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A Joy to Witness
Dunya: The Mages of Ersa is centered around a group of powerful figures trying desperately to maintain peace in a fractured realm. Where did the idea behind this novel come from?
Well, unfortunately for me, I live in an authoritarian state, and I’m a political news junkie. It consumes me, keeps me up at night… Such barbarism has become normalised in our world these days, and the peacemakers’ voices have been drowned out by corporate, self-serving media. So, to rescue myself from insanity, I threw myself into writing. Subconsciously, it was probably unavoidable for issues on the authoritarianism, the environment, rising racism, and genocide, not to feature heavily in my writing.
There’s a strong undercurrent of kinship and obligation throughout the novel. Which relationships were most central for you emotionally while writing?
The young witch, Enya, for sure. I actually had her whole backstory in chapter one, but had to sacrifice it to shorten the chapter. So, her character was particularly well formed in my head, and bringing her to life visually through my drawing aided this further. Her arc was a joy to witness.
Enya and Orin’s relationship was central. Their vulnerabilities lay bare, and they profoundly affected one another, developing such a deep bond in their time of solace together.
Were there any scenes or characters that surprised you as the story unfolded?
Quite a lot. Like I said, I tore into writing, so I was very much a pantser than a planner. So, I was often buzzed on what came up. A lot of the happenings on Inis Or were like that. All the developments with the Archwitch unfolded while writing on a blank page, for instance.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
I’m too consumed with getting this first novel out there these days. I intend to write the sequel based on Enya- The Witches of Ersa. Though it will be a while before I get time to start planning. In the meantime, I’m thinking about a novella connected to the story.
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The planet soon wavers on the brink of collapse when the mighty Primus—mage and prince—believing humanity to be a virus, allies with a dark cabal of witches and murders his way to power. He declares a genocidal war, forcing his estranged brothers—Orin, a tormented mancer with depleted magic; Elias, the animist who has abandoned his duties for a life of cynical excess; and Fionn, a wise seer—to reunite. Aided by healer witches, they must prevent their rogue brother in his quest to awaken and rile the vilest beast of them all.
Laced with Celtic folklore, The Mages of Ersa is a story of brotherly love and estrangement as the four grapple to resolve the enigma of their own fate amid the political chaos that may forever sever the old Ersan heart.
Dunya: The Mages of Ersa
Dunya: The Mages of Ersa is a work of fantasy, more specifically epic or high fantasy, built around a fractured realm, old magic, political struggle, and the burden carried by a handful of powerful figures trying to hold peace together. The book opens in a world shaped by past wars and prophecy, then moves through the lives of mages, witches, rulers, and ordinary people whose fates keep crossing as conflict grows across Ersa and beyond. What stayed with me most is the sense that this is not just a story about magic as spectacle. It’s a story about inheritance, duty, loss, and the hard question of what kind of power protects a people and what kind destroys them.
What I responded to first was the book’s sincerity. Author R.A. McKee writes like someone who genuinely loves the old building blocks of fantasy: maps, lore, lineages, rival realms, ceremonial moments, named chapters, and characters whose journeys feel tied to something larger than themselves. There is a handmade quality to the novel that I found appealing, especially with the inclusion of the author’s own artwork and the attention given to place and atmosphere. The writing feels almost oral, like a tale being told beside a fire rather than polished into something cool and distant, and I think that works in the book’s favor. It gives the story warmth. Even when the plot moves into war, coronation, and darker magical intrigue, I kept feeling that human thread underneath it.
I also liked that the book seems more interested in moral weight than in empty grandeur. The mages are not treated as shiny fantasy pieces on a board. They carry history, responsibility, and damage. The glimpses of characters like Fionn, Orin, Elias, and Primus suggest a world where magic is bound up with kinship, choice, and consequence, and I appreciated that the story gives room to both large political events and quieter exchanges between people trying to understand what they owe one another. This is the kind of fantasy that asks the reader to lean in and accept its cadence, names, and lore on their own terms. It’s not trying to be brisk. It wants immersion. For me, that made the book feel earnest and distinctive.
I would recommend Dunya: The Mages of Ersa most strongly to readers who enjoy classic-feeling fantasy with deep worldbuilding, mythic stakes, and a clear affection for the genre’s traditional pleasures. If you like fantasy that values lore, kingdoms, mages, prophecy, and the slow gathering of larger destinies, this book will probably speak to you. For someone who wants a heartfelt fantasy novel with ambition, atmosphere, and a genuine sense of lived-in magical history, this is a worthwhile read.
Pages: 421 | ASIN : B0GML5J38Q
