,

Martyn Stanley

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Born
in The United Kingdom
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Influences
Terry Pratchet, Steven King, Alexandre Dumas, Ken Follet, Christopher ...more

Member Since
July 2012


Award winning writer, Martyn Stanley is married to his wife, Rachael, and has two young children. He lives in a small village on the Staffordshire, Cheshire border and is a director at a small manufacturing unit. He has always been interested in writing, and over the years has spent many hours writing for pleasure on forums, as well as writing some short stories. "The Last Dragon Slayer" is his first novel, and his second and third books, “The Verkreath Horror” and "The Blood Queen" (along with other planned books), form part of the “Deathsworn Arc” series.

He has also authored the 'Lambton Worm' and 'Return of the Worm Slayer' a re-telling of an old English folktale and a sequel.

He has long been an avid reader of Terry Pratchett’s “Discwor
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Popular Answered Questions

Martyn Stanley Thanks for the question!

I have a full plot for the entire series scratched out in rough. The main villain of the series gets introduced late in book 4…more
Thanks for the question!

I have a full plot for the entire series scratched out in rough. The main villain of the series gets introduced late in book 4. I expect book 4 will be titled 'The Temple of the Mad God'

At that point we'll be about half way through the overall plot. I have titles for other books, I expect the finale to be called 'God Slayer'. For book 5 at the moment I imagine it will be either 'Emergence' or 'Mark of the Deathsworn' but I'm not sure yet.

I expect it to run out to eight books. That is subject to change though! (less)
Martyn Stanley The only way to deal with writer's block is to write and keep writing. It's better to write something, then scrap it or save it for another project th…moreThe only way to deal with writer's block is to write and keep writing. It's better to write something, then scrap it or save it for another project than to just stop writing. You have to write, even when you don't feel like it.(less)
Average rating: 3.91 · 883 ratings · 286 reviews · 14 distinct works
The Last Dragon Slayer (Dea...

3.70 avg rating — 480 ratings — published 2012 — 8 editions
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The Verkreath Horror (Death...

3.98 avg rating — 126 ratings — published 2013 — 6 editions
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The Blood Queen (Deathsworn...

4.24 avg rating — 78 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions
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Lady Death (Deathsworn Arc ...

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3.87 avg rating — 52 ratings5 editions
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Rise of the Archmage (Death...

4.45 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 2016 — 3 editions
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Ofelia

4.46 avg rating — 35 ratings3 editions
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The Lambton Worm

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4.10 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions
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The Temple of the Mad God (...

4.35 avg rating — 23 ratings3 editions
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Return of the Worm Slayer (...

4.70 avg rating — 10 ratings
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Emergence (Deathsworn Arc #7)

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4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings
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More books by Martyn Stanley…

I'm still alive.

Greetings. I completely understand if you have drawn the conclusion that I am now dead and will never finish The Deathsworn Arc. The truth is, I am alive—though there were times over the last twelve months when this may not have been a given.

Over the past year, I have been through nine circles of hell and stood at the gates of Pandemonium with Dante, then turned away. I have stood at the precipice Read more of this blog post »
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Published on May 11, 2026 16:43 Tags: deathsworn-arc, fantasy, fiction, mental-health, novels, ofelia, vampires
The Last Dragon Slayer The Verkreath Horror The Blood Queen Rise of the Archmage The Temple of the Mad God
(5 books)
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3.87 avg rating — 803 ratings

The Lambton Worm Return of the Worm Slayer
(2 books)
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4.25 avg rating — 40 ratings

Morvenn Vahl: Spe...
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The Classic Horro...
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Staring at the Su...
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Martyn’s Recent Updates

