Hello everyone. The end is here. THE CYCLE OF GALAND, the final book of The Cycle of Galand, is now live.
You can get it on Audible, Amazon audio, ebook, and paperback.
A part of me is very sad to bring this series to an end. But I am also very proud of this one. In it, I tried to answer as many remaining questions in the series as I could. Including some I didn’t realize I was asking until the very end. Nor could I have asked for anything more from the characters. They gave it everything.
There is a lot more I could say, but you can find most of it in the afterword to this book. But a few things. First, thank you so much for following these characters through to the finish. You guys gave me a career, and along with the Breakers series, Arawn and Galand are the reasons why. Thank you.
As for the most obvious question: Will there be any more books about Dante and Blays? For now, the answer is I don’t know. I wrote the first book, The White Tree, back in 2007, 17 years ago now. Once the last Cally book is done later this year, I’ll have written 17 novels in this world. And I was actually writing about an earlier form of Dante way back in 1997—when I was the same age he is at the start of The White Tree. A part of me can’t imagine leaving these characters behind. They’ve been with me pretty much my whole life.
But I’ve put Dante and Blays through so much. I think it’s important to give characters a proper ending to their story, and I’ll never be able to write a bigger ending for them than this. It might be their time.
Then again…there are more stories that could be told. You’ll see what I mean.
At the very least, if there are any more, it won’t be for a few years. First, there’s another universe I’ve been wanting to write for a long, long time. I need to explore that world first. And frankly, I think Dante and Blays have earned a much-deserved break.
In the meantime, reading my new books is more than enough, but if you’d like to help support me and ensure I can keep doing this for another 20+ years, I have started a Substack you are welcome to subscribe to:
https://edwardwrobertson.substack.com
I will be publishing my short fiction new and old there, along with occasional updates, maybe excerpts from upcoming works, etc. It’s only just getting started, but I’ve posted the very first Dante and Blays story that was ever published there, and there will be some more tales about them in the future. Who knows, maybe that’s where the idea for another series might come from.
Anyway, that’s it, I think. Thank you, one last time. And for now, here’s one last trip into the dream.
All right! If you haven’t grabbed it already, THE SHATTERED PATH: The Cycle of Galand #9 is now live on audio (or through Audible, if you prefer) and ebook, with paperback coming in the next day or two.
This is the second-to-last book in the series—and the finale, #10, is already finished, recorded, and in post-production. It will be out on July 2. So if you’ve been waiting for the series to be completed before diving in—and with the way the fantasy world is these days, I don’t blame you—well, it’s done. And it, and its world, wound up bigger than I ever imagined.
A quick side note: #9 and 10 were originally supposed to be a single book before getting much too long for that (ha ha, can you imagine that, one of my books getting longer than I meant it to be?). Since their stories are more tightly connected than previous entries, I wanted to be sure to release them back-to-back like this, which is why it took longer between #8 and 9 than I normally try to take with these things.
I discuss the series’ origins and development over time in the afterword of #10, so I think I’ll save anything more along those lines for when the last book comes out (which again, is just six weeks from now). Well, except to say two things: number one, I have no plans for any further books in this world or with these characters, but I’m absolutely not ruling it out, either. The future will be a surprise to you and me both.
And second, I’ve had a plan for how the series would end since finishing #7, but it took a little longer to get there than I meant it to. If I can speak quite frankly, I would have preferred #8, 9 and 10 to have been two books instead of three. For reasons of narrative structure, that turned out to be impossible, and it simply required three books. Still, at times the story here hasn’t been advancing quite as fast as it would have in my ideal world.
With that being said—some stuff came together in #9 and 10 that tied together in ways that practically had me doing cartwheels when it popped into my head. I am very, very happy with how the two-part finale turned out, especially the final book of this series. I think the payoff will very much be worth the journey.
As always, thanks for reading or listening.
(P.S.: I wrote these two books for close to 18 months nonstop, including an insane deadline-beating final push at the end of 2023 and first few months of 2024, and I dropped off the face of the earth for a bit there. But it would be nice to check in with you all a little more often. After this series wraps up, I’ll try to update the site more regularly regarding what’s coming next, my progress, maybe occasional tidbits about writing or whatever. We will see. Anyway—go read!)
I’m going to make a longer post later about this book when I have a little more time, but I’m currently trying to launch it high while getting Galand #7 in on deadline, so I’m going to have to be brief right now. Forgive!
But I’ve got a new book out. It’s a new epic fantasy novel, in a brand new universe, unrelated to anything else I’ve done. And I need you to know about it right now.
It’s cool as hell. And it’s out simultaneously on ebook and audio. And the audio is narrated by… Michael Kramer.
I hate begging, I think the work just speaks for itself or it doesn’t, and that’s been the case for my books for the better part of a decade now. But. I really want this book to get off to a great start. Because great starts are vitally important to the series itself, and thus my ability to continue writing as hard as I try to.
So. If you like my work. If you’ve been reading me for a while. Go pick this one up, too. Get it off to the races. There is a lot to like in this book. It’s both a little more traditional fantasy and a little more not—we’ve got dragons and dwarves, but we also have orcish rifles and mechanical dragons—this is definitely pure epic fantasy, but with some Western influence as well. It’s something you’ve read before, but it’s also nothing like anything you’ve ever read before.
It’s really fun, in other words. I think we could all use some of that right now. So go smash that “BUY” button, and let’s get this thing soaring. We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled series shortly.
The wait is over! THE BLACK BOOK: The Cycle of the Scour #2 is out on audiobook right now. You can pick it up on Audible and Amazon.
