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The Shifting Lands #2
Intent Magic: A Martial Arts Progression Fantasy
Behold the power of Chimor!
Silluka, Ichu, Cosquella and the other refugees from their destroyed village have discovered the world is much bigger than they thought. Now they scrape by in Chimor, a huge city populated by multiple species, gods, and magic.
But all is not well. Ichu has been tainted by the mysterious god of the Eztli Mecatl, and his magic no longer works as it should. Elder Quilqi pushes Silluka to hone her intent before she’s ready, in order to test for Mental Adept, then fight in the Chimor arena. And Lugopo is channeling ever stranger inventions from their eldritch gods…
But even the might of Chimor itself is challenged when the invading turtlemen arrive across the desert. The shifting lands are coming together, and the gods vie through victories in Chimor’s arena for which species has the right to rule. To even hope for survival, Silluka must learn Intent Magic.
Genres: Fantasy / Progression Fantasy / Cultivation / LGBT / Bisexual / Gay / Lesbian
Market: New Adult and Adult
Silluka, Ichu, Cosquella and the other refugees from their destroyed village have discovered the world is much bigger than they thought. Now they scrape by in Chimor, a huge city populated by multiple species, gods, and magic.
But all is not well. Ichu has been tainted by the mysterious god of the Eztli Mecatl, and his magic no longer works as it should. Elder Quilqi pushes Silluka to hone her intent before she’s ready, in order to test for Mental Adept, then fight in the Chimor arena. And Lugopo is channeling ever stranger inventions from their eldritch gods…
But even the might of Chimor itself is challenged when the invading turtlemen arrive across the desert. The shifting lands are coming together, and the gods vie through victories in Chimor’s arena for which species has the right to rule. To even hope for survival, Silluka must learn Intent Magic.
Genres: Fantasy / Progression Fantasy / Cultivation / LGBT / Bisexual / Gay / Lesbian
Market: New Adult and Adult
245 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2025
1 person is currently reading
5 people want to read
About the author
William C. Tracy
30 books110 followersWilliam C. Tracy writes and publishes queer science fiction and fantasy through his indie press Space Wizard Science Fantasy (spacewizardsciencefantasy.com).
His largest work is the Dissolutionverse: a space opera with music-based magic including nine books and a TTRPG. He’s also published Fruits of the Gods, an epic fantasy with seasonal fruit magic, How To Operate Your Body, a nonfiction book about body mechanics and correct posture, The Biomass Conflux, a sci-fi trilogy with colony ships and a planet covered by a sentient fungus, and The Shifting Lands, his current work, which is a progression fantasy series about martial arts and moving islands.
William is an NC native and a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy. He has a master’s in mechanical engineering, and has both designed and operated heavy construction machinery. He has also trained in Wado-Ryu karate since 2003 and runs his own dojo in Raleigh NC. He is an avid video and board gamer, a beekeeper, a reader, and of course, a writer.
You can get a free Dissolutionverse novelette by signing up for William’s mailing list at spacewizardsciencefantasy.com
Follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads at spacewizardpress and Bluesky at wctracy.bsky.social for writing updates, cat and bee pictures, and thoughts on martial arts.
His largest work is the Dissolutionverse: a space opera with music-based magic including nine books and a TTRPG. He’s also published Fruits of the Gods, an epic fantasy with seasonal fruit magic, How To Operate Your Body, a nonfiction book about body mechanics and correct posture, The Biomass Conflux, a sci-fi trilogy with colony ships and a planet covered by a sentient fungus, and The Shifting Lands, his current work, which is a progression fantasy series about martial arts and moving islands.
William is an NC native and a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy. He has a master’s in mechanical engineering, and has both designed and operated heavy construction machinery. He has also trained in Wado-Ryu karate since 2003 and runs his own dojo in Raleigh NC. He is an avid video and board gamer, a beekeeper, a reader, and of course, a writer.
You can get a free Dissolutionverse novelette by signing up for William’s mailing list at spacewizardsciencefantasy.com
Follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads at spacewizardpress and Bluesky at wctracy.bsky.social for writing updates, cat and bee pictures, and thoughts on martial arts.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 11, 2025
William Tracy looks for off-beat forms of magic in his stories (his primary series uses music-based magic) and this series is no different. Characters generate magic based on body movements (like Tai Chi, but with a kick). Interesting take, and adds a unique angle for battle (pretty hard to use a move if you need some long prep time to run the moves). I enjoy that, but he tends to let the magic become too much of a focus in many places (and the silly names for movements seems to be an inside joke I’m not getting).
And while magic is a key element of this world and filters through the plot, it seems to take away from the other elements he includes: conflict among the gods, the races who each support these gods, and a cast of interesting characters.
I find the character arcs the most interesting How can a girl without a hand generate the moves necessary to call forth magic? And what of her girlfriend, physically different and seemingly with no magi? Or the elder who many venerate, but few know her history? And that’s before you to the other Huaca (their race) and the aliens.
Overall, a decent read – but would benefit by moving a bit of the magic into the background.
And while magic is a key element of this world and filters through the plot, it seems to take away from the other elements he includes: conflict among the gods, the races who each support these gods, and a cast of interesting characters.
I find the character arcs the most interesting How can a girl without a hand generate the moves necessary to call forth magic? And what of her girlfriend, physically different and seemingly with no magi? Or the elder who many venerate, but few know her history? And that’s before you to the other Huaca (their race) and the aliens.
Overall, a decent read – but would benefit by moving a bit of the magic into the background.
December 2, 2025
Great follow-up to Physical Magic! Love that there's more Lugupo in this one since they are my favorite character in the series, and you really get to explore more of their character and species in this book. Also, the relationship between Silluka and Cosquella builds nicely, and you learn much more about the latter and her origins. Plus, there are plenty of battles!
November 10, 2025
I hadn't read the first book before this so I was as lost as lugopo and silluka were in the beginning but I definitely want to read the first one now
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews