I started hitting the con circuit in about 2018 and fell in love – book lovers, authors, cosplay, night owls, drool-worthy merch, and so on! But I still felt like kind of the odd one out, because while there were some Christians at these events, and the friends I made were kind when I mentioned my faith, it just wasn’t an interest most attendees shared.
I thought how amazing it would be if there was a Christian literary convention where I could nerd out about all my fandoms and crack Bible jokes too! Much to my disappointment, no such thing existed. But in my initially dismal Googling, I discovered Realm Makers!
Realm Makers started out in 2013 as a a cohesive, professional conference for Christian speculative fiction authors. In 2016, they added an awards program for Christian fantasy and science fiction – at the time, I believe no other awards existed for this sub-genre. On their website, they describe the exact same feeling I had experienced at secular cons and in “mainstream” Christian circles – I couldn’t quite be myself fully in either.
But they still weren’t a convention. And I didn’t have ~$1500 to drop on travel, lodging, food, and conference fees. So I bided my time and stalked their amazing FB group, in which I made many friends and learned so much about this budding industry.
Ralene Burke, Rebecca P. Minor, Caylah CoffeenRich CoffeenKathy Tyers book signingHavok Magazine at Realm Makers
Then, last year (2025), they hosted their first EXPO for fans in Grand Rapids! FINALLY, I could afford to come and hang out with fellow creatives, browse book stalls, learn about Christian video game creators, and meet the publishers I had followed for years. Plus the geniuses behind Realm Makers: Rebecca (pictured above) and Scott Minor!
It was a blast! I got to meet one of my favorite authors, Kathy Tyers, who later kindly gave an interview on this blog. I got to help my dad (author Rich Coffeen) and Havok Magazine (with whom I was an editor at the time) vend at their tables. Of course, I ran around in cosplay, collecting stickers and business cards, and meeting indie Christian SFF authors I never would have discovered if not for this expo. I came home with a juicy stack of new books that marginally consoled me as I sulked about having to wait a whole year to return.
But now the time is near!
This year they’re hosting their conference and expo in St. Louis. The conference runs from Wed, June 24th – Sat, June 27th, with their awards banquet Thurs evening. The expo runs all day Fri, June 26th and Sat, June 27th. And this year, they’re not even charging for entry to shop the expo (screenings and events within the expo do cost extra).
It really was a wonderful event, great for both networking and sharing common passions, so I highly recommend that you attend if you can. I would love to meet you there!
Here’s one of the official fliers from their press kit, linked to their website where you can find more details.
Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.
I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing, Eschler Editing, and Havok Magazine. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!
Thanks for stopping by my website! I hope you’ve found some helpful resources about reading, writing, and publishing. If you liked this article, here’s some more free content…
Here are my reviews of 3 fantasy books that feature arena fights and a gladiator main character. If you love this trope, you can find more books on my list: “Slaves and Gladiators: 18 Fantasy Heroes Who Rise From Rock Bottom.” The first two below are adult dark fantasy and the third is YA to new adult.
This article contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
1. Book Review: Fates Defiant by Brigitte Cromey and C.M. Banschbach
Cyrus and Bastian, stars of the arena, both despair that they will die for the whims of their cruel masters. At first enemies, when one shows unexpected mercy to the other, they develop an unusual alliance.
With the compassion of an old god and one of his followers, and the daring of Bastian’s former griffin rider comrades, they might just find freedom… if their tenuous trust can bear them through their next fight to the death.
4/5 Stars
The author pitched this story to me as “enemies to brothers” and I joked that’s how you sell me a book in 0.1 seconds. But it wasn’t a joke, because I immediately bought, read, and loved it. It’s a good thing I heard about it from the author because the cover did not at all convey these dynamics and the gladiator setting to me – I would have never picked it up. The story is told from 2 POVs with each of the co-authors taking one perspective. I deeply enjoyed both, which is rare.
It’s a bromance but it takes half the book for Cyrus and Bastian to start interacting and I felt pretty impatient. But there’s a good mix of backstory, exciting fights, and heartbreaking abuse (closed door sexual assault). The fights are awesome and there are many of them! Of the three on this list, this felt most like an exact Roman analogue… plus griffins!
The writing is good. I would have given this 5 stars if the ending had a more compelling resolution with the main antagonist and if the theme of faith been a bit more deliberate. The villain seemed to give up too quickly. Both characters start praying to an old god for deliverance, but their shift from doubt to belief felt a bit too abrupt and wasn’t clearly tied up in the conclusion. I think the authors could have developed this theme a bit more.
But I highly recommend this one – it made me laugh, cry, sit on the edge of my seat, grit my teeth because of the antagonists, and root for them and their girls.
Lion is the King’s favorite gladiator, a “purebred beast” controlled by 3 magical words that ensure his complete submission.
But when the King sends him a freeborn slave woman and commands him to produce offspring, Lion’s torturous conditioning begins to break down.
Can he find the courage to even want his freedom, as the kingdom collapses in a coup and he falls into the hands of an unusual new master – a farm girl who claims to be different, but still treats him as the answer to her debts?
3.5/5 Stars
This book has one of the cruelest, most messed up systems of slavery I’ve ever seen depicted in fantasy – it’s definitely grimdark. Spells are placed on infant “purbred” slaves that allow their owner to control them with 3 different words, unique to each slave. One word paralyzes them, the second tortures them, and in the case of “beasts,” the gladiator slaves, their third word sends them into a mindless berserker state. They are raised at ranches where a psychotic level of torture and manipulation breaks them of the will to speak, defend themselves, want or feel anything, or even look fellow slaves in the eyes. The main character, Lion, is one such “beast.”
I really liked Lion’s journey which, at its heart, is an attempt to break free from conditioning and depression and learn how to love and be human again. It’s heartbreaking to see all the things he’s forced to do and how his owners treat him as a literal animal – their religion teaches “purebreds” have no souls. Part of the book contains a romance, but I certainly wouldn’t call the book “a romance.” He also doesn’t actually spend much time in the arena, as he’s already a famous gladiator by the start of the book. But the few fights are epic!
The original blurb is actually quite misleading, especially these lines: “Lion finds himself cast into a world that wants him dead… he must survive in the harsh North where his very existence is a sin.” From the summary, I thought Lion must have fled the city following the change in power, and is wandering around in the hill country experiencing freedom for the first time. I thought that the new regime disagreed with the practice of purebred slaves on the grounds of religion or some other ideology (common spark for wars), but the new rulers are just as psychotic as the old, and after the change in power, he is immediately transferred to a different owner. Unfortunately, half of the chapters are from her POV and she is a completely unlikeable person. If we didn’t have to suffer through her nasty, bitter, self-righteous perspective, I would have given this book 4 stars.
I went on to read the second book and am eagerly awaiting the 3rd.
3. Book Review: The Broken Heir by Jasper Alden and D.K. Holmberg
Talen, the clever second son of a powerful merchant family, receives a magical birthright that enables him to see possible futures.
But when his family is slaughtered by a powerful sorcerer only known as the Golden Fool, Talen is sold into slavery and forced into the fighting pits.
To enact vengeance, he must first survive the pits with his gift until he can escape with the help of his new friends… if he can trust them.
3/5 Stars
This was a decently fun read – gritty, with lots of fights. Talen’s captured and sold to the arena pretty early in the book – that’s the inciting incident – and must learn to become a fighter despite not being a natural at it. He survives through his ability to see possible futures. The source of this power was prettyunique. He makes friends with a couple fellow slaves, but I didn’t really care about either of them. The writing was just alright, but the reason I only gave it 3 stars was because of the ending.
I won’t spoil it, but the ending felt too easy and also made the book feel somewhat like a tangent. Talen’s seeking revenge for those who attacked him and his family, but they’re completely unrelated to the arena. So at the end of the book he goes to deal with the “real” problem, making the scenario in this book just feel like a detour for the sake of getting in some gladiator fights. Because he mostly relied on magic to survive, it’s not like his imprisonment in the arena was a significant “leveling up” that’s necessary before he can take revenge. But I did enjoy seeing a main character who relied on his brains rather than brawn.
If you’re looking for a quick, easy read with a subtle, magical twist on gladiator fights, this is still a fun one.
Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.
I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing and Eschler Editing, and am currently a weekly editor with Havok Publishing. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!
