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Char & Ash
The Mystic Realms keep a tenuous peace after centuries of war. Forged into the Realms’ only Judge, demi-god Caleb Mauthisen is both peace maker and executioner of the Mystic Truce. Warrior-priest of preventing collateral damage amongst the Humans’ neutral space of Midgard. When Caleb is called to the charred remains of a scorched Sacred Grove outside Dover, rumours reignite tensions as Ares warns of war’s whisper. High Queen Selyka is hiding something in the roots and petals of her Fae Courts, and it smells of rot and ash.
Someone is burning the Groves planted from the bodies of fallen soldiers, eliminating their chance to rise again as sentient plants: Fae. Blasphemy and act of war in a single matchstick. Is the only Fae-cursed Mystic War Veteran left next in the line of fire? Tuija Draganova, immortal outcast bogatyr fights off the curse consuming her, and stands by Caleb’s side. Lives intertwined by love and shared combat.
Caught between the Mystic Truce, Ares’ demands for answers and concern for his cursed lover’s safety, Caleb descends into a roiling adventure to find the perpetrators and staunch the flow before the Mystic Realms lose faith in him and in peace. Little does he know the perpetrator Stana stole something far more precious than belief in gods and heroes.
Char & Ash is an emotional and captivating mythpunk / godpunk supernatural fantasy and the first novel in the mythic Judge of Mystics Saga.
Someone is burning the Groves planted from the bodies of fallen soldiers, eliminating their chance to rise again as sentient plants: Fae. Blasphemy and act of war in a single matchstick. Is the only Fae-cursed Mystic War Veteran left next in the line of fire? Tuija Draganova, immortal outcast bogatyr fights off the curse consuming her, and stands by Caleb’s side. Lives intertwined by love and shared combat.
Caught between the Mystic Truce, Ares’ demands for answers and concern for his cursed lover’s safety, Caleb descends into a roiling adventure to find the perpetrators and staunch the flow before the Mystic Realms lose faith in him and in peace. Little does he know the perpetrator Stana stole something far more precious than belief in gods and heroes.
Char & Ash is an emotional and captivating mythpunk / godpunk supernatural fantasy and the first novel in the mythic Judge of Mystics Saga.
224 pages, Paperback
Published July 31, 2023
About the author
Sapha Burnell
17 books38 followers“Sapha is like a young Wolfgang Pauli, in every laboratory he went, there was a little explosion.”
— David Roomy
Sapha Burnell writes at the threshold where circuitry meets myth, where the sacred and synthetic twist into luminous rebellion. A Canadian mythpunk and cyberpunk author, poet and creator, her work fuses the visceral charge of futurism with the soul of ancient storytelling. Once described "like a young Wolfgang Pauli, in every laboratory he went, there was a little explosion", Sapha crafts worlds veering from destruction to revelation: the rediscovery of ancient ways that endure in the neon glow.
Shaped by the clash and harmony of cultures that reunited with the fall of the Berlin Wall, Sapha grew amid contrasts – Baroque and heavy metal, William Shakespeare and William Gibson, Orthodox chant and vaporwave.
Her stories rise from that tension, blending the chaos of the mechanical age with echoes of sacred revelation. Hailed as "gobsmackingly beautiful discovery" and "an insane diabolical rollercoaster", beneath the thrill of Sapha's stories lies a quiet invocation: remember what was once and future divine. In our hunt for technological advancement, we mustn't forget our past.
At the helm of Blade and Banter Media Corp, Burnell expands her action-forward optimistic vision through video games, tabletop worlds and cross-media storytelling. Her work invites readers and players alike to rebel against entropy and nihilism with connection and wonder.
— David Roomy
Sapha Burnell writes at the threshold where circuitry meets myth, where the sacred and synthetic twist into luminous rebellion. A Canadian mythpunk and cyberpunk author, poet and creator, her work fuses the visceral charge of futurism with the soul of ancient storytelling. Once described "like a young Wolfgang Pauli, in every laboratory he went, there was a little explosion", Sapha crafts worlds veering from destruction to revelation: the rediscovery of ancient ways that endure in the neon glow.
