The Wind Walker: Epic Fantasy Adventure

by Simon Shugar, David Kuszmar (Editor)

Step into the gritty, cutthroat world of Crater—a city where survival means clawing your way out from the darkness below.

Zephyr has spent his entire life toiling in the mines of Crater as a Breaker Boy, a cog in the city's corrupt machine. All he's ever wanted is to escape the suffocating depths of the mines and soar through the skies, free from the chains of his fate. But in Crater, dreams are dangerous, and survival comes at a cost.

Desperate for a way out, Zephyr risks everything by aligning with the city's infamous thieves' guild, hoping to buy his freedom. But when a notorious sky-pirate captain, Bacchus, crashes into his life on a mission to recover a lost treasure that could shift the fate of the kingdom, Zephyr's plans are thrown into chaos.

In a city where betrayal is around every corner and danger looms above and below, Zephyr will need more than just grit to survive. He’ll have to make impossible choices—between his dream of freedom and the deadly risks that come with it, and between allies who may betray him and enemies who may be his only hope.

The skies are calling, but the cost of flying free may be more than Zephyr can afford.

Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk, Ebooks

323 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 7, 2022

About the author

Hey, I’m Simon Shugar—fantasy author hooked on telling bold, emotional, action-heavy stories through raw, first-person journeys. If you like coming-of-age arcs, epic stakes, and human struggles in unreal worlds, you're in the right place!

I’m originally from Oxfordshire, England, now living in North Carolina with my wild little toddler and our very chill (and very spoiled) dog, Jasper. I’ve loved fantasy for as long as I can remember—drawn in by the magic, the grit, and the heart at the center of it all.

I studied game design for a bit, then pivoted into software engineering to pay the bills. But somewhere in between code and chaos, I started writing stories—and once I did, I couldn’t stop. Fast forward to now, I’ve written 13 novels across three trilogies and a standalone, with plenty more on the way.

Reviews

[A.C. Salter · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic fantasy

A fantastic read - fantasy which I thought was also drifting towards Steampunk.

Deep characters, well visioned locations - I especially enjoyed Crater - a clever plot and story and an cool airship to throw in the mix.

I totally enjoyed it - a well deserved 5 stars and book 2 is on my TBR list

[Brian Everson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wind in you Hair

Enjoyably the author creates an atmosphere Of suffering and toil and hardship But within that moment That existence he creates a light a light that continues to grow and glow Throughout the entire story He he has Put put little nuances of how things will end up You need to read carefully to find them all they are many Thank you

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent story but the punctuation, spelling, and other errors cut into my enjoyment of this book. If the author invested in a good proofreader, I would have given it another star.

[Patricia Vroman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast-paced sci-fi with intriguing technology where merchant airships hover above a crater where slaves are forced to work in mines. A boy, Zephyr, aims to escape this slave world of cracking rocks, is initiated into an elite gang of thieves and learns a technique to hoist himself up the many levels of the crater and in so doing neglects his duty to his friends and gang mates.
Bacchus, an airship captain, is hired to rescue a girl from Crater and by coincidence enlists Zephyr to help. Turns out both Bacchus and Zephyr are more than they appear to be as they escape and are chased into the world above.
There are interesting side characters, like the Tinker and his granddaughter, who play essential parts in the technology.
What marred the story somewhat for me were the frequent typos, especially in the latter stages of the book which appeared rushed as though the author wanted to finish the plot but didn't have time to edit his style.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

great fun to read this series so far.