Thanks for stopping by my website! I hope you’ve found some helpful resources about reading, writing, and publishing. If you liked this article, here’s some more free content…
Do you know that feeling when you pick up a book and absolutely devour it, sucking it in like you’re feeding a gaping maw within your chest? And then you tear through the next few books trying to satisfy the same clawing yearning.
Then one day, your thoughts wander. You feel restless and when you open Kindle, forget that you had started the book staring at you. The words had slipped out of your mind. Scenes and dialogue fill your mind. A song catches your imagination and before you know it, it’s 2 am and you’re pacing, caught up in a battle or a scheme between characters. Before you know it, you have an entire new backstory, planet, or subplot that’s run away with you.
But then, as quickly as the flood of ideas came, they ebb away. You don’t feel like doing anything but watching TV or reading brain candy – your comfort fiction. That itch is back again that you need to satisfy, and the hunt is on for a book that will touch your heart or mind.
The Creative “Input-Output Cycle”
I call this the creative “input-output cycle.”
All creatives need a mix of input to stimulate their minds, imagination, and emotions. Without craft to emulate, ideas to inspire, and experiences to wake us, our creative well will remain dry.
Some authors can even name the story that “woke them” or tapped the buried flow of water, making it rush into and fill the well. For me, it was the chapter book series The Secrets of Droon by Tony Abbott (#myfirstedgelord) which my mother gifted to me for Christmas in 2nd grade. My parents had already cultivated a love of reading in me, but from that moment onward, I devoured books ravenously for 4 years: horse books, mystery, historical fiction, classics, and above all else, fantasy.
Then, the well overflowed, and stories started spawning in my brain. I couldn’t hold them in. They distracted me from my homework. I would spend hours daydreaming at my desk, incapable of reading because my brain had synthesized too much (no such thing), and now had to express itself.
Have you ever heard this quote?
Q: Why do you write? A: Because I have to.
It’s not a choice, it’s a compulsion. Just as reading becomes as necessary as breathing, as vital as food for the mind, heart, and soul, so too does creation.
As C.S. Lewis said in Till We Have Faces, “I was with book, as a woman is with child.”
Input Begets Output, Output Crowns the Soul
I’ve always been confused by writers who say they struggle to come up with ideas for their next book. I’ve always had the opposite problem. In fact, the plethora of ideas makes it hard to choose where to start my stories, which could fill dozens of books (according to my outlines).
I can’t read a book, listen to a piece of music, or watch a movie without new ideas blossoming in my mind. I remember the exact moment one of the main characters of my sci-fi universe popped into my head. I was sitting in my room in my senior year of high school, reading the first chapter of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. My main character positively exploded into my mind, thereafter occupying my every waking, and sometimes sleeping, thoughts.
It’s painfully obvious when a writer is unfamiliar with storytelling. When I review a sample that makes me suspect a reading deficit, I usually suggest this exercise – I ask them to pick a couple of their favorite books and rewrite a passage of their work in each style. The answer is usually, “oh… I’m not sure. I don’t really read much.”
Can an artist learn to paint even if they’ve never set foot in an art museum? Yes. Can a musician compose even if they hardly ever listen to music? Yes.
But they might as well be half blind and half deaf in their endeavors. Our brains need stimulation to form new networks, patterns, and understanding. If you are having trouble writing, then read! I know you’ve heard this. Reading is the most important form of input for a writer, but other creative inputs are also vital – art, music, dancing, religious experiences, travel, and so on.
But the opposite is also true. You could be in a reading slump, slightly irritated at everything you pick up, because nothing quite seems to touch that deepest place within your soul. These days, it’s actually easy for our brains to become oversaturated with input – that might be your problem.
If you’re having trouble writing, it might be because you’ve had too much input, and of the wrong type. Imagine again our well of creativity. If you’re constantly tapping into various underwater streams, you could end up with a geyser of Kool-Aid that turns your creative landscape into a nasty sludge of punch, rather than a full well of spring water that you can dip into and disperse with control.
It might be time for some quiet. Let your mind digest everything you’ve consumed and settle. Go back and savor one course a bit more deeply. Your original ideas might be fighting to emerge from the roiling stream of external ideas you keep cramming into yourself.
And what you add to the world’s body of stories will be your crowning achievement, standing atop all you’ve uniquely experienced.
Finding a Creative Balance
Finding the right balance of input and output takes time. In my experience, the right combination has also varied depending on my life circumstances. Sometimes poor mental health led to an abundance of my own stories as a form of emotional expression, while other times I drowned out my own thoughts with other peoples’ stories. New experiences sometimes compel me to add a new facet to my world, while other times curiosity inspires me to read and research a ton about that experience just for the sake of learning.
I’ve come to listen to myself and notice the type of restlessness and frustration I feel when my mind is ready to shift from one part of the creative cycle to the next. When I’ve spent several days reading the first few chapters of a dozen books, with none managing to capture my interest, I’ll start to poke at my own worldbuilding and outlines instead. When I start rewriting the same scene in my mind in every possible iteration till it feels like I’m beating a dead horse, I’ll return to my TBR list, often picking something completely different from the story I’d been working on to shake my brain loose.
I’ve spent months to years in an “output” cycle as my stories rapidly expanded, barely watching or reading anything in that time. But recently, I “cycle” more rapidly, reading multiple books in a few weeks, then switching back to scene development for a couple weeks, and so on.
Name Your Process… and Feel Less Insane
I come from a big family (7 kids!) and over half of us love to write. When we started to articulate our process like this, it helped us understand each other and ourselves so much better. It also helped our non-writer relatives and friends understand our “crazy” a bit better!
Sis: Hey, do you want to watch Stargate? Me: Nah, not tonight. Sis: Aww, you said that last weekend, come on! Me: I know! But I’ve been in output mode. I can’t get this scene out of my head. I just need to get it down!
Me: Hey, how are your stories going? What have you been working on recently? Sis 2: Ah, I felt kind of stuck on that one character. It was really annoying me so I stopped working on it for a while. I must’ve read at least 5 Mercedes Lackey books in the past week though! Me: Nice! I’ve been in input mode too. I picked up Nine Princes in Amber and now I’m trying to get my hands on everything Zelazny ever wrote.
Giving yourself permission to take a break and just enjoy stories can be hugely relieving! Not to mention practical for building both empathy and craft skills.
It can be harder to notice when you’re oversaturated and need to take a break to let your own ideas bubble to the surface, but this is also a practice that will greatly benefit your creative process in the long run.
There’s no right or wrong way to balance an “input-output cycle.” You could write in the morning and read in the evening, or vice versa. You could write all day on the weekends and read your comfort fics during the work week. Or if you’re chasing down a deadline, you could do nothing but bang out that draft for several months, and then go on a binge afterwards.
But naming where I am in my creative cycle and discovering what helps me transition between “input mode” and “output mode” has been hugely helpful to me in sustaining both the development of my stories and a well-read mind.
How well do you know yourself? Are you in control of your creative “input-output cycle?”
Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.
I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing and Eschler Editing, and am currently a weekly editor with Havok Publishing. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!
Thanks for stopping by my website! I hope you’ve found some helpful resources about reading, writing, and publishing. If you liked this article, here’s some more free content…
Enslaved warriors, conquered peoples, arena and pit fights, prisoners of war… a great story starts with conflict and a burning character desire. Few trials compare to losing one’s freedom – a hero’s rise to greatness can feel even more powerful when they have to overcome complete powerlessness.
So here is a list of fantasy books that feature a main character who is enslaved for a significant portion of the story and must struggle to seize freedom and revenge. A few of these are the 2nd or 3rd in a series but can be read out of order (new POVs, different place in the world).
This list does NOT include:
Erotica, BDSM, or dark romance (there is off-screen sexual assault in #2, #5, & #13)
Stories that start after the mc’s enslavement has ended (like The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold)
Books that feature slavery or slave revolts as a theme/plot but without a slave’s POV (like Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb)
Genres represented: high and epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, sword and sandal, dark fantasy, grimdark, adult, & a couple of YA fantasy books.
