for the world.

The Forever Night touches down on Amazon Kindle and paperback on March 2 2020, with audio to follow.

Pre-order today!

ALSO … eagle-eyed Landkist fans may have noticed that the series has been unavailable on Amazon for a few weeks. That’s because, in addition to striking a fairly complicated deal that will see the series re-produced with new audiobook editions, I decided to give the whole series a bit of a punch-up.

The Forever Night ushers in the Landkist 2^nd Edition run, with enhanced cover art and an all-new version of Book 1. Same story, better prose. If you’re new to Landkist, now is a great time to jump in.

The Landkist Saga #1-4 by Steven Kelliher