Shaped by the clash and harmony of cultures that reunited with the fall of the Berlin Wall, Sapha grew amid contrasts – Baroque and heavy metal, William Shakespeare and William Gibson, Orthodox chant and vaporwave.
Her stories rise from that tension, blending the chaos of the mechanical age with echoes of sacred revelation. Hailed as "gobsmackingly beautiful discovery" and "an insane diabolical rollercoaster", beneath the thrill of Sapha's stories lies a quiet invocation: remember what was once and future divine. In our hunt for technological advancement, we mustn't forget our past.
At the helm of Blade and Banter Media Corp, Burnell expands her action-forward optimistic vision through video games, tabletop worlds and cross-media storytelling. Her work invites readers and players alike to rebel against entropy and nihilism with connection and wonder.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
August 29, 2023
Wanna laugh at Zeus? This is the book for you.
With the appearance of Zeus in a diaper and Icarus squirming at the sight of the ocean, the mood of this book is balanced perfectly between the beautiful worldbuilding of the Judge of Mystics saga and the grim story of Judge Caleb Mauthisen within it.
Poetic descriptions, intriguing characters and a world bursting at the seams with questions, Char and Ash is a captivating first step into the Judge of Mystics world and I cannot wait for future instalments… and for poor Caleb to finally get some peace. (PLEASE GIVE THIS MAN SOME PEACE.)
The story focuses on the maintenance of a “Mystic Truce” which seeks to keep the human world of Midgard a neutral place after many centuries of mystic meddling in human affairs. With various mythologies from across the world represented, the fusion of modern and mythology is one I can’t wait to read more about. (Again see Zeus walking around in a diaper and tell me that isn’t the sort of modern invention he needs.)
But in all seriousness, the adaptation of the Hellian troops is something I’m so looking forward to reading more about in the next instalment. Never mind, the truce meetings between some of the largest characters in mythology. (Like Horus, Hera, Makosh and more all having business meetings together??? Hello??? These dynamics are wild!) And the ‘lil fae dude running a pub for all the coolest people around whilst a gjenganger mans the bar with all their incorporeal arms.
Ending in tragedy (I am not emotionally recovered), it’s clear that Char and Ash is setting up for one hell of a round two against those who disrupt the peace of the truce. With soft moments balancing out the angst, the attention to detail in character journeys is very satisfying and I cannot wait to see what happens by the end of this series.
With the appearance of Zeus in a diaper and Icarus squirming at the sight of the ocean, the mood of this book is balanced perfectly between the beautiful worldbuilding of the Judge of Mystics saga and the grim story of Judge Caleb Mauthisen within it.
Poetic descriptions, intriguing characters and a world bursting at the seams with questions, Char and Ash is a captivating first step into the Judge of Mystics world and I cannot wait for future instalments… and for poor Caleb to finally get some peace. (PLEASE GIVE THIS MAN SOME PEACE.)
The story focuses on the maintenance of a “Mystic Truce” which seeks to keep the human world of Midgard a neutral place after many centuries of mystic meddling in human affairs. With various mythologies from across the world represented, the fusion of modern and mythology is one I can’t wait to read more about. (Again see Zeus walking around in a diaper and tell me that isn’t the sort of modern invention he needs.)
But in all seriousness, the adaptation of the Hellian troops is something I’m so looking forward to reading more about in the next instalment. Never mind, the truce meetings between some of the largest characters in mythology. (Like Horus, Hera, Makosh and more all having business meetings together??? Hello??? These dynamics are wild!) And the ‘lil fae dude running a pub for all the coolest people around whilst a gjenganger mans the bar with all their incorporeal arms.
Ending in tragedy (I am not emotionally recovered), it’s clear that Char and Ash is setting up for one hell of a round two against those who disrupt the peace of the truce. With soft moments balancing out the angst, the attention to detail in character journeys is very satisfying and I cannot wait to see what happens by the end of this series.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review