This article contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
1. The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archives #1) by Brandon Sanderson
A king is murdered on the eve of a peace treaty, sparking a war between the warlike Alethi and the mysterious tribe of nonhuman Parshendi. Thus starts a decade-long war of attrition on the Shattered Plains, one of the most inhospitable places on Roshar, a rocky world torn apart by vicious storms and imbued with the power of Stormlight. Leading the charge are Shardbearers, noble warriors bonded to historic blades of incredible power that can be summoned at will.
The story follows the surviving royal Kholin family as they struggle to hold their fracturing country together, Shallan, a foreign noblewomen chasing mysteries at the heart of the world’s conflicts while running from the devastating secrets in her past, and Kaladin, an Alethi spearman betrayed into slavery by his leaders, who shines brighter than them all, even when thrown to his death on the plains of war.
2. Fates Defiant by C.M. Banschbach and Brigitte Cromey
Cyrus, the unbeatable Golden Sun, has been trained since his youth to annihilate opponents on the sands—but he’s no less a prisoner than the criminals he faces, and his usefulness to his masters lasts only as long as the money keeps coming in.
Bastian Lytos, a former griffin rider sentenced to the Arena for disobeying orders in battle, knows only despair. When fate throws him into the path of the Arena champion, he begins to wonder whether the gods—one in particular—sent him here for a reason.
An unlikely alliance forms, but in order to survive long enough to see freedom, they’ll have to fight… To the death.
3. The Light of Eidon (Legends of the Guardian-King #1) by Karen Hancock
Abramm has dedicated the last eight years of his life to becoming worthy to tend the Sacred Flames of Eidon. But on the eve of taking the vows that will irrevocably separate him from the life he was born to—as Abramm Kalladorne, fifth son of the king of Kiriath—he is betrayed by his spiritual mentor and sold into slavery by his brothers.
Flung into a world of galley ships and ancient mist-bound cities, Abramm is forced to compete as a gladiator. When the oppressed masses rally around his success, he discovers his suffering has molded him into something greater than he ever thought possible—to serve a purpose he never imagined.
Seyonne has been a slave for sixteen years, almost half his life, and has lost everything: his dignity, the people and homeland he loves, and the Warden’s power he used to defend an unsuspecting world from the ravages of demons. Seyonne forces himself to exist only in the present moment and to avoid the pain of hope or caring about anyone.
But from the moment he is sold to the arrogant, careless Prince Aleksander, the heir to the Derzhi Empire, Seyonne’s uneasy peace begins to crumble. And when he discovers a demon lurking in the Derzhi court, he must find hope and strength in a most unlikely place…
Sierra escapes slavery under the king’s torturer and his apprentice Rasten, falling in with the fugitive Prince Cammarian and his foster-brother, Isidro, recently crippled at her master’s hands.
Prince Cammarian struggles to defend his homeland from invaders, while questioning whether to trust their new ally Sierra… whose horrifying magical power is punishable by death in the frozen north.
When Isidro is enslaved by the invading army, and Rasten approaches Sierra with a plan to kill the master they both abhor, she and Cammarian must decide what price they are willing to pay for freedom…
6. The Broken Heir (The Golden Fool #1) by Jasper Alden and D.K. Holmberg
On his sixteenth birthday, Talen is given a magical birthright that forever changes his life. When his family is slaughtered by a powerful sorcerer only known as the Golden Fool, Talen is sold into slavery and forced into the fighting pits.
There he finds violence and killing, but also two friends who lighten his misery. He must use his birthright—the ability to glimpse possible futures—to survive.
All he wants is vengeance. Find those responsible for killing his parents, and get to the Golden Fool. First, he must escape the pits, using his wits and his magical gift. Even that might not be enough.
7. Powers (Annals of the Western Shore #3) by Ursula K. Le Guin
Young Gav can remember the page of a book after seeing it once, and, inexplicably, he sometimes “remembers” things that are going to happen in the future.
As a loyal slave, he must keep these powers secret, but when a terrible tragedy occurs, Gav, blinded by grief, flees the only world he has ever known. And in what becomes a treacherous journey for freedom, Gav’s greatest test of all is facing his powers so that he can come to understand himself and finally find a true home.
Gereint Enseichen of Casmantium knows little and cares less about the recent war in which his king tried to use griffins and fire to wrest territory from the neighboring country of Feierabiand, but he knows that his kingdom’s unexpected defeat offers him a chance to escape from his own servitude.
But now in a position of strength, the griffins are not inclined to forgive. Willing or not, Gereint will find himself caught up in a desperate struggle between the griffins and the last remaining Casmantian mage. Even the strongest gifts of making and building may not prove sufficient when the fiery wind of the griffins begins to bury the life of Casmantium beneath the burning sands…
Llesho was seven when the Harn invaded his family’s mountain kingdom of Thebin. Sold into slavery on Pearl Island, he was, as far as he knew, the sole survivor of his royal family.
When Llesho was ten, the old man called Lleck secretly began to undertake the boy’s education, revealing that all six of his older brothers were still alive!
So Llesho petitioned his lord to be trained as a gladiator, to win his freedom, find and rescue his brothers, and with their help raise an army against the evil Harn.
Bane the Bastard is the illegitimate son of the Rigante king. Born of treachery, Bane grew up an outcast in his own land, feared by his fellow highlanders, and denied by the father whose unmistakable mark he bore–one eye tawny brown, the other emerald green.
Bane found acceptance across the seas–only to have it stripped away by a cruel and deadly swordsman. Now fighting as a gladiator in the blood-soaked arenas of the Empire, Bane lives for one thing: revenge.
But the armies of the Stone are preparing to march on the lands of the Rigante. The fate of human and Seidh alike will be decided by the clash of swords–and by the bonds of twisted love and bitterness between a father and a son . . .
11. Dragon Weather (Obsidian Chronicles, #1) by Lawrence Watt-Evans
The dragons only emerged from their deep caverns when the weather was right, with thick clouds and sweltering heat. It was on such a day that Arlian’s home village was destroyed, his family and friends slaughtered.
He survived, though, and swore vengeance on the dragons, and on the looters and slavers who had captured him in the ruins. But no one had ever slain a dragon; how could a mere slave hope to do so?
When Rialla was young, slave traders from Darran ambushed and enslaved her clan. For years, Rialla lived in bondage, and when a chance came to escape, she fled to the mercenary nation of Sianim.
Now she can strike back at her former masters. A lord in Darran seeks to outlaw slavery—but there are plots to kill him before he can. Rialla is chosen by the spymaster of Sianim to prevent the murder—and is plunged into a world of deadly magic, where gods walk in human form, and her most trusted companions are not what they claim. And where Rialla could be enslaved again…
Over the hot land of Ashdod looms Threshold, the pyramid which the Magi of Ashdod are building to propel themselves into Infinity. Thousands of slaves have given their lives to the construction of Threshold, now almost complete.
The Master of the Magi knows the glassworker slave Tirzah is hiding something, but he would never guess her secret is forbidden magic. Tirzah can communicate with glass—and the glass in Threshold screams to her in pain. For it knows what no one suspects: Something waits in Infinity, watching, biding its time. When the glass capstone is cemented in blood, it plans to step from Infinity into Ashdod…
From the age of seven, Dunstan has been enslaved in the army of Thursley. After thirty years in the fire of constant warfare, he has been forged into an unbreakable warrior.
Oswynn is the property of the Sisters of the Withered Branch, the order of witches who serve the earls of Thursley. Brighter and more gifted than her fellows, she yearns for so much more.
Hand-in-hand, can they really stand against the traditions of hatred and break the chains of bondage, or are they doomed to forever be slaves of the Sword and Wand?
15. The Slave’s Blade: An Epic Fantasy Novel (Sword and Shadow #1) by Uri Zur
In the snowy forestlands of northern Asa’in, the young sorcerer apprentice Tandu embarks on a peacekeeping mission on behalf of her order, the Shadow Towers, following the theft of an ancient magical artifact
At the heart of the twin continent of Edorarr, in the great gladiator arena of the southern empire, a slave is fighting for his life, drawing both admiration from his friends—and the ire of his masters.
Eryk, is one of those friends, who trains Rahlon in the hope that he can win freedom, as he could not. But Eryk hides a dark secret, one that connects Rahlon’s forgotten past and the dark shadow that amasses at the northern edges of the world…
In a world where dragons once soared alongside gods, Lion of Zarall is the most feared gladiator in history. Branded, collared, and forced to kill, he’s known only as soulless property.
But when everything changes in a single night of dark magic and political betrayal, Lion finds himself cast into a world that wants him dead. His past fame is now a curse, his name an insult to the new order.
Hunted by the king and ailed by a deadly injury, he must survive in the harsh North where his very existence is a sin — and confront the invisible chains that bind him. But if his obedience shatters, he’ll face a fate far worse than death.
During a political coup in the port city of Kolhari, fifteen-year-old Gorgik is taken as a slave to the government obsidian mines in Nevèrÿon’s Faltha Mountains. Years later, he is sold to serve one of the royal families, and eventually the army. When he is finally free, he leads a rebellion against Nevèrÿon’s rulers to end the tyranny of slavery.
His is the through-story that connects these first five stories, in Tales of Nevèrÿon—and all the eleven stories, novellas, and novels that the series, Return to Nevèrÿon, where we can watch civilization first develop money, writing, labor, and legends.
When the Riders conquered and enslaved the pastoral Yendri, only one possessed the necessary rage to fight back: Gard the foundling, half-demon, who began a one-man guerrilla war against the Riders, which ended in the loss of his family, condemnation from his own people, and enslavement to powerful mages.
Bitter and wiser, he finds more subtle ways to earn his freedom. This is the story of his rise to power, his vengeance, his unlikely redemption, and his maturation into a loving father―as well as a lord and commander of demon armies.
Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.
I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing and Eschler Editing, and am currently a weekly editor with Havok Publishing. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!
Thanks for stopping by my website! I hope you’ve found some helpful resources about reading, writing, and publishing. If you liked this article, here’s some more free content…
Genghis: Birth of an Empire is a thrilling, historically accurate rendition of Genghis Khan’s journey to adulthood, filled with betrayal, brotherhood, revenge, and daring feats of battle across the brutal yet gloriously beautiful Mongolian steppes.
This is the first book I read in 2026 and the first I’ve truly enjoyed in over a year! I had an unfortunate reading slump in 2025 – nothing really hit the spot. A great way to kick off the new year.
Writing: 5/5
The writing style is beautiful – from the first chapter I was making happy noises to myself about the phrasings. There’s a great mix of narrative exposition and close scenes that enables the book to cover about 20 years of time with excellent pacing, thrilling fights, emotional content, and historic information.
Accuracy: ?
I really appreciated the author’s note at the end which explained the research he did and the few small changes he made for the sake of storytelling – on the whole, this seems like an accurate telling, though I don’t know much about this region’s history, so I can’t say for sure. I learned a lot about Mongolian traditions and the background of Genghis Khan – I knew nothing about his personal history except for the early loss of his father.
I really appreciated all the details about horsemanship and archery, life on the plains, and their brutal “survival of the fittest” mentality with no real rule of law in the land. Apparently, the right time to loose an arrow while riding at full gallop is the moment when all 4 hooves are off the ground, because there’s no chance of the shot being jolted off course. Insane. I absolutely recommend this for worldbuilding research if you’re a fantasy writer with any cultures centered around warfare and horses.
Characters: 5/5
The villains in this story are so hateable! It’s been a while since I’ve been so excited to see the villain finally get it – man, he needed to die! I was fully consumed with Temujin’s rage and thirst for revenge. I found myself actually holding my breath and leaning forward on my seat, gritting my teeth as he’s beaten and betrayed, nearly killed, and yet still manages to come out on top. This poor kid (and everyone he cares about) just can’t catch a break. It wasn’t long before the brutal conquest for which he is known started to sound pretty appealing.
I never expected to relate to Genghis Khan (birth name Temujin)… that’s the power of fiction. Temujin is actually really likeable, though the author does not minimize his very real character faults. He is ambitious and arrogant, but also deeply loyal to his family and clan – which makes it all the more heart wrenching when he is betrayed. He has a pure love of the Mongolian way of life that is contagious – my heart was in my throat as I enjoyed alongside him the thrill of riding, the banter between brothers, the tenacity required to scale a cliff face to steal a great eagle’s chicks, and his raw athleticism and skill with the bow even as a child.
He says, “my word is iron and iron does not break.” He is a deeply passionate person, driven by determination to be excellent, a stubborn refusal to die, and sheer, absolute audacity. This is absolutely adult fiction, but he might sound a bit like a YA character. With none of the infuriating elements though, because Iggulden is not afraid to show him fail and suffer the consequences of his actions. His grand rhetorical appeals to honor sometimes fall on deaf ears, and sometimes succeed, earning him the loyalty of great men.
He often acts reckless, but does not expect to come out unscathed. He clearly states that he does not expect to survive his most audacious act and is surprised that he manages to essentially BS and murder his way into the rulership of a clan. A YA character would strut around expecting to succeed and be shocked when they fail. Temujin is forced to become a man early – he knows his youth still predisposes him to recklessness and chooses older advisors to temper this inclination.
Content: 4/5
This was a very character-focused book, which surprised me in a way. I thought it’d be more plot (history) heavy, but I really loved how much this focused on cultural beliefs (what a marriage looks like, attitudes toward outsiders, hosting laws, the afterlife), family relationships, and the mental resilience required to not just survive a horrible event, but to thrive and rise again.
The reason I actually gave it 4 rather than 5 stars was because Temujin doesn’t really develop or change as a character. He starts out as a power-motivated, charismatic, talented boy, and ends the story as a powerful, charismatic, talented man and Khan. He is compelling, but actually pretty shallow aside from his unwavering loyalty to his family – “I want to kill my enemies and be great. Now I’ve killed my enemies, I want to be greater.” – which is entirely accurate to history! But it took me a while after I finished reading to articulate why, despite how much I enjoyed the characters, content, writing style, and emotional impact, it stood as a solid 4 star in my mind.
These are not deep people (there’s a reason the world doesn’t read Mongolian poetry, despite how far they conquered) – these characters overcome great hardships and earn their revenge and a place for their family again, but all they do is perpetuate the same cycle of blood-feuds and slaughter that destroyed them, with no belief or hope in anything greater – whether a god, the beauty of a civilization they might build, or even the lasting nature of their new clan bonds. It’s rather sad how nihilistic they are – kill, steal, drink, for tomorrow we die. This isn’t a fault on the author – in a way it shows how well he captured their attitude. But it does mean the tale can only make so much of an impact on readers.
This was a pretty intense story with a lot of R-rated content: mob rape, ritual executions, torture, fratricide, wholesale slaughter. So I definitely need a break from it, but I look forward to reading the sequels. I’m fascinated with how the Chinese were introduced near the end of the story and want to see how those politics lead into the war of expansion we all know.
I listened to this as an audiobook, and it was excellent. It would make an epic film!
Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.
I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing and Eschler Editing, and am currently a weekly editor with Havok Publishing. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!
Thanks for stopping by my website! I hope you’ve found some helpful resources about reading, writing, and publishing. If you liked this article, here’s some more free content…
Immortal warriors, ancient (yet eternally youthful) mages, elves, yokai, and characters cursed to live forever… Readers have long been fascinated by centuries-old heroes, from the enduringly popular Greek gods or Doctor Who, to the more recent phenomena of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and the immortal cultivators of progression fantasy.
Let’s look at some of them here! I’ve included both old and new, and traditionally published and indie releases. In each case, the immortal (or hard to kill) character has POV or is the main focus of the story, rather than a side character, mentor, or antagonist. This trend appears popular across multiples subgenres, including epic and dark fantasy, sword and sorcery, science fantasy, urban fantasy, contemporary, and cozy fantasy.
When the world was young and Gods still walked among their mortal children, a headstrong orphan boy set out to explore the world.
Then came the dark day when the Dark God Torak split the world asunder, and the God Aldur and his disciples began their monumental labor to set Destiny aright. Foremost among their number was Belgarath, who would become known to all the world as the finely honed instrument of Prophecy.
Kane An immortal, cursed to wander the Earth until he is destroyed by the violence that he himself has created. A warrior and statesman: As comfortable in the shadowy halls of courtly intrigue as he is on the bloody battlefields where those intrigue’s inevitably play themselves out.
One of the most powerful bosses in the Jhereg—Dragaera’s premier criminal organization—hires Vlad, one of their guild members, to assassinate Mellar, who stole millions from the Jhereg leadership and fled.
