The Warlock

12 Miles Below #5

by Mark Arrows

Keith Winterscar has accomplished the impossible—he's stolen a godsdamned Feather.

After barely surviving the underground temple with his sister and father to repair To'Wrathh's shell, the crew returns to Clan Altosk as heroes. With his father's soul now inhabiting To'Avalis's body, the powers of To'Wrathh herself, and the occult secrets Keith has steadily uncovered - the Winterscars are poised to change everything. But other powers have begun watching the meteoric rise of Clan Altosk.

The grand warlock Hexis has set his eyes on the surface, hungering for power. If the warlock guilds discover that the clan has uncovered the secrets of the occult, the war against the slavers could escalate exponentially into an all-out conflict between all sides.

And To'Avalis will not take the theft of his shell lightly, meticulously plotting every possible move to bring ruin to the Winterscars the moment they step beyond their safe haven on the surface.

As the clan prepares to migrate underground with their newfound arsenal of relic armors, Keith must navigate treacherous clan politics, guard his new family's true nature, and prove to his father he can—and will—survive what is to come.

Because when gods go to war, even the cleverest thief may find himself with nowhere left to hide.

Book 5 of a Progression Fantasy Epic set around a pseudo-medieval society clinging to existence on frozen post-apocalyptic Earth. Impossible odds, weak-to-strong progression, dungeon-delving, epic battles, scavenged tech, prophecy, magic, and mystery—12 Miles Below has something for everyone. Grab your copy today!

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Audiobook, Litrpg, Fiction

578 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 25, 2025

Reviews

[James Hilton]

Suffered a lot from middle book syndrome, the book was really just wrap up the last book and setup for the next book with a very contrived conflict in the middle. The exposition dump was also somewhat lackluster. Still interesting characters and looking forward to the next book, but by far the weakest entry into the series so far

[Kevin]

So fun. Amazing, exciting world. Great would BUILDING. Novel use of science and magic systems.

[Florian]

Very good book, my favorite so far of the series

[Daniel]

Unbelievable!

Do you enjoy long, slow progression and world-building? This series is for you!

Mr. Arrows uses Tolkien quality world-building and character development, while telling a thrilling, battle-filled adventure tale. This series has Princess Bride longevity written all over it.

A slow start that burns into a roaring flame and keeps going into afterburner by book 8 (as of this review)!

[Jordan]

Really enjoyed this one. Felt a little short, but I think that was on me, since I was late to the party and got to read the first 4 books back to back.

The author has a fantastic events summary for the previous books which is much appreciated, and I hope they continue to do so. If nothing else it got me hyped to really dive into 'The Warlock'.

Kudo's on creating a character that I really didn't like, and somehow very organically making me like them anyway. That takes some skill.

We got some great reveals in this volume and some fun combat. I am really looking forward to continuing the series when the next book is released.

[Michael]

Hexis you legened, I salute you

[Laeth George]

better and better

Truly one of the best new series of the past 1-2 years! Plot pacing, character and world development, and growth is fantastic. Eagerly looking forward to the best book and would recommend to all fans of the genre!

[Edward Brian]

Wow

Okay, I wasn't sure what to expect from this latest installment. I really wasn't excited by the concept of the plot that was shaping up with Haxis... but never mind Mr. Arrows, you knew what you were doing.

This book was great! The story just keeps getting better!

[Kiriama]

Satisfyingly Good

This story keeps getting better and better. The author draws you into a believable world with complex characters that are neither good or bad, just human. Even if they have mechanical parts to boot.
One of my fave series for 2025.
Highly recommended

[Michael]

keeps getting better.

I am here to kill you father. Nuff said. Great books and still keeping me satisfied. Not as much travel in this one and a good portion taken up by his trying to kill his Father (all in good Winterscar fashion). Long live House Winterscar!

[GiGi]

Book five, where we learn a wee bit about the occult and how it came to be. It's still vague and hard to conceptualize in the context of physics as we know it though. It's the scientification of magic, not the magification of science I previously thought it to be.

[Reinaldo]

This one certainly is slower paced then the others, focusing on growing the characters and relationships with little danger besides the few pages of the past/future enemy, however I did not found it boring or slow. Funny at times even.

[Jayden]

Always

Always lives up to expectations and then exceeds them. I have to say this has easily made it to my top series of all time.

[Dotun]

Amazing!

Such a well written series! This is the standard that progression fantasy needs to meet to go mainstream in my opinion

[Max T]

Amazing book again

I absolutely loved the fight with the dad. I normally skip long fight scenes like this but not this one.

[Vijay]

enjoy the mc

[Jeremy Cox]

This is a bit of a setup story. Perfectly fine, still well done, but effectively an extended training montage.

[Harro Heijboer]

To little progress in the story imo. Could have been half the book.

[Jona Christensen]

Keith learns magic so he can beat up his dad. Also spider lady has the hots for him now. He is naturally oblivious

[Abby Goldsmith]

Yes! Yes! Yes! More, please. This is among the best series I've ever read.