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Even Villains Have a Personality
The Arkencrest Chronicles: Battle for Crossroads follows an eighteen-year-old young man carrying the weight of his parents’ mysterious deaths, who joins a caravan, setting him on a path to discover his destiny. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I grew up in a home without parents and I know many other kids do as well. I was lucky enough to have a grandmother to take me in, so I feel I connect with the main character, Bourdain, on a personal level. He is basically a fantasy version of past me.
I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities, breaking away from some traditional fantasy tropes and giving it a fresh feel. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from, and how did it change as you were writing?
I am a huge ttrpg player and Dungeon and Dragons fan. This original started as a custom setting for my roleplaying group to play our games in. I fell in love with the characters and the world so much that I felt it needed to become more. While writing it, I was running a ttrpg game set in the future and having that live feedback really help me lock in what happened and where I want the story to go, as well as help flesh out the characters.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Hope when there is none.
Everyone can make a difference, even from humble beginnings.
Light vs Dark.
Even villains have a personality.
Where does the story go in the next book, and where do you see it going in the future?
I see this being a full series 3-7 books depending how it flows. I tend to write on the go and don’t plot out all the details, so I guess we all will have to see where the writing takes the story.
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When swordsman Bourdain leaves home, he expects to find his true path, but never the weight of prophecy. Whispers spread of a darkness older than the gods, poised to shatter the foundations of existence. Joined by Devra, the Scoutmaster’s daughter; Braggo, a goblin airship captain; Batso, a wily smuggler; and many others. Together, they must stand against the forces of primal fury that threaten not only the kingdom, but the world at large.
Will light endure?
Or will the Devourer rise to claim the world once more.
The Arkencrest Chronicles: Battle for Crossroads
The Arkencrest Chronicles: Battle for Crossroads is an epic fantasy that lays out a vast world shaped from the bones of a fallen god, threaded with nations, factions, magical histories, and a young man’s coming-of-age journey. The book opens with myth, maps, and lore, then shifts into the story of Bourdain, an eighteen-year-old raised in the scholarly city of Ikvia, who carries the weight of his parents’ mysterious deaths and the quiet push toward a larger fate. His decision to leave home and join a caravan heading into the wider world feels like the real spark of the narrative. The story blends high fantasy worldbuilding with a classic hero-sets-out structure, and it’s clear from the very first chapters that the stakes will eventually reach the scale of kingdoms and maybe even gods.
I kept noticing how much care the author put into the setting. Whole sections read almost like ancient chronicles, especially the creation myths and the detailed accounts of elves, dwarves, orcs, and other races. Sometimes those lore chapters felt dense, but in a way that reminded me of leafing through the appendices of a much-loved fantasy series. I found myself slowing down to appreciate the small touches, like the smell of ink and seawater in Ikvia or the way the elven forest seems to breathe around its people. When the story shifts back to Bourdain, the tone changes just enough to feel more grounded. His scenes have a quiet emotional center, especially his conversations with Kael and his uncle, which helped balance the heavier mythic material.
I also appreciated the author’s willingness to give readers a wide view of the world right away. You can feel that this is a story about more than one kingdom or one hero. The factions, the ancient seals, the threat of the Devourer, the politics of Sovar, there are a lot of threads, and the book asks you to trust that they’ll matter later. Sometimes I caught myself wishing the pace would sit a little longer with Bourdain before expanding outward, but I was also genuinely curious about each new layer. It felt like walking into a bustling market: overwhelming for a moment, then strangely energizing once you settle into the rhythm.
By the time I finished the opening arc, I felt invested. Bourdain is easy to root for. The world feels lived in. And the writing has a steady confidence, switching between poetic and straightforward without calling too much attention to itself. It’s the sort of fantasy that invites you in slowly, giving you the sense that you’re only glimpsing the start of something much larger.
If you love epic fantasy with rich lore, detailed cultures, and a world that feels ancient and complicated beneath the surface, this book will land well for you. Readers who prefer fast, plot-driven fantasy might find the early chapters a bit methodical, but anyone who enjoys settling into a world and watching a young hero take his first real steps into danger will find plenty to appreciate here. I’d recommend it especially to fans of expansive, map-filled adventures who like to feel the weight of history behind every choice.
Pages: 383 | ASIN : B0FYHW5ZLY
LITERARY TITAN 