Unfortunately, this thief turns out to be protected in a way that makes it difficult for Vlad to do his job without gaining the permanent enmity of a friend.
The Book of Jhereg follows the antics of the wise-cracking Vlad Taltos and his dragon-like companion through their first three adventures—Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla.
When they flew Casey into the hospital at Nha Trang, the medics were sure he’d die. That he didn’t was only the first surprise.
The second, bigger one, was that Casey had been fighting for two thousand years, ever since that day on Golgotha when he put his lance into the side of the Man on the Cross.
“Soldier, you are content with what you are. Then that you shall remain until we meet again.”
So does Casca’s journey begin, a man who cannot die, does not age, and knows no skill but those of battle.
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
Atticus O’Sullivan is the last of the ancient druids, on the run for more than two thousand years. The Irish gods who want to kill him are after an enchanted sword he stole in a first-century battle, and when they find him managing an occult bookshop in Tempe, Arizona, Atticus doesn’t want to uproot his life again.
The Morrigan is on his side, and so is Brighid, First Among the Fae, a bloodsucking lawyer, and loyal wolfhound.
But he’s facing down Aenghus Óg, a vengeful Irish god with the firepower of hell, plus a coven of witches and even the local police. Atticus will need all the luck of the Irish to stay alive.
A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was. He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past.
There was a woman. There was a sword. There was an end to sorrow.
Radiance, the mysterious power of life and creation, is at the command of six immortals. Yet when the world is nearly broken beneath them, they swear a vow: They will sit upon no thrones.
But after centuries of peace, Eder rejects their vow and spreads a new, cruel faith across the land. Faron and Sariel swear to crush Eder’s kingdom, but they will need an army and a ruler who can take the throne their own vow forbids: the fanatical Bastard Princess.
But Eder’s conquest is not what it seems, and it will take more than a holy war to stop an immortal who has heard the desperate plea of a god.
A routine hanging goes wrong, and the murderer announces he is an immortal: Cayal, the Immortal Prince, a fictional hero of legend, and the creator of the half-human, half-animal Crasii, a race of slaves.
Arkady Desean is an expert on the legends of the Tide Lords so at the request of the King’s Spymaster, she is sent to interrogate this would-be immortal, hoping to prove he is a spy, or at the very least, a madman.
But as Arkady finds herself believing him, her own web of lies begins to unravel…
Non-human Immortal Characters
Demigods, spirits, yokai, gods and goddesses, fae, elves, and other legendary or mythological creatures! Many immortal main characters are inhuman and all the more compelling for it.
Amber is the one real world, casting infinite reflections of itself – Shadow worlds, that can be manipulated by those of royal Amberite blood. But the royal family is torn apart by jealousies and suspicion; the disappearance of the Patriach Oberon has intensified the internal conflict by leaving the throne apparently up for grabs.
In a hospital on the Shadow Earth, a young man is recovering from a freak car accident; amnesia has robbed him of all his memory, even the fact that he is Corwin, Crown Prince of Amber, rightful heir to the throne – and he is in deadly peril . . .
For centuries, the kingdom of Iraden has been protected by the god known as the Raven. He watches over his territory from atop a tower in the powerful port of Vastai. His will is enacted through the Raven’s Lease, a human ruler chosen by the god himself. His magic is sustained by the blood sacrifice that every Lease must offer. And under the Raven’s watch, the city flourishes.
But the Raven’s tower holds a secret. Its foundations conceal a dark history that has been waiting to reveal itself. . . and to set in motion a chain of events that could destroy Iraden forever.
Thrice-cursed bard and warrior-elf Tamsin wakes up in Elfland after what might or might not have been his death, healed and hale for the first time in millennia. Somewhat confused but not entirely unhappy with this turn of events, he sets off in the hopes of finding a way home…
A standalone tale of friendship, family, and fair Elfland.
Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay by a disgraced rabbi knowledgeable in the ways of dark Kabbalistic magic.
Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert and trapped centuries ago in an old copper flask by a Bedouin wizard.
Chava and Ahmad meet accidentally in New York and become friends and unlikely soul mates. But when the golem’s violent nature overtakes her one evening, their bond is challenged. An even more powerful threat will emerge, however, challenging their very existence and forcing them to make a fateful choice.
In the woods where human lands meet fae, an ancient king born before the history of men finds a dying baby. Iohmar will take in the child and care for him until a suitable home in the human realm is found. But best laid plans often go awry in the lands of Látwill.
Magic long tethered to Iohmar’s soul will crumble. Unknown shadows and monsters of mirrored glass will encroach upon the borders of their land. And memories thousands of years lost will unravel as Iohmar struggles not only to properly rule his fair folk, but protect the fragile human son he never should have saved.
Eleven thousand years ago a god was born. Cursed into the body of a human, Acheron spent a lifetime of shame. However, his human death unleashed an unspeakable horror that almost destroyed the earth. Then, brought back against his will, Acheron became the sole defender of mankind.
For centuries, he has fought for our survival, until a lone woman who refuses to be intimidated by him threatens his very existence.
Now his survival, and ours, hinges on hers and old enemies reawaken and unite to kill them both. War has never been more deadly… or more fun.
Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.
I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing and Eschler Editing, and am currently a weekly editor with Havok Publishing. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!
Thanks for stopping by my website! I hope you’ve found some helpful resources about reading, writing, and publishing. If you liked this article, here’s some more free content…
As an avid fan of the fantasy genre, I consume fantasy stories any which way I can (novels, television, movies, and video games).
Recently, I had a chance to play the Oblivion remake released by Bethesda. After I finished the main storyline quests, I decided to pick up Skyrim (its sequel) while I was at it. I was surprised at the stark contrast between the two worlds. Where the world of Oblivion is beautiful to behold and full of humorous, even slightly silly characters, Skyrim is harsh and jagged, and full of meaner characters.
That was when it dawned on me what the difference was between the two stories. In Oblivion, the world was worth fighting for. In Skyrim, the world was worth fighting.
I have since noticed that these are the two basic types of fantasy settings: the world worth fighting for and the world worth fighting. When we have a world worth fighting for, it is clear that the world the story takes place in is a good one, and the main character wants to keep it. When we have a world worth fighting, the focus is far more on the main character (or characters), and the way they rise to the challenges that the world throws at them.
We can see this in a few other examples.
Middle Earth is a world worth fighting for, demonstrated most by the Shire and Rivendell. Samwise Gamgee even makes a speech reinforcing this point.
SAM: But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.
FRODO: What are we holding on to, Sam?
SAM: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.
Westeros is a world worth fighting. It’s awful, dark, and full of murder and betrayal.
Prydain from the Chronicles of Prydain series is a world worth fighting for. There is beauty in it, and wonderful people. Even some of the more self-serving people are still inclined toward good, and then there are the forces of darkness looking to conquer it.
Warhammer 40K has no bright spot in it, no place where the soul-crushing inevitability of demise hasn’t tainted everything. It is a mad universe where the only constant is war. It is a world worth fighting.
Not Just Grimdark vs. Noblebright
Now, I know that some people will simplify this to being the difference between the Grimdark (what is grimdark?) and Noblebright (what is noblebright?) genres. That is fair, because every Grimdark story’s setting can be summed up as “a world worth fighting.”
However, not every Noblebright story takes place in a world worth fighting for.
Take, for example, Star Wars. I would call Star Wars Noblebright because it features good triumphing over evil, and it is generally pretty clear who the heroes and villains are. Yes, recent stories in the Star Wars universe have brought in more moral ambiguity, but while the heroes may do morally questionably things on occasion, the sheer wickedness of the villains makes it clear that they are the evil ones.
But in the original trilogy, the Empire has control over everything. Making it worse, wherever the Empire doesn’t have control we get hives of scum and villainy, hostile nomadic tribes, monsters, and far-reaching criminal gangs like the Hutts.
Thus, I would argue that the Star Wars setting (true to its name) is a world worth fighting rather than a world worth fighting for. Luke Skywalker doesn’t fight for Tattooine, Yavin 4, or Hoth; he fights for those individuals he loves.
The King Arthur myth gives us a world worth fighting for: Camelot.