Martyn Stanley added a status update: Well I’ve had a break from editing the sequel to Ofelia. I have written chapter 1 of the sequel to the sequel! Working title, which I like ‘Embrace the Dark’. It starts in Paris and is going to be amazing.
Martyn Stanley added a status update: Another day, another chapter edited. 21 Chapters of the Ofelia sequel are good to go... I think... More or less at least.
Flirtation or Faceoff by Leah Brunner
" Hi Rebecca, I recently received a contact on my author website claiming to be from yourself. I apologise profusely if it is genuine, however, experien ...more "
Martyn Stanley is now following Rebecca Curtis's reviews
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Gotrek & Felix by William  King
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This was an interesting omnibus because it straddles the tenure of William King and Nathan Long, who both have subtly different styles. I enjoyed Giantslayer. It was atmospheric, involved the twins from the battle outside Prague, and focused on a new ...more
Martyn Stanley is currently reading
Morvenn Vahl by Jude Reid
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Martyn Stanley is currently reading
The Classic Horror Stories by H.P. Lovecraft
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Martyn Stanley rated a book it was amazing
Gotrek & Felix by William  King
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This was an interesting omnibus because it straddles the tenure of William King and Nathan Long, who both have subtly different styles. I enjoyed Giantslayer. It was atmospheric, involved the twins from the battle outside Prague, and focused on a new ...more
More of Martyn's books…
Quotes by Martyn Stanley  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“The trouble was, love was such a strong emotion. It made everything else unimportant. It grabbed you and imprisoned you in the moment."

Deathsworn Arc 4: The Temple of the Mad God”
Martyn Stanley

“Our lives are a flicker of light in the shadowy darkness of eternity. Disease, famine, war, death, sorrow... Life is a cycle of pain, perhaps the one thing we should do with our short lives is to try to leave the world a better place than we entered it?’"

~Vexis Zaelwarsh - Low Priestess to Avanti
-Deathsworn Arc 4: Rise of the Archmage”
Martyn Stanley

“Enough Truthseeker! Do not utter another word about religion! We have debated it to death! If you so much as mention it again while I am present, I will resume my heart-carving. Not for the honour of Avanti, but to shut you up!"

~ Vexis Zaelwarsh to Brael Truthseeker
Deathsworn Arc 5: The Temple of the Mad God
Martyn Stanley”
Martyn Stanley

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Which of Martyn Stanley's first four Deathsworn Arc books is your favourite?

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“Interesting Avil, the priests and the acolytes of the various religions and temples of Torea build their whole lives on a lie. At first, as children they believe it. Maybe as they grow older and more wise they see the absurdness of their beliefs, but by that time they have invested time and emotional energy into those beliefs, then seeing them crumble and fall apart would be too hard for them to bear. So the protect the lie, they shore it up with more lies and they ebb out their short lives, knowing what they preach is untrue, but preaching it all the same... Almost as if preaching it hard enough will make it true... Are they trying to convince their congregation? Or themselves? You are wiser than you look Avil.”
Martyn Stanley, The Verkreath Horror

“On the revelation that there are no gods or afterlife:-

"I do not 'like' the truth any more than you Avil, or anyone. I wrestled with it for a long time, for a while I was distraught, desperate to find that my research had been wrong - the more I searched, the deeper I delved the more clear it became that the truth was what it is. After much reflection, I came to the conclusion that though accepting the truth is hard, moving on from that, it becomes clear that the important thing is to make the world we live in a better place. We get one life, it's our duty to make the most of it."

~Brael Truthseeker of House Krazic
Deathsworn Arc 2 : The Verkreath Horror”
Martyn Stanley, The Last Dragon Slayer

“Our lives are a flicker of light in the shadowy darkness of eternity. Disease, famine, war, death, sorrow... Life is a cycle of pain, perhaps the one thing we should do with our short lives is to try to leave the world a better place than we entered it?’"

~Vexis Zaelwarsh - Low Priestess to Avanti
-Deathsworn Arc 4: Rise of the Archmage”
Martyn Stanley

“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”
Arthur C. Clarke

“All things are possible through belief. When we believe others can be so powerful that they can take away from us what is rightfully ours - then it will happen. We surrender our powers, and give them to others who wish to control.”
Gary Markwick

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Comments (showing 1-19)    post a comment »
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message 19: by Martyn

Martyn Stanley Erin wrote: "Thanks for the friend request."

