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A Dread Tide Rising
The Empire of Rakka is dying.
Madness grips the emperor, the gods are failing, and in the shadows, something older and darker stirs.
At the heart of the chaos sails the Talon, a crew of smugglers, mercenaries, and thieves led by Macland “Mac” Toth, the last son of a disgraced noble house. When a routine heist unearths damning secrets and a mysterious girl named Kye, the crew is drawn into a storm of deception and murder.
Hunted by shapeshifters wearing stolen faces, betrayed by friends, and haunted by their own pasts, the crew races to uncover a terrible the enemy is everywhere, hiding in plain sight.
As loyalties fracture, Mac and his crew must decide whether they'll fight the darkness consuming Rakka or face being swallowed by it.
Pulp-flavored epic fantasy, high seas adventure, and an ensemble cast of characters collide in a tale of gods, monsters, and the thin line between hero and outlaw.
So begins A Dread Tide Rising, book 1 of The Empire of the Waves Cycle. The second installment, An Empire Drowned, is expected in 2026.
Madness grips the emperor, the gods are failing, and in the shadows, something older and darker stirs.
At the heart of the chaos sails the Talon, a crew of smugglers, mercenaries, and thieves led by Macland “Mac” Toth, the last son of a disgraced noble house. When a routine heist unearths damning secrets and a mysterious girl named Kye, the crew is drawn into a storm of deception and murder.
Hunted by shapeshifters wearing stolen faces, betrayed by friends, and haunted by their own pasts, the crew races to uncover a terrible the enemy is everywhere, hiding in plain sight.
As loyalties fracture, Mac and his crew must decide whether they'll fight the darkness consuming Rakka or face being swallowed by it.
Pulp-flavored epic fantasy, high seas adventure, and an ensemble cast of characters collide in a tale of gods, monsters, and the thin line between hero and outlaw.
So begins A Dread Tide Rising, book 1 of The Empire of the Waves Cycle. The second installment, An Empire Drowned, is expected in 2026.
431 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 14, 2025
1 person is currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 3, 2025
If I was forced to sum up in A Dread Tide Rising in a single word, that would be an easy task: adventure.
This book has so, so much packed into it that I don’t even really know where to begin. This dangerous seafaring world is not only home to our heroes (anti-heroes, really), but is also chock full of brutal pirates, vicious slavers, grand warships, merchants both shady and reputable, complex international politics, magics both astounding and disgusting, swashbuckling battles… All wrapped in a high stakes found family plot that gives you the warm fuzzies at some points and the wet willies at others.
Overall, A Dread Tide Rising is an adventurous, pulpy novel with a colourful ensemble cast and would be a solid pick for any epic fantasy lover—especially those who (like me) thirst after a good seafaring tale. Shuler spends a lot of time building tension, shoveling on in heaps until the whole thing cascades down in an exciting end. His style reminded me a bit of the popular Sanderlanche climax… but given the setting, I think the term Shunami is more appropriate.
Full in-depth review available on my Substack: The Word Dump.
This book has so, so much packed into it that I don’t even really know where to begin. This dangerous seafaring world is not only home to our heroes (anti-heroes, really), but is also chock full of brutal pirates, vicious slavers, grand warships, merchants both shady and reputable, complex international politics, magics both astounding and disgusting, swashbuckling battles… All wrapped in a high stakes found family plot that gives you the warm fuzzies at some points and the wet willies at others.
Overall, A Dread Tide Rising is an adventurous, pulpy novel with a colourful ensemble cast and would be a solid pick for any epic fantasy lover—especially those who (like me) thirst after a good seafaring tale. Shuler spends a lot of time building tension, shoveling on in heaps until the whole thing cascades down in an exciting end. His style reminded me a bit of the popular Sanderlanche climax… but given the setting, I think the term Shunami is more appropriate.
Full in-depth review available on my Substack: The Word Dump.
November 16, 2025
I got the first review spot!
Found family, swashbuckling, magic, pirates, weird melty-skin zombies that turn into seagulls. Remember the last time you read a book, and it was just fun? A Dread Tide Rising was a blast, and I chewed through it in a day.
What starts with a heist turns into a non-stop adventure for our band of heroes/anti-heroes/misfits. The world opens up as we're immersed, and Shuler does an excellent job at creating more depth and connectivity in a constant drip-feed. There are deeper tides at work here, and the curiosity of them pulls the reader through the story. The tension and pacing was high throughout, although sometimes it was too episodic, and the characters felt familiar, but three-dimensional. With each chapter, I wanted to know where it was heading.
If you're a fan of pulpy fantasy books, or swashbuckling found family stories, you'll find a home with this story. I'm looking forward to the next one already!
Found family, swashbuckling, magic, pirates, weird melty-skin zombies that turn into seagulls. Remember the last time you read a book, and it was just fun? A Dread Tide Rising was a blast, and I chewed through it in a day.
What starts with a heist turns into a non-stop adventure for our band of heroes/anti-heroes/misfits. The world opens up as we're immersed, and Shuler does an excellent job at creating more depth and connectivity in a constant drip-feed. There are deeper tides at work here, and the curiosity of them pulls the reader through the story. The tension and pacing was high throughout, although sometimes it was too episodic, and the characters felt familiar, but three-dimensional. With each chapter, I wanted to know where it was heading.
If you're a fan of pulpy fantasy books, or swashbuckling found family stories, you'll find a home with this story. I'm looking forward to the next one already!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews