What do you think?
Rate this book
City of Fire
All’s quiet where Hell remains.
Months after the sundering that nearly collapsed our world into the demon plane, the city of Fortune has become unnervingly normal. Rifts no longer open. Fiends no longer cross over. The few that remain are captives, including their a mammoth horned beast known as “the dreadnought.”
The city is far too calm, as if waiting for a terrible shoe to drop.
The only Hell left lives inside Adrian Porter’s dreams, stirred by the nearby dreadnought. Each night, Adrian sees his captured girlfriend Laurel tortured in flame. For once, his brother Ray is the sensible one. As Adrian battles guilt and regret, life must go on.
But Adrian’s dreams aren’t just dreams. They’re Laurel calling from her infernal prison. The planes have begun to shift again, and the military fears an attack as the next gambit in humanity’s longest con takes shape.
Desperate to uncover the truth, Earthside forces recruit Adrian and Ray to lead a covert expedition into Hell itself. But what awaits them on the other side is a twisted reflection of their own plots and schemes, a resistance, a tyrannical leader in a war for control. With each revelation, the true scope of the fiends’ plan comes into focus … and Adrian realizes the only way to ensure humanity's survival may be to make an unthinkable sacrifice.
In this epic tale of honor, obsession, and the blurred lines between good and evil, the Porter brothers must decide how far they’re willing to go to save both worlds from annihilation. Brace yourself for a mind-bending journey where nothing is as it seems — and the only certainty is that when the final battle begins, existence itself will tremble.
Months after the sundering that nearly collapsed our world into the demon plane, the city of Fortune has become unnervingly normal. Rifts no longer open. Fiends no longer cross over. The few that remain are captives, including their a mammoth horned beast known as “the dreadnought.”
The city is far too calm, as if waiting for a terrible shoe to drop.
The only Hell left lives inside Adrian Porter’s dreams, stirred by the nearby dreadnought. Each night, Adrian sees his captured girlfriend Laurel tortured in flame. For once, his brother Ray is the sensible one. As Adrian battles guilt and regret, life must go on.
But Adrian’s dreams aren’t just dreams. They’re Laurel calling from her infernal prison. The planes have begun to shift again, and the military fears an attack as the next gambit in humanity’s longest con takes shape.
Desperate to uncover the truth, Earthside forces recruit Adrian and Ray to lead a covert expedition into Hell itself. But what awaits them on the other side is a twisted reflection of their own plots and schemes, a resistance, a tyrannical leader in a war for control. With each revelation, the true scope of the fiends’ plan comes into focus … and Adrian realizes the only way to ensure humanity's survival may be to make an unthinkable sacrifice.
In this epic tale of honor, obsession, and the blurred lines between good and evil, the Porter brothers must decide how far they’re willing to go to save both worlds from annihilation. Brace yourself for a mind-bending journey where nothing is as it seems — and the only certainty is that when the final battle begins, existence itself will tremble.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 9, 2025
1 person is currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Johnny B. Truant
193 books692 followersJohnny B. Truant is an author, blogger, and podcaster who, like the Ramones, was long denied induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame despite having a large cult following. He makes his online home at JohnnyBTruant.com and is the author of the Unicorn Western series, the Fat Vampire series, The Bialy Pimps, and a handful of other properties and growing every week.
You can connect with Johnny on Twitter at @JohnnyBTruant, and you should totally send him an email from JohnnyBTruant.com if the mood strikes you.
You can connect with Johnny on Twitter at @JohnnyBTruant, and you should totally send him an email from JohnnyBTruant.com if the mood strikes you.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 20, 2025
Truant & Platt Hit it Out of The Park Yet Again!!
I bought these books because I had previously read other books by Truant and Platt, as well as both authors individually. I’m an avid reader and can go through a series within a week if it is written well. I want the story to catch me within the first 1-2 paragraphs and it pulls me back whenever I can get the time to read. These books did exactly that. I bought both books at the same time as I knew I would not be disappointed, and I was not. Rips in the very atmosphere into another domain and the fiends that come over from that side is science fiction at it’s best! The characters are believable as none of them are an example of perfection. They all have their flaws and you understand the emotions and feel like you’re right there with the characters. I remember feeling fairly anxious and on the edge of my seat because there are many scenarios where you think there’s no escape, no way to survive and yet the main characters pull through in the last minutes, yet only because there is a twist in the plot where someone else or something else helps them or saves them, only to plummet into more intrigue and unanswered questions. I also liked the way the books were full of questions and the plot unfolded as expected, where you won’t finish the book with unanswered questions as to the true meaning. I’m not one to ruin the read for other’s so will leave it there!
I bought these books because I had previously read other books by Truant and Platt, as well as both authors individually. I’m an avid reader and can go through a series within a week if it is written well. I want the story to catch me within the first 1-2 paragraphs and it pulls me back whenever I can get the time to read. These books did exactly that. I bought both books at the same time as I knew I would not be disappointed, and I was not. Rips in the very atmosphere into another domain and the fiends that come over from that side is science fiction at it’s best! The characters are believable as none of them are an example of perfection. They all have their flaws and you understand the emotions and feel like you’re right there with the characters. I remember feeling fairly anxious and on the edge of my seat because there are many scenarios where you think there’s no escape, no way to survive and yet the main characters pull through in the last minutes, yet only because there is a twist in the plot where someone else or something else helps them or saves them, only to plummet into more intrigue and unanswered questions. I also liked the way the books were full of questions and the plot unfolded as expected, where you won’t finish the book with unanswered questions as to the true meaning. I’m not one to ruin the read for other’s so will leave it there!
December 17, 2024
The second book in the Zen Element series is as exciting as the first. You won't even realise that you're holding your breath in parts.
It's far too quiet. The calm before the storm, or the end of the fiends?
Laurel - Adrian's girlfriend - is calling him from the pits of Hell where she is a prisoner. Not "calling him" as in a telephone call, but "calling him" as in she's right in his head, like a psychic link. He can't ignore her, she's always there, and he can't think of anything else. He knows where to find her. Brothers Ray and Adrian lead a mind-blowing exploration to Hell. Yes, actually inside! But they have to change. How?
Please read "Gore Point" before "City of Fire", otherwise you won't experience all the atmosphere and thrills. Also read the standalone "Suicide Flats" which is set in the same world. Wonderful storytelling and world building.
I love this series, and I adore Johnny B Truant's and Sean Platt's writing styles.
It's far too quiet. The calm before the storm, or the end of the fiends?
Laurel - Adrian's girlfriend - is calling him from the pits of Hell where she is a prisoner. Not "calling him" as in a telephone call, but "calling him" as in she's right in his head, like a psychic link. He can't ignore her, she's always there, and he can't think of anything else. He knows where to find her. Brothers Ray and Adrian lead a mind-blowing exploration to Hell. Yes, actually inside! But they have to change. How?
Please read "Gore Point" before "City of Fire", otherwise you won't experience all the atmosphere and thrills. Also read the standalone "Suicide Flats" which is set in the same world. Wonderful storytelling and world building.
I love this series, and I adore Johnny B Truant's and Sean Platt's writing styles.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews