The Men of the Mountain

by Drew Harrison

Inscrutable and Ever-Watchful Masters

The Renn of Fort Hope place their faith in simple laws. They must trust the Dicta, those wise rules left by their forebearers; they must fear the savage Krieger, whose raids keep Renn walls perpetually splintered; and they must revere the Men of the Mountain, the magnanimous mystics who are stewards of their world.

For Cade, a clanless trapper, survival is a matter of following the rules. But when the Men of the Mountain took his sister—the only Renn ever chosen to return to their sacred peaks—Cade's faith withers over five years of agonizing silence.

Now, a star has fallen from the sky, and its arrival threatens to spark an inferno. The Dicta are all things from the sky belong to the Mountain. To hide its discovery is a death sentence… but its crater also houses a secret the Men of the Mountain would kill to protect. Forced to defy his gods alongside unlikely allies, Cade is drawn into a conflict where every secret he uncovers reveals a more terrifying lie at the heart of his world… everything is a cage, and the price of freedom is paid in blood and ash.

Genres: Fantasy

645 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 1, 2026

About the author

Fort Lauderdale, Chapel Hill, London

Educator, novelist, guerilla poet, and journalist

Reviews

[Maria Ashford · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Florida writer Drew Harrison, The Men of the Mountain is a fantasy epic with a writing style that immediately pulls you in. The book has prose that reminded me of The Hunger Games, the kind that makes you forget you’re reading and just keeps you moving through the story. The first-person perspective creates an immersive experience, with thoughts provided throughout in italics. It’s a book that is not for the faint-hearted at almost 180,000 words, but you will likely not notice its length due to the book’s heart-pounding, page-turning pacing (at least I didn’t).

Despite a couple minor quibbles, The Men of the Mountain is ultimately a gripping fight for survival with characters you genuinely care about. It is the kind of book that pulls you in and keeps you turning pages, invested in these characters and their struggle against a system designed to break them. It’s dark fantasy that doesn’t pull its punches. If you’re a fan of gritty fantasy with strong character work and mysteries that keep you guessing, this is well worth your time. Harrison has announced this as the first in a series, and I’m curious to see where he takes the characters next.

If you’re someone who enjoys The Hunger Games, Red Rising, or The Witcher, in other words adventure stories with gritty survival, The Men of the Mountain delivers a compelling dark fantasy with elements of sci-fi. For fans of authors like Joe Abercrombie and Mark Lawrence who like their books intense, mysterious, and don’t mind a long read, this is more than worth checking out.

[Noah Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful amalgamation of science fiction and fantasy elements, ranging from Eragon to Horizon: Zero Dawn, with a touch of dystopian tendencies. Drew is careful not to fall into redundant tropes that characterize the bulk of protagonists in this genre, instead creating a boy with many faults that is both frustrating and endearing to the reader. The way two worlds are brought together is both refreshing and fascinating in an unexpected fashion. This is a world that, once invested in, you will be itching for more of!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Eli V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book was fantastic. I thought I was throwing myself into an epic fantasy, but it gave me a twist I was not expecting, but it did so in the best way.

Now I know a lot of people hate the good old phrase "she released a breath she didn't know she was holding", but I'll be damned, if this book didn't make me do that in the flesh! I found so many scenes in this book truly suspenseful and edge of your seat.... one scene even had my hands getting clammy!

This does found tribe, friendship and love in such a magnificent way too. The relationships throughout this story are uplifting and beautiful, but also make you want to reach through the page and tear some characters apart.

If you love epic adventure fantasy that twists into something more, then you best be adding this one to your TBR, stat!

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Drew Harrison for three years now and have eagerly awaited reading his new book. I went into it not knowing much beyond the title; not even reading the blurb. Drew had earned my trust from his previous works that his stories were worth my time. I heartly recomend the experience into going into this blind so I' hesitant to tell you much about the story or the world we find ourselves in.

I admit, upon starting I was a bit aprehensive at first, fearing a familiar trope was being deployed as a possible entry point to this story but I neeedn't had worried. The payoff was well worth the set up and it kept me speculating and wondering in all the places in between.

The main characters feel fully fleshed out and real with their own strengths and foils with no out of place great at everything character flexing their impossibly strong muscles or minds around to save the day. The jeopardy they face feels real and their actions or inactions have real costs and good or bad, I felt with our heroes all the way through it.

I love the way this story unfolds and our understanding of the wider world, events and stakes at play. I'm looking forward to reading this again when it is out in paperback to maybe see early events in a more enlightened way.

Lastly, the story feels complete. It's epic 644 pages (ebook) has a beginning, middle, and end. That being said, I would be the first to jump at the chance to return to this world.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Iackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Received book for free)
This was a fun read. The author of Starfall has done it again.
I really liked the characters. Cade, Helga, Robin, and Forten were fleshed out really well. I liked Fortens continuous struggle until his breaking point where he would even kill Caustus. The torment of meeting Adria was also very good.
And who would’ve thought that you would flip the whole Fantasy realm on its head with a single word: “escape pod.” It was well done.
Thanks Drew for the great read and for reminding me of Arthur C. Clark’s 3rd Law. We really should look around us in awe.

[Adam McIntosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A captivating read that breaks all genre norms. Each chapter peels back another layer of intrigue, deepening the mystery and pulling you further into its world. The book has great pacing and a narrative that keeps you guessing. This is a true page-turner. Perfect for readers seeking a bold, genre-blending journey that challenges expectations and rewards curiosity

[Kristle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book starts off a little slow but when it picks up, you better buckle in! Great world building and character development. Actually found myself being surprised in the story and I can typically figure out the plot. Overall a very smart, well written story. Would absolutely recommend!

[Gordon Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this novel is rather like putting together a complicated jigsaw puzzle made from colourful pieces. Similar fragments fit together, and each section grows slowly as new pieces are revealed.

The development of the main character is of course the central block. Cade starts out as a simple rabbit hunter. The author stays true to the first-person point of view, but manages to slip in enough details to give readers the impression that there is more to this character than his own modesty at first reveals. By the end he has matured to become a believable leader of his people.

Another section involves a slow and rather sweet love affair that develops faster than Cade expects, so it slides gently and naturally into the perception of the reader, and we are as surprised as he is when he realizes that he’s in love.

Another element involves the detailed and vibrant setting descriptions that create the atmosphere of the story and at the same time build a picture of the scientific environment as Cade slowly discovers the history of his people. The scientific realities of the people’s lives are revealed in a complex story arc of their own.

And this is all decorated with a rogue’s gallery of fascinating and fantastical characters, good, evil, feral, and just plain human. The wild Kreigers are an especially imaginative creation.

As the story progresses, the focus shifts from the people and their primitive life to the Sci-Fi part of the picture. And in the end, it all fits together in a suspenseful chase through an ancient hi-tech fortress where our picture of the science is blurred by the primitive experience of the first-person main character who portrays it for us.

Any author who writes in present tense is taking a risk. Readers are pretty well hardwired to read in past tense, and they can handle some fairly complex ideas. When you base a story in present tense, we get used to it fairly quickly, but once in a while a more complex string of verb tenses makes us stop to figure out the meaning.

It’s no big deal, but anything that causes readers to pause and become aware of the author’s technique is a distraction from true emotional connection with the characters and the story.

And then there’s the odd time when the author slips up and puts in “was” instead of “is”…well, perhaps something to be polished up between the advanced review copy and the finished product.

A great story, but at 600+ pages, aimed at the reader with a long attention span.

[Likely Story · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Men of the Mountain takes its time, and that patience is one of its greatest strengths. From the opening chapters, the book establishes a lived-in world where belief, labor, and survival are inseparable. Cade’s voice feels grounded immediately, shaped by routine, trade, and quiet loss. The writing lingers on the physical textures of his life — snow, hides, wood, hunger — not as decoration, but as the fabric of his reality. This is a story that understands how much meaning is carried in daily work, and how fragile that meaning becomes when power enters the picture.

What stood out to me most is how carefully the book handles authority. The Men of the Mountain are not introduced as distant myths or abstract forces. They arrive with ceremony, language, and expectation, and the imbalance of power is palpable long before violence ever appears on the page. Cade’s resentment and fear feel earned, not reactionary. His questions are quiet ones at first, rooted in absence, memory, and unanswered loss, and the book allows those questions to deepen slowly rather than rushing him toward rebellion.

The arrival of the fallen star is where the story shifts, but it never abandons its emotional center. What could have become spectacle instead becomes intimate and tense. Cade’s response is not heroic in the traditional sense. It is hesitant, conflicted, and deeply human. His sense of obligation competes with fear, curiosity, and grief, and the book never simplifies that internal struggle. The woman from the sky is not treated as a symbol or a prize, but as a destabilizing presence that forces Cade to confront the limits of the world he’s accepted.

By the end, The Men of the Mountain feels less like a story about overthrowing power and more like a meditation on what it costs to question it at all. The novel is interested in erosion rather than explosion — how belief wears thin, how obedience curdles into complicity, and how courage often looks like stubborn persistence rather than grand defiance. It’s a book that trusts atmosphere, interiority, and moral tension to do the heavy lifting, and that trust pays off.

Find my full review here: https://likelystory.blog/2026/01/13/r...

[Books R&B · Rating 4 out of 5]

*The Men of the Mountain* reads like a story that has been waiting patiently to be told. The kind that doesn’t rush to impress you, because it knows its power lives in atmosphere, rhythm, and restraint.

