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Forge & Fray: An Epic Fantasy: Book 1
A dying king. A missing boy. And six pawns trapped in a game of blood.In the gaslit capital of White Haven, the Highborn feast in marble halls while the Lowborn freeze beneath smokestacks and soot. The Empire is rotting. The throne is contested. And the city runs on secrets buried beneath cobblestone and steel—where something ancient is beginning to stir.
When ten-year-old Collin Bright vanishes into the fog-choked streets of the Smokestack District, his disappearance is meant to be forgotten. Instead, it becomes the stone thrown into still water, and the ripples are coming for them all.
The Lucy refuses to let the city swallow her brother whole. Her search drags her into the Vaults, a subterranean nightmare where feral children survive by brutal rules and survival always comes at a cost.
The Oath detective Sara Blackmoore hunts a conspiracy that links the gutter to the crown, knowing every truth she uncovers carries a price no badge can protect her from.
The Ezra is plucked from the slums and trapped in a Highborn palace, bound to a bloodcrystal that hums with forbidden power—and its own designs on the empire.
The Rightful Atticus Longford stands alone in a court of vipers, fighting a council determined to strip him of his claim before the crown ever reaches his head.
The Desperate Roderick Bashford binds himself to dark alchemy he does not understand, unaware he is forging the very weapon that may destroy his own bloodline.
The Ruthless Aden Bashford wages a quiet war for industrial dominance, blind to the truth that the rot has already entered his house.
Forge & Fray is a dark gaslamp fantasy of corruption, class warfare, and dangerous magic—where progress is built on blood, loyalty is a liability, and the truth is the most expensive currency of all.
When ten-year-old Collin Bright vanishes into the fog-choked streets of the Smokestack District, his disappearance is meant to be forgotten. Instead, it becomes the stone thrown into still water, and the ripples are coming for them all.
The Lucy refuses to let the city swallow her brother whole. Her search drags her into the Vaults, a subterranean nightmare where feral children survive by brutal rules and survival always comes at a cost.
The Oath detective Sara Blackmoore hunts a conspiracy that links the gutter to the crown, knowing every truth she uncovers carries a price no badge can protect her from.
The Ezra is plucked from the slums and trapped in a Highborn palace, bound to a bloodcrystal that hums with forbidden power—and its own designs on the empire.
The Rightful Atticus Longford stands alone in a court of vipers, fighting a council determined to strip him of his claim before the crown ever reaches his head.
The Desperate Roderick Bashford binds himself to dark alchemy he does not understand, unaware he is forging the very weapon that may destroy his own bloodline.
The Ruthless Aden Bashford wages a quiet war for industrial dominance, blind to the truth that the rot has already entered his house.
Forge & Fray is a dark gaslamp fantasy of corruption, class warfare, and dangerous magic—where progress is built on blood, loyalty is a liability, and the truth is the most expensive currency of all.
504 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 7, 2024
16 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 12, 2025
A well written fantasy
A well written fantasy, filled with rich settings, fascinating characters, and a complex plot. This is a long fantasy, so be sure to dedicate some quality time to immerse yourself with the rich build up to this story.
The story is told from multiple points of view and touches upon magic, empires, and the bonding of people. In many ways, the book remind me a lot of game of thrones. There’s a lot of court politics, and the story picks up with the death of a king and the aftermath associated with it.
Overall, if you’re a fantasy lover, then you will enjoy this book.
A well written fantasy, filled with rich settings, fascinating characters, and a complex plot. This is a long fantasy, so be sure to dedicate some quality time to immerse yourself with the rich build up to this story.
The story is told from multiple points of view and touches upon magic, empires, and the bonding of people. In many ways, the book remind me a lot of game of thrones. There’s a lot of court politics, and the story picks up with the death of a king and the aftermath associated with it.
Overall, if you’re a fantasy lover, then you will enjoy this book.
January 28, 2025
There is much good that can be said about this book. I loved the story. It's fantasy, of course, but with quite a bit of fiction closer to real-life than many fantasy novels. Every chapter is compelling. I mean that literally. I didn't think any chapter was just stuck in there. I love the approach of viewing the story through the eyes of various characters—and titling each chapter by the name of the character through which that chapter views the narrative. It's a near ingenious approach and it kept me on my toes. I'm a busy person. So, looking at the dates, it may appear that I read it slowly. But considering my free time to read fiction, I truly could not put this book down. I cannot wait for the next volume of this series.
All that said, I do have a few complaints—or perhaps concerns. The author owes me nothing. However, those few followers of my reviews will care about these things. I think the primary issue can be summed up in one statement...the editor did not do a great job. First of all, this book was very long—over 500 pages. There were simply too many loose ends left untied. The first book in a series should lead into the second as it relates to the big picture. But less major storylines should not leave the reader in the dark. Who was that child? Did this 3rd tier character survive? Did he find out she was murdered? Was he blamed or was somebody else? Did he find out she made it out of the vaults? Along with a host of other questions, those should have been answered. What is to become of the kingdom? Sure—that belongs in the next book. But not those lesser storylines.
Secondly, there were just some places the language could have been smoothed out. Admittedly, I am a grammar nazi (in professional writing). There were times it wasn't clear what subject a prepositional phrase modified. There were paragraph breaks where there should not have been. There were literally paragraph breaks in the middle of a speech by a character that could not help but throw the reader off for a second. These were not on every page, but they were there too often.