Sometimes what determines a world as worth fighting for is something small in it, a specific place. As I mentioned before, Middle Earth has the Shire. Harry Potter’s world has Hogwarts, which, for all its faults, becomes his bastion against the evils of the rest of the world (both the Muggle world and the Wizarding world). In the film Willow, it’s the Nelwyn village, to which Willow wants to return so that he can see his family again.
I would also argue that it could be possible to write a Grimdark story, but make it a world worth fighting for if the hero has some place in it where he can be at peace with his loved ones.
Depending on how you play it, Fallout 4 could be an example of this. The world surrounding the main character is full of mutants, radiation, violent robots, and murderous people. However, in that game you have the option to build places of sanctuary (literally starting with a neighborhood called “Sanctuary Hills”). The sanctuary you build can bring hope to an otherwise desolate wasteland, turning the post-apocalyptic setting into a world worth fighting for.
Where does your story fit?
This forced me to take a look at my own epic fantasy series: The Third Genesis. I had to ask myself if the world of Ymir where the story takes place is a world worth fighting or a world worth fighting for.
It is a world where false gods with space age technology have genetically-engineered an ecosystem made up of mythical creatures in order to exploit the planet Ymir’s unique resources. These false gods pit the people and creatures they’ve created against each other, and there are inquisitions, crusades, and holy wars. At first, I thought this made it a world worth fighting. But then I remembered that the people of Ymir live with the promise of the Third Genesis: a day when the false gods shall be defeated and the True Deity, The One, will reign. Thus, I realized that the world of Ymir is a world worth fighting for.
This also got me to examine the Bible to assess the world we live in according to the Good Book. Does the Bible speak of this world as one worth fighting or worth fighting for? While there are many places in Scripture that speak to the corruption of this world, and even places where it is implied that the Devil has dominion over the physical realm, we cannot forget the LORD’s promises of a day when He will wash away that corruption. And we cannot forget John 3:16, the most famous Bible verse of all, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
The Supreme Being has declared this world worth fighting for. So, let us do so every day, and ensure that we always follow the orders of our King when we do.
Nicholas is a prolific author who has written mostly westerns, but his true passion is for fantasy novels. Starting from the age of six (with stories about a mouse wizard named “Mousey”), he has honed his craft through years of dedicated writing.
His studies in history, religion, mythology, folklore, and classical literature have informed his works. Each of Casale’s works hit emotional notes and raise fascinating questions about the nature of life, love, morality, and existence.
Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.
I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing and Eschler Editing, and am currently a weekly editor with Havok Publishing. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!
Thanks for stopping by my website! I hope you’ve found some helpful resources about reading, writing, and publishing. If you liked this article, here’s some more free content…
Sometimes beta readers and reviewers say things like “I just didn’t resonate with the main character” or “The protagonist was nothing special,” despite the many hours and years you’ve spent paining over every one of their thoughts, choices, and words.
So what makes some characters feel forgettable, while others move the hearts of generations of readers? The fact is, characters need more than a driving goal, intricate backstory, and unique strengths and weaknesses in order to truly feel alive. A good horse has most of those things.
If you want your mc to feel deeper than an animal, they need to ponder and act upon matters of “eternal significance,” whether they fall on the side of good or evil. Let’s look at how and why:
The go-to character development checklist doesn’t cut it
When fleshing out a character, particularly the main protagonist, authors have a list of elements they (should) develop:
Deepest want or need
Backstory
Strengths
Weaknesses
Likes and dislikes
Unique behavioral patterns or personality traits (quirks)
Style of speech
These are all important and go a long way in helping readers root for and emotionally connect to a character. But they are still pretty surface level. They’re the bones and muscles, but readers still need the heart and soul.
With the exception of the “deepest desire” or any hidden traumas, you probably know all of those things about your coworkers. Their career and family goals, where they grew up, whether they prefer coffee or soda, if they’re a morning person or obsessed with x sports team, and a whoooole list of weaknesses! 😉
But does this make you feel close to them? Do you really know your coworkers even if you are familiar with their irritating and endearing manners of speech and their drama with their in-laws?
Even if they are the type to gush too much information and you do learn their greatest goals and personal traumas, would you be able to say you “truly” know them?
What’s missing from “flat” characters?
You know the joke (that’s unfortunately not a joke at all): don’t discuss politics or religion at Christmas dinner.
Noticeably absent in workplace and family small talk AND the above character checklist, are topics of “eternal significance.” Do you know what your coworker thinks and feels about the big questions in life? Have you written your main character in a way that will make your reader understand what they believe about what is good, true, and beautiful in the world? Or with only enough depth that readers will know your characters as well as a coworker.
Let’s take a step back. Do your characters actually consider these things? Do they have a well developed inner moral compass, ideology, and active mental world? For some characters, ambivalence is actually part of who they are. Perhaps part of their developmental arc involves learning how to care about more than just themselves. But if you have not deliberately written your character to be shallow, then you need to deliberately develop their spiritual and intellectual world, not just their emotional and plot-relevant one.
Now, let me say straight off that there’s a difference between being shallow and being uneducated. Many fantasy main characters begin as average peasants. Medieval farmers didn’t have much opportunity to learn philosophy or art history. That doesn’t mean they can’t consider meaningful questions and cultivate a life of virtue according to their values.
Where do we come from? What happens when we die?
What truly makes life meaningful?
Should I seek to make the world a better place or merely live as if there’s no tomorrow?
Is there any point to choosing good in such a terrible world?
Real people have opinions on almost everything. There’s always a deeper ideology underneath every quirk.
Your character may find embellished clothing distasteful and dress beneath their means as a result. What’s their underlying deeper held truth? A lingering resentment for the wasteful indulgences of the wealthy? Discomfort in their own body and self-image? Subconscious prejudice against the foreign styles that have started to dominate their culture?
Do you know the answer to that question? Does your character?
A stoic, determinedly plain hero is a trope. We get a sense of who and what they are, but not why or how. As a result, they come across the same as every other purposely understated hero in fiction. This behavior does not end up setting them apart, because the details are only surface level.
For a character to truly have complex depth, they need to think and care about significant moral, social, political, and religious topics, AND act according to the conclusions they have drawn.
The few “big questions” most characters do ask
Now, a lot of main characters in sci-fi and fantasy do address “big questions,” but usually only the same handful:
The right way to treat your fellow human
The morality of killing
How the powerful should treat those beneath them (essentially their philosophy of governance)
The existence of a higher power
Fantasy heroes almost always have to decide where they fall on the lawful good to chaotic evil chart, where they draw the line in their efforts to defeat their enemies, what type of rulers they will follow or stand against, and if a greater spiritual or magical power impacts their life.
I rarely see any moral or philosophical insights beyond these 4 topics.
Do I toss a coin to the street orphan or ignore them?
Should I kill the villain or not? Can I torture him first or not?
Am I honoring my oath more by supporting the peasant revolt or the authority of the local noble who was a family ally?
When my loved ones die, will I see them again in Valhalla or not?
We also usually see the mc’s practical opinions on sex and relationships.
Why they’re not enough
The topics of life and death, power and rulership, God and the afterlife, and moral behavior may seem to give your story and character depth. But if you stop to think about it, these questions are really very basic.
A 10 year old asks them:
Should I be nice or a jerk?
Can I hit someone to stop them from hitting my sister?
Is it ok for teachers to be mean to students?
Is God real?
I rarely encounter main characters in modern fiction whose view is any more refined than that of a ten year old. Another assassin who has nightmares about those he’s killed. Another paladin who pains over whether to stand against the tyrant king he was meant to serve. Another spunky farm girl who refuses to be sold off in marriage by her callous relatives.
Adding other character details like “she obsessively loves potatoes” or “he makes really terrible puns all the time” will make a character feel a bit more unique. But it’s still like adding trimmings to white bread. There is little substance at the heart of such characters.
It’s almost jarring reading older fiction and seeing how differently characters used to be written. Characters would regularly and casually discuss matters of great significance on a wide range of topics – art and music, foreign engagement, social dynamics and etiquette, what makes a superstition legitimate or folly, etc. They clearly have a deeply developed mental (and often spiritual) world that actually affects their day to day existence.
They aren’t the type of people who, when asked a question about people, God, the world, politics, money, stories, or really anything, would shrug and say, “who cares?” or “whatever” rather than pausing to think about it and align their choices accordingly.