If you haven’t read the first book, then what is wrong with you? It is about the life of young Cally, set 100 years before he and Dante ever met. I (quite literally) couldn’t think of anything more fun in this world than that.
I mean, uh, you can get it on Audible and Amazon too.
As for what’s next: I am within a month of finishing the first draft of Galand #7. Normally that’d mean it’d be out mid-January or something, but I’m going to start releasing them at the same time Podium puts out the audio. So look for the ebook and audio to go live in March or April.
…and for a completely unexpected surprise before then.
In the meantime, thanks for reading/listening/osmotically absorbing these, everyone.
Normally I have everything all lined up to release a new book within a few days of finishing the manuscript. That means that—again, normally—this book would have been out sometime in April. Since nothing about this year is normal, however, THE BLACK BOOK: The Cycle of the Scour #2 is out today instead. You can pick it up here.
If you haven’t gotten into the series yet, you are a disgrace to your family and I—wait, that’s no good. What I mean to say is, I have most generously dropped it to just $0.99 for the next few days (US/UK).
As for the other formats of THE BLACK BOOK, the paperback should be live any time now, with the audiobook scheduled for November. Tim’s returning to narrate.
Fun piece of trivia: I did something with this book that I haven’t done in a good twelve years: wrote it in first person. I think it’s a better fit for Cally, who is something of an unusual thinker.
Next up is THE TWELVE PLAGUES: The Cycle of Galand #7. Normally I’d be starting on it from scratch right now, but again, things aren’t normal here, and I’m already 300 pages deep. I plan to have it out by year’s end, but you can see what reality thinks of plans right now.
In the meantime, enjoy this one! Or two, if you haven’t read #1 already, like the dirty dog you are—err rather, like a person who must have just innocently missed its initial release. Yes. Yes, that’s it.
I feel like the last one just came out—probably because it did—but there are no brakes on the Rebel Stars train. FREEFALL, #4 in the series, is now out on audiobook! Get it on Amazon or Audible, your pick.
If you haven’t gotten into the series yet, some incredibly generous person (wait, that was me!) has made the first three books available for just one credit (Amazon, Audible).
There’s just one more in the series after this, and it’s slated for release later next month. So as a completely disinterested third party, it sounds to me like you would have to be completely insane to not start listening to this now now now now.
Updates? Sure, some updates. Cally Book #2 should finally be out on ebook next month, with Tim recording the audio in September and a planned release date in November. I should have Galand #7 out on ebook right around that same time or a little thereafter (with the audiobook next spring).
Wait, what’s that? And I’ll have something else coming out by the end of the year, too? And it’s a secret that I’ve kept secret for the last couple of years, but which is finally about to come to life and could be mighty cool?
Well, that’s the word on the street, anyway. I suppose the only way to wait out the suspense is to go and listen to FREEFALL.
It isn’t live quite yet—that happens at the end of March—but if you want to make sure you don’t miss the release, you can preorder the audiobook for WHAT LIES BEYOND: The Cycle of Galand #6 right here.
After delays of every conceivable kind—I’m surprised the manuscript wasn’t at one point captured by pirates and held for ransom—I’m very, very happy to announce that WHAT LIES BEYOND: The Cycle of Galand #6 is now live.
You can get the ebook on Amazon.
The paperback should be ready in another day or two. One of the nice things about it taking so long to publish this is that my publishers will be able to get the audiobook out more quickly than normal. In fact, Tim’s going to start recording it next month. I don’t know yet exactly when it’ll be out, but I think there’s an outside shot it’ll be live before year’s end, though early next year is more likely.
We’re nearing the end of the series, but there’ll be at least one more book left after this one, and quite possibly two. I’ll have at least one of ’em out next year.
Next on the docket: the sequel to THE SEALED CITADEL, the first Cally book, which I’m planning to have out in December. What do you mean you haven’t read the first book yet?? Fix that right now! Don’t you know the audiobook will be out on November 5? And that Tim Gerard Reynolds is narrating? As young Cally? What could be better? That’s not rhetorical, I really can’t think of anything better than that.
Except, perhaps, wrapping this up and going off to play Stardew Valley, because it was supposed to be my day off. Those digital strawberries won’t pick themselves!
In the meantime, hope you guys enjoy this one. And that it’s long enough to keep you occupied for at least a few days.
Hello faithful readers, and good news: you can cancel the search parties. I’m alive. And I’ve got a new book for you—even better, it’s the start of a new series in a familiar world.
THE SEALED CITADEL is set in the same universe as the Cycles of Arawn and Galand, but in an earlier time. A much different one. A time when Cally, the man who would later mentor Dante Galand, is just a young sorcerer himself. Yes, that’s right. It’s about Cally.
This is the first in a new series of what will probably be three or four books. To get it off to a nice start, and for fun, it’s currently just $0.99 on Amazon (UK version here) or can be read through Kindle Unlimited. It’s out on paperback, too.
Audiobook questions: will there be one? Yes. Will Tim Gerard Reynolds be narrating? Also yes, and it should be awesome to hear him voice young Cally. I think he’s slated to start recording any day now, so that ought to be out sometime this summer.
Using my almighty power of “having done this for a while,” I foresee another question: Galand #6? Yep, on the way—in fact, I’m almost done with the first draft, so expect the ebook in June, with Tim starting the audio narration shortly thereafter, making for a probable autumn release.
Starting a new series is always both exciting, but also a total gut-wrencher. You never know if it’s going to take off, or, to paraphrase a wise robot, flop like an automated flopping machine. With that in mind, I am extra grateful to everyone who picks this one up. Getting to write Cally’s voice again was a blast. I’m excited to see where the rest of his story leads.
As always, thanks for reading,
– Ed
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