Thirdly—and I think this is the biggest swing and miss by the editor—it's difficult to discern the author's target audience. Everything about this book reads like young adult fiction. 99% of this book is something I could put into the hands of a teen and they would eat it up. Yet, there's a decent amount of cursing. It's not so much that I put it down (I've done that before). But it's there. After some 300 pages of no F-bombs, the author chose to drop 4 in 2 pages along with another one 150 pages later. Even more, there was one rather graphic sex scene (for transparency, it was a husband and wife), another sex scene (though far less graphic) between two unmarried people, along with 2-3 more obvious sexual innuendos. Quite literally none of those added anything at all to the story. At worst, they could have been hinted at. For these reasons, my conscience will not allow me to put this book into the hand of a teenager. And yet, everything else about the story seems to be aimed at younger people. Why in the world the editor did not question this, I have no idea. That is the entirety of the objectionable material, I think.
I should mention that the religion is fantasy, but that was not at all unexpected. If that type thing bothers you, move along because it's a major theme.
A character list as a glossary would have been nice. It's easy to get lost before you catch on to the way the book is written.
The complaints above are legitimate complaints—concerns really. That said, it's still considerably cleaner than most anything on national TV these days and certainly any series you might stream. I would have offered some different recommendations as an editor, but that was not my position. I am merely a reader (and reviewer).
Let me end with this: this new, young author has significant writing ability. For the most part, I was blown away by this first book in this series. If you are willing to overlook the few things mentioned above, this book is worth the time. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and I have every intention of reading the next installment in the series as soon as it is released. Great authorship and great imagination. I love the story.
All that said, I do have a few complaints—or perhaps concerns. The author owes me nothing. However, those few followers of my reviews will care about these things. I think the primary issue can be summed up in one statement...the editor did not do a great job. First of all, this book was very long—over 500 pages. There were simply too many loose ends left untied. The first book in a series should lead into the second as it relates to the big picture. But less major storylines should not leave the reader in the dark. Who was that child? Did this 3rd tier character survive? Did he find out she was murdered? Was he blamed or was somebody else? Did he find out she made it out of the vaults? Along with a host of other questions, those should have been answered. What is to become of the kingdom? Sure—that belongs in the next book. But not those lesser storylines.
Secondly, there were just some places the language could have been smoothed out. Admittedly, I am a grammar nazi (in professional writing). There were times it wasn't clear what subject a prepositional phrase modified. There were paragraph breaks where there should not have been. There were literally paragraph breaks in the middle of a speech by a character that could not help but throw the reader off for a second. These were not on every page, but they were there too often.
Thirdly—and I think this is the biggest swing and miss by the editor—it's difficult to discern the author's target audience. Everything about this book reads like young adult fiction. 99% of this book is something I could put into the hands of a teen and they would eat it up. Yet, there's a decent amount of cursing. It's not so much that I put it down (I've done that before). But it's there. After some 300 pages of no F-bombs, the author chose to drop 4 in 2 pages along with another one 150 pages later. Even more, there was one rather graphic sex scene (for transparency, it was a husband and wife), another sex scene (though far less graphic) between two unmarried people, along with 2-3 more obvious sexual innuendos. Quite literally none of those added anything at all to the story. At worst, they could have been hinted at. For these reasons, my conscience will not allow me to put this book into the hand of a teenager. And yet, everything else about the story seems to be aimed at younger people. Why in the world the editor did not question this, I have no idea. That is the entirety of the objectionable material, I think.
I should mention that the religion is fantasy, but that was not at all unexpected. If that type thing bothers you, move along because it's a major theme.
A character list as a glossary would have been nice. It's easy to get lost before you catch on to the way the book is written.
The complaints above are legitimate complaints—concerns really. That said, it's still considerably cleaner than most anything on national TV these days and certainly any series you might stream. I would have offered some different recommendations as an editor, but that was not my position. I am merely a reader (and reviewer).
Let me end with this: this new, young author has significant writing ability. For the most part, I was blown away by this first book in this series. If you are willing to overlook the few things mentioned above, this book is worth the time. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and I have every intention of reading the next installment in the series as soon as it is released. Great authorship and great imagination. I love the story.
December 20, 2024
"Sometimes it is nice to dream...Imagining all the possibilities without committing to any of them brought a rare sense of comfort."
A dark and complex story full of rich characters. The narrative has an underbelly of lore that spills out just enough to keep you hooked, but without lengthy expositions which is appreciated.
Sara is the heart of this story. She is my favorite POV. But Rodrick is a close tie! I guess I have an affinity for the broken but well-intentioned (which probably says something unfortunate about me lol)
I loved the darker turns the story took, especially as it tackles themes of love, loyalty, grief, and faith.
Excited to see where this series goes!
A dark and complex story full of rich characters. The narrative has an underbelly of lore that spills out just enough to keep you hooked, but without lengthy expositions which is appreciated.
Sara is the heart of this story. She is my favorite POV. But Rodrick is a close tie! I guess I have an affinity for the broken but well-intentioned (which probably says something unfortunate about me lol)
I loved the darker turns the story took, especially as it tackles themes of love, loyalty, grief, and faith.
Excited to see where this series goes!
December 19, 2024
“Was it true that one mistake could alter fate forever? Could a single choice have such a profound impact?” The book is deeply engaging, with well developed characters and intricate world building. Nuanced characters like Ezra, Sara, Lucy, Atticus and captivating plot, making it a must-read for fans of character driven fantasy.
December 19, 2024
Thoroughly Enjoyed reading this book, which is filled with an intriguing world and captivating characters. A must-read for fantasy fans!!!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews