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Corruption
Trapped on an island, surrounded by lava...with a secret.
When their ability to connect to the magical Flow disappears, Revan and the other students at his college’s island are stranded, surrounded by fiery seas separating habitable regions. Revan can’t retreat to his home island, only in contact with people who don’t know his true identity.
While most people only have one of the five crystals in their torso lit up—determining their role in society—Revan is among the few with more than one lit-up crystal. If anyone finds out, he’ll be considered Othercrystalled, and cast from society.
Torn between his feelings for his male best friend and a female classmate, with his secret close to being revealed, Revan discovers evidence the magic might not have been cut off naturally. Someone might be using the chaos to hunt Othercrystalled. Someone full of Corruption.
Fantasy / Epic Fantasy / LGBT / Bisexual / Gay
Young Adult and New Adult
When their ability to connect to the magical Flow disappears, Revan and the other students at his college’s island are stranded, surrounded by fiery seas separating habitable regions. Revan can’t retreat to his home island, only in contact with people who don’t know his true identity.
While most people only have one of the five crystals in their torso lit up—determining their role in society—Revan is among the few with more than one lit-up crystal. If anyone finds out, he’ll be considered Othercrystalled, and cast from society.
Torn between his feelings for his male best friend and a female classmate, with his secret close to being revealed, Revan discovers evidence the magic might not have been cut off naturally. Someone might be using the chaos to hunt Othercrystalled. Someone full of Corruption.
Fantasy / Epic Fantasy / LGBT / Bisexual / Gay
Young Adult and New Adult
232 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 13, 2026
About the author
Alexander Verbeek-van den Toren
5 books8 followersBy day, Alexander Verbeek-van den Toren is a child psychologist, but by night, when it's dark outside and all the lights are turned off and everyone's asleep... he's asleep as well.
In between those times, he writes and reads fanatically. He is a big fan of stories that show different cultures, whether they are real or imaginary. Queer stories also get a big leg up with him.
Alexander writes and reads in English and Dutch. In the English language, his debut novel 'Corruption' will be coming out on January 13th, 2026. In the Dutch language, he shows up periodically in short story collections and short story magazines.
Alexander lives with his husband and their dog in Spijkenisse, near Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.
In between those times, he writes and reads fanatically. He is a big fan of stories that show different cultures, whether they are real or imaginary. Queer stories also get a big leg up with him.
Alexander writes and reads in English and Dutch. In the English language, his debut novel 'Corruption' will be coming out on January 13th, 2026. In the Dutch language, he shows up periodically in short story collections and short story magazines.
Alexander lives with his husband and their dog in Spijkenisse, near Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
February 6, 2026
I really liked the magic system in this book, and the way the magic is tied to the crystals on each person's chest. The characters were well-developed and the way it was written made me want to keep reading. I would have liked to have known a little more about the planet itself, but otherwise, I hope to read more from this author in the future.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review