Happy to! Thanks for accepting! :)


message 18: by Erin

Erin Thanks for the friend request.


message 17: by Martyn

Martyn Stanley Leila wrote: "I too have to admit to collecting and loving all the original Arnie films about Conan Martyn. I still have them and still enjoy watching them now and again, without having to worry about suspending..."

Thanks Leila, I'll be honest I need a break from Conan. I ought to focus on reading my own books then getting book 5 and my subscriber exclusive prequel out. I'm really busy at the moment! Thanks for the kind offer of the Conan book. You should give them a go! The Red Nails story is really very good, the Black Seers one is too!


message 16: by Leila

Leila I too have to admit to collecting and loving all the original Arnie films about Conan Martyn. I still have them and still enjoy watching them now and again, without having to worry about suspending belief about what they are, with any of the the faults they may have, or how Arnie steps up to the character he portrays. Quite simply, I'm a sucker for this type of film with any or all of the faults they may be reputed to have, without going into what might be wrong with them. So what! I love them all!

Martyn I have a treasured rather large book on my shelves I bought in the late nineteen eighties I think for £20.00. It has 896 pages, is bound with leather (I think) and on the front in gold lettering it says 'Centenary Edition'at the top, then the title - 'The Complete Chronicles of Conan' Underneath the title is a sketch in gold of a helmet worn I presume by Conan and at the bottom the name of the author - Robert E. Howard. At the end of this huge tome is an afterword about the author and Conan by someone called Stephen Jones. This book contains all the stories you have described and many more. I wish I lived nearer to you for I would gladly gift it to you as I don't think I will be reading it now at this late stage in my life. I would gladly post it to you but it is pretty heavy! LOL.

Take care now

Leila

PS... I do have two paperback copies of book 1 of your series and book4 - 'The Rise of the Archmage' which is due to my inefficient system of buying books. If you don't have the actual paperbacks of these two books I would be happy to send them to you.


message 15: by Martyn

Martyn Stanley Orient wrote: "Thank you for the friendvite :) Great that we share love for Pullman books :)"

I'm looking forward to the sequel trilogy he's announced to 'Dark Materials'


message 14: by Orient

Orient Thank you for the friendvite :) Great that we share love for Pullman books :)


message 13: by Martyn

Martyn Stanley Nicole wrote: "Thanks for the friend request, Martyn :)"

Thanks for accepting! Glad to meet you! :)


message 12: by Nicole

Nicole Thanks for the friend request, Martyn :)


message 11: by Martyn

Martyn Stanley Tosh wrote: "Thanks for the invite, Martyn:)"

:)


message 10: by Tosh

Tosh Thanks for the invite, Martyn:)


Martyn Stanley Natalie wrote: "I'm glad to hear your daughter likes Teen Titans. It was one of my favorite shows as a kid (still is in fact!)"

She's actually seen all of Teen Titans season 1 and 2 now! Iv'e seen a lot with her. My favourite is the one with the retro games in it - that was brilliant. I think my favourite character is Raven. She's awesome!


Martyn Stanley Anya wrote: "Thank you for the Friendvite, Martyn! I look forward to your thoughts on King's UR. I found it deliciously creepy.

Hope you have a lovely day! ^.^"


Thanks Anya, I must admit I've had a bit of a 'King' hiatus. Once I've got my studies out of the way and I'm back into my reading I'll have to try another King! I read almost all of the early ones years ago, can't remember the last one I read - might have been Desperation?


message 7: by Anya

Anya Thank you for the Friendvite, Martyn! I look forward to your thoughts on King's UR. I found it deliciously creepy.

Hope you have a lovely day! ^.^


Martyn Stanley MLE wrote: "Thank you for asking."

Glad to!


message 5: by Jyanx

Jyanx Thank you for asking.


Martyn Stanley Destini Mia~ ♕ Sassy Lassie wrote: "Thanks for the invite, Martyn :)"

NP! Glad to hook up!


destini Thanks for the invite, Martyn :)


Martyn Stanley I ought to try to get her some more episodes - she has the one with a villain called Billy Numerous in it!


Natalie Monroe I'm glad to hear your daughter likes Teen Titans. It was one of my favorite shows as a kid (still is in fact!)


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