Fester: The Shadow Blood Tale

by Zaven Boswell

A Ruined Soul Shall Fester

Phoenix must break free from her family’s curse. Ever since the day of her birth, she has been trained for one to protect a strange, bloody door within her home. Continuing this fatal tradition is a meaningless fate tied to a forgotten end.

To avoid this disastrous outcome, she accepts an uncanny newcomer’s most daring acquire blood magic and be free. In exchange, she will take part in overthrowing the kingdom. What other choice did she have? From this day forward, the radiance within the world can now cleanse her bleak childhood despite the blackened power of magic eating away at her soul.

As this dangerous ability develops and shapes her into something inhuman, Phoenix finds her skills are unlike those who came before. She cannot heal. Every cut upon her skin inches her closer to death. Such an anomaly captures the attention of demons with unknown desires, for those without the capability to heal will surely fall into the endless abyss. Yet, her formidable skills have the potential to save the world from impending disaster.

399 pages, Paperback

Published July 9, 2025

About the author

Zaven Boswell is an Iowa author who studied at Des Moines Area Community College and Iowa State University with a focus on creative writing. After becoming inspired by the great fictional stories that exist within today’s media, he strives to create dark stories with an incentive on emotion—tales which allow readers to immerse themselves within the overall plot. In his pastime, he enjoys reading and watching movies with his fiancé and cat, as well as playing video games such as Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy.

Reviews

[Alyvia]

Very cool to read a book by a local author—my copy is signed and everything. I think I would’ve liked it to be a bit longer to get more depth in the world and characters, but I really liked this concept. There were plenty of twists, too.

[J.W. Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very good book. I really enjoyed the plot twits that were in it. I couldn’t put it down after I started reading it, and I’m excited for the next book to come out.