Rebuttal 1: “Peasants aren’t deep.”
Now, I admit that older novels were almost predominantly written by and about the middle and upper classes (Austen, Defoe, Dumas, Lewis). The 3 older books that I recently read, and which struck me in their moral and intellectual depth, are The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit, A Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton. All are about members of the British middle and upper classes.
That’s one reason why Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Victor Hugo, and Harriet Beecher Stowe were so hugely impactful. For the first time, authors started writing from the perspective of the (very) poor, and showed them to have deeply valuable lives and richly developed character and beliefs, irrelevant of their opportunity or education.
A fantasy or sci-fi novel that follows a farmer, scrapper, or orphan can still contain complex ideas, rich moral underpinnings, and discussions that peel back layers of the human condition.
Rebuttal 2: “Teenagers aren’t deep.”
Young adult books, and YA characters specifically, have gained a reputation for being somewhat shallow, if entertaining, flashes in the pan. Fun to read, but with little staying power. The mc’s tend to be impetuous, emotional teenagers who are often designed as “reader inserts,” deliberately lacking any true distinguishing features.
So you might be thinking, “it’s not that SFF doesn’t have deep characters. It’s that YA SFF doesn’t – so go read adult fiction.”
It’s true that teenagers haven’t had as much time to develop “life wisdom” and their hormones might be driving them to think that their crush smiling at them is “the meaning of life.” We’re not getting married at 15 anymore, so we aren’t in as much of a rush to wise up. But that doesn’t mean young adults should be portrayed as predominantly insolent, impulsive, horny twerps who happen to be able to save the world.
That’s insultingly reductive. A lot of juvenile fiction from the 20th century shows children with a far more developed moral compass and uprightness of character than 21st century books about teenagers. And plenty of the characters in modern adult fiction feel like empty shells. Youth guarantees vapidity no more than age assures wisdom.
Rebuttal 3: “SFF isn’t/doesn’t need to be literature.”
You may also protest, “but fantasy is meant to be entertaining! If you want deep topics, go read serious literature.” Except I vehemently disagree that fantasy and science fiction cannot be “serious literature.” Just take a look at some of the most enduring and impactful books of all time: the Bible, Homer, Shakespeare, Brave New World, fairy tales, H.G. Wells, and so on. All contain spiritual and speculative elements.
This doesn’t need to be a case of “either/or:” depth of content does not eliminate entertainment value. Homer and Shakespeare were both the “Hollywood” of their day. The reason they have endured is because they’re epic, hilarious, fun AND meaningful.
So yes, I expect more of fantasy and sci-fi books today. I look for more in their protagonists. Because fantastical stories have the capacity to catch and hold the imagination of the world for millennia.
Rebuttal 4: “Morals can be shown through emotions.”
It’s perhaps worth noting that the way many define and develop their ideology and morality has changed significantly over the past few decades alone. With the rise of postmodernism came the belief that right and wrong is “whatever you want it to be.”
Modern individuals often choose their actions and beliefs based off how they feel, rather than through a pattern of philosophy or religion. So authors may think, “but I am showing what my characters believe – by showing how they feel and how they act on those feelings – not by lengthy discussions or periods of introspection.”
Unacceptable. Civilizations cannot stand upon a cloud of morals precipitated by fleeting feelings. Postmodernism is a fundamentally self-contradictory religion. It essentially gives people permission to be shallow – nothing but mammals. Why think about anything significant? Just go along with what you want in the moment. I’ve read stories about literal animals (Watership Down, The Tale of Despereaux, Redwall, Warriors, Mistmantle) who deal with matters of eternal significance more than many contemporary human characters.
Characters who side with the slave revolt because they feel angry about cruelty are no “deeper” than characters who don’t care but side with the slave revolt for money. Why is it wrong? “Because I don’t like it…” What if they start liking it? Does that suddenly make it right?
If your characters just let themselves be blown whichever way suits them, whether for money, survival, or the self-satisfaction of their feelings, then they are certainly no different from many humans, but since when did we start writing stories about “just any” humans?
This isn’t grade school where everyone gets a participation trophy for being average. People write memoirs about exceptional people, or about everyday people who chase after something exceptional. Memoirs about lackluster Joe Schmoe wouldn’t sell, so why do authors think fantasy books about lackluster Joen Sch’moex should?
To be called a hero, to deserve being the main subject of a tale, your characters need to pursue the values, ideas, and dynamics in life that make us more than animals.
If beta readers and reviewers keep saying things like “I just didn’t relate to this character” or “The mc wasn’t really memorable” consider taking a deep look at your mc’s mental and spiritual pillars – then build them deeper and higher!
Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.
I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing and Eschler Editing, and am currently a weekly editor with Havok Publishing. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!
Thanks for stopping by my website! I hope you’ve found some helpful resources about reading, writing, and publishing. If you liked this article, here’s some more free content…
I loved Garth Nix’s Keys to the Kingdom series when I was a kid and was excited to pick up one of his other books (especially since I recently reread the Keys books and found my appreciation undiminished). His foray into space opera with A Confusion of Princessounded fun, with some original worldbuilding concepts, but the story ended up trying to do too much and too little at once, resulting in a rather disappointing ending, particularly in the character development department.
Synopsis:
Khemri is one among millions of Imperial Princes (neutral gender title), taken from his family at a young age to receive biological and technological enhancements that will set him up for immortality and power. He expects a leisurely ascension, but on the day he comes of age, Khemri barely survives an attempted assassination and must flee the system with his only loyal servant. As he enters an Imperial naval academy, encounters the brutal politicking of other Princes, and learns secrets of the Empire that he never wished to know, he begins to question whether his “superior path” is really a life worth living.
Characters: 3/5
Khemri is a hilarious narrator. His older self tells the story in first person, looking back on the events. If it had been just first person, Khemri would have been a wildly unreliable narrator. His older self is aware of this, and shares both his original thoughts and his wiser reflections (“actually I was a spoiled idiot”), which makes for a highly amusing contrast.
He has a great mix of literal strengths (a whole heap of body augmentations and psychic abilities that are really cool to see in action), and latent character strengths – disinclination to bow and scrape to any authority, bravery, a thirst for fun and freedom (he really just wants to run around the universe with his own ship). Plus a host of weaknesses that at first he doesn’t think are weaknesses at all because of how he’s been raised – arrogance, disregard for any human life besides his own, entitlement, laziness, disrespect.
If we had been able to see Khemri really wrestle with these weaknesses, the outcome of the story would have been incredibly rewarding. But it’s more of an on-off switch. He lives for a time undercover with regular people, falls in love, and suddenly decides to jettison everything he grew up believing. That kind of sudden change is certainly possible in a person, especially in life or death situations (which it was), but we needed to see and feel it happen, rather than just be told of the shift.
The side characters are not developed very well, largely because Khemri doesn’t care about anyone but himself for most of the book. We don’t learn much about his super cool master of assassins, because Khemri just uses him or ignores him. This changes by the end, but the book is largely introspective rather than relational.
Plot: 3/5
This book seemed to jump all over the place. In some ways, I enjoyed how it kept surprising me – every time I thought I got a sense of where we were going, something shifted. It wasn’t a typical “super soldier academy” or “compete to become the next emperor” or “subvert the evil empire” story. But on the other hand, it tried to be a little bit of all of those at once, and therefore didn’t focus enough on any one of the arcs to make them compelling.
I think this book would have worked a lot better as at least a duology rather than a standalone – I actually didn’t realize it was a standalone when I started it. I just assumed it was a series, because the amount of worldbuilding we get right off the start indicates SO much could happen.
Instead, we get a little bite of everything, and then the main character moves on (usually not by choice) before we can really dig deeper into the relational dynamics at play. I personally would have loved to see a full book at the academy, a full book with him outside the empire, and a full book with him at its heart facing the political situation before all 3 elements came to a head.
As it is, we jump from conflict to conflict without any build up for the next – the finale didn’t feel like one because it started and ended so suddenly, with little time to catch up emotionally. The main character didn’t even really seem to care about what was happening, which made the readers care less too.
Worldbuilding: 4/5
I loved the worldbuilding here – it was my favorite part of the story, which is unusual for me. Usually I’m 110% about the characters. I suspect that Garth Nix cared about the worldbuilding more than the characters here too, which is why the ending fell a little flat. He wrote a worldbuilding piece that tried to have a character-driven ending, which meant neither worked as well as they could have.
But the psychic hierarchy of the empire is fascinating. Millions of Princes (both male and female but all called Princes) are taken from their families when very young, augmented and trained, and then join the “imperial mind,” a sort of hive controlled by the Emperor that connects them – allowing communication, witnessing, data transfer, orders, and the saving of consciousnesses for rebirth.
There are 3 types of dominant tech in the Empire that they all learn – psi-tech, bi-tech, and mech-tech – and some of the Empire’s enemies have superior ability with one but not all of them. We get one really cool battle with a parasitic alien race that has stronger psi-tech, nearly overwhelming Khemri’s mind. But then we move on…
We don’t really get to see him training with these (and I love training montages!), learning how to face the Empire’s enemies, or integrating into the larger political system of princes. Because the book covers 2 years and crams in a LOT – Khemri keeps moving around to new places so we get a bite-sized look at a lot of facets of the Empire and it’s abilities, but no real focus.
Writing: 3/5
This book was heavy on exposition. At first I enjoyed how Nix skips through time, skimming over unnecessary details to keep the pace moving. But there were some details I wanted to see, like Khemri’s military training, how he became friends with another cadet (we’re just informed “they became friends”), and how his love interest started to change his attitudes about what really matters in life.
That last one is the most important, because it’s falling in love with Raine that makes him completely change as a person, but we only get a few scenes of them in actual dialogue together. Then we’re informed they strike up a relationship and that things are mostly physical for a while, but then they do start “getting to know each other more.” We don’t actually see how and barely know anything about this girl. And so his transformation and choices at the end of the story felt unearned and emotionally uncompelling.
Audiobook: 5/5
I listened to this on audiobook and thought the narrator did an excellent job, particularly with Khemri’s self-deprecating sass!
Conclusion:
I’m glad I read this and it’s sparked a lot of worldbuilding ideas for me, but I really feel like Garth Nix could have done more with this world and these characters! I wonder if his publisher asked for a YA standalone (this was published back in 2012 at the height of the craze) when he might have preferred to write a more mature new adult trilogy. If he ever decides to publish a “revised author’s edition,” I would absolutely read it again.
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Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.
I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing and Eschler Editing, and am currently a weekly editor with Havok Publishing. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!
Thanks for stopping by my website! I hope you’ve found some helpful resources about reading, writing, and publishing. If you liked this article, here’s some more free content…
DRAGONS! A classic fantasy staple which lately I’ve been seeing more often in indie and self-published books, rather than on the shelves of big publishers. The exceptions, like Fourth Wing, tend to focus more on other elements like romance.
This reading list is for those who want to straightforward tales about male main characters running around with swords, fighting dragons, befriending them, and learning to be heroic knights or mages. There’s a mix of young adult and adult fantasy here, and all have well over 1000 4+ star ratings and reviews on major platforms.
Enjoy!
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The High Lords of the South squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North.
In the remote villages of southern Epheria, reeling from the loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving – a test of courage and skill that not all survive.
But when three strangers arrive, with a secret they are willing to die for, Calen is thrust into a war that has been raging for centuries.
Undead hordes roam the land, spreading the blight and leaving destruction in their wake. The dragon riders are being slaughtered and betrayal lurks in the shadows.
Holt Cook was never meant to be a dragon rider. But when he secretly rescues a dragon egg, abandoned for its blindness, he has a chance to become more than a servant.
He must cultivate the mysterious power of his dragon’s magical core, a unique energy which may tip the balance in the battles to come.
Aram Raythe thinks he’s nothing but a misfit from a small fishing village who yearns to make friends. But Aram bears within him a gift so old and rare that many people would kill him for it, and others would twist him for their own use.
Aram earns a place at an academy for warrior mages competing to become dragon riders. But the world needs more: a Champion, the caliber of mage that hasn’t existed in the world for hundreds of years. Because a dark god out of ancient myth is rising to threaten the world of magic.
Life on the storm-battered plains near Berestal is far from peaceful for Ashan, with looming Vard raids and the responsibility of caring for his injured father and brother. His dreams of becoming a dragon rider have long been buried.
When a Vard attack forces him to risk everything to save his sister, Ashan is drawn into a war he never wanted. He races alongside his best friend through hostile forests, the lands of the mysterious Djarn, and the reach of a dragon mage to stop the enemy from seizing a prize they have hunted for generations.
Once there were heroes whose deeds earned them the heart of a dragon. In their eggs, a dragon would wait 1000s of years for a warrior worthy of them.
But now the gods are dead, and the Riders have become nothing but fodder for the machine of war. War with the Andarens is like nothing the Riders have ever faced.
There are those who have been waiting in the shadows while the heroes of Verda die out. They worship something ancient and evil. It falls on a few to prove themselves worthy and keep back that darkness.
Sixteen-year-old Augum Stone is a warlock prodigy suffocating under the weight of expectations. With invasion looming, his already war-weakened kingdom expects him to be its champion.
But Augum doesn’t want to be a pawn. He’ll forge his own path: that of the Arcaner—not a warlock or a knight, but a lethal combination of both. Legend says Arcaners once had the power to summon dragons. If true, it could save his kingdom.
Resurrecting the Arcaner path comes with consequences, however. Scandal. Malice. Treachery. And a harrowing test of character.
The world is falling to the burning shadow of the Possessed and only the power of a battle mage can save it. But the ancient bond between battle mage and dragon is failing, and too many dragons who answer the summons are black. Black dragons are mad, and the enemy of humankind.
Falco Danté is a weakling in a world of warriors, but worse, he is the son of a madman. Desperate to understand his father’s actions, Falco makes a decision that will drive him to the brink of despair. Is he doomed to follow in his father footsteps or will he have the strength to become what he was born to be… a battle mage.
The northern mountain village offers protection from the threat of dragons, but is a difficult place, especially for a misfit like Jason Dreshen, whose strange silver eye grants him dragon sight.
When a stranger visits during the local Freedom Festival searching for a different kind of dragon, Jason is forced on the run from Dragon Souls.
He finds he might have more of a connection to magic than only dragon sight. But to defeat the Dragon Souls, he will have to protect what he hates above all else: dragons.
Stormfall is a dragon born with a coat the colour of a starry night. When a violent storm strikes his island aerie, he is carried on hurricane winds into the complicated and sometimes cruel world of men.
There, his journey takes him from fisher dragon to farmer, pit-fighting dragon to warrior, each step leading him closer to a remarkable destiny. But war is coming to the land of Remus and with it, a crossroads for the Night Dragon and the young soul-boy he allows on his back. How far is Stormfall willing to go in a war that is not his own?
Born a half-elf refugee in a kingdom locked in war, Jaevid Broadfeather has few hopes for his future—not while his blood runs with that of the enemy.
Until a wild dragon chooses him to become its rider, granting him a place at Blybrig Academy. The dragonriders, the king’s most prestigious and powerful knights, would sooner see him dead than trained.
Only Lieutenant Sile Derrick seems willing to help Jaevid succeed. But when Sile is abducted by the king’s private guard, Jaevid must walk a perilous line between dragonrider and traitor to save him.
Cailan has lived his life in the shadow of his famous father, and is seeking to make a name for himself as a Knight’s squire. When the opportunity to slay a dragon comes along, he finally has the chance to earn the fame and glory he so desperately seeks.
But it’s not that simple. Cailan soon learns that an incredible injustice threatens to destroy both their worlds, and he must trust his ancient enemy if he’s going to survive to become a true Knight.
Telryn “Trip” Yert has always been a little odd, with hunches that are too accurate to explain. Magic is feared and forbidden in Iskandia, and as a boy, he was forced to watch his mother’s execution. So he hides his eccentricities, serving as an officer in the king’s army.
After 1000 years, dragons have returned to the world. A few of them are still willing to be allies to mankind, but far more want to destroy or enslave humans. There are few people left with the power to fight dragons, and Trip may be one of them.
Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.
I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing and Eschler Editing, and am currently a weekly editor with Havok Publishing. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!
Thanks for stopping by my website! I hope you’ve found some helpful resources about reading, writing, and publishing. If you liked this article, here’s some more free content…