This is a book about landscape as much as it is about people. The mountain is not a backdrop. It is an inheritance. A witness. A quiet keeper of memory and masculinity and the weight of things left unsaid. You feel the air thin as you read. You feel the isolation sharpen the emotions rather than soften them.

What struck me most is how thoughtfully the men are drawn. They are not heroic in the obvious way. Their strength is practical, learned, often heavy. There is tenderness here, but it is the kind that has been earned through work, silence, and time. The book understands that intimacy does not always arrive through language. Sometimes it shows up through loyalty, shared labor, and staying when leaving would be easier.

There is an old world sensibility to this story that feels grounding rather than nostalgic. Tradition is present, but not romanticized. The mountain gives, but it also takes. Generations live with the consequences of choices made long before them, and the novel is wise enough not to offer easy resolutions.

The writing itself is measured and confident. It allows scenes to breathe. It trusts the reader to sit with discomfort, with longing, with moral ambiguity. This is not a story that explains itself to you. It invites you in and expects you to pay attention.

What I appreciated most is the emotional honesty. The book does not posture. It does not chase trends. It feels rooted in something older and steadier. A reminder that some stories endure not because they shout, but because they know exactly who they are.

*The Men of the Mountain* is for readers who love character driven fiction, who believe setting shapes destiny, and who understand that the most powerful forces in life are often quiet, immovable, and deeply felt.

A grounded, contemplative read that stays with you long after the last page, like a place you once lived and still carry with you.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Review

Immediately what stands out to the reader is how immense and powerful this world the author has created seems to be. The detail and depth the author goes into really highlights the world building the author managed to capture, making the long narrative that was developed feel both necessary and inviting. The detail also helps elevate the setting and the imagery in the author’s writing really brings the visuals of the action and the characters to life on the page.

Aside from the world building, the character growth and dynamics was astonishing, delving into themes of friendship and found family as the story develops and revelations about the world around them come to life. The protagonist is complex, giving readers not a straight and narrow hero who becomes one-dimensional, but instead a multi-dimensional hero whose mistakes and faults blend with his tendencies to do what’s right and defy the laws that hinder the rights of his people. The connection between him and Robin was especially interesting, showcasing the ability to bridge the gap between two worlds as they come from very different places.

The Verdict

Thought-provoking, entertaining, and compelling, author Drew Harrison’s “The Men of the Mountain” is a powerful blend of epic fantasy and sci-fi greatness, and is a must-read novel of 2026. The twists and turns as the truth behind the origins of the Men of the Mountain and the origins of the Renn come to life, and the dark and gritty tone the book takes on as the world grows and the characters are forced to come together under extreme circumstances make the story a powerful entry and start to a brand new dark fantasy/sci-fi series and a memorable narrative.

[Rosie Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Men of the mountain is an epic fantasy tale set on a planet far away from Earth.

Cade is a rabbit hunter. His world is closely overseen by Men of The Mountain, a fearsome green robed people who have magical powers.

While out hunting, Cade witnesses an explosion in the sky, followed by an object falling to the ground. He discovers a badly injured stranger from the stars; his instincts tell him to help but hide this outsider.

Unbeknown to Cade he has rescued an astronaut from a ship sent from Earth. The one survivor is a woman called Robin. She is part of a mission sent to discover what happened to the planet’s colonisation programme which begun several hundred years ago.

This story mixes fantasy and science fiction with human evolution in a believable setting. The world-building was easy to follow with little twists to keep the narrative interesting. There’s a quest with realistic fight scenes and a good balance of heroic episodes. I liked Cade and how he grew as a character, especially in the way he went from lone person to a group leader. There’s several good secondary characters too, with a few surprises towards the end.

This is the first book in a series and I shall look forward to reading more about Cade and his world.

[ABrahosky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read and watched a veritable plethora of post-apocalyptic or dystopian society stories, going way back to the original "Planet of the Apes," and I can confidently say that "The Men of the Mountain" can proudly stand amongst the top-tier of these tales.

Other than simply telling a gripping adventure event, the author deftly examines how institutions exert control over a population, often in the name of "progress," but does so in a way that is not beating one about the ears with this message. By having a troubled villager rescue a survivor from a wrecked spacecraft and shelter the occupant from the disciples of the dominant mystical religious system, Drew Harrison sets the table for a classic foray into the power of the soul versus the power of science.

I absolutely enjoyed how the plot developed, and was even more engaged by the evolution of the complex characters with which Harrison chose to carry this story forward; they stood out as real individuals, not just as the easy to access tropes that are frequently the stock of novels of this type.

I enjoyed the free advance copy, and wish Drew amazing success for this and future works. I look forward to reading more.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book but something just didnt connect with me. This is a mixture of dystopian, sci-fi, and fantasy. Cade Clanless is part of the Fort Hope settlement where everyone's name is related to the job they occupy. Fort Hope is a settlement that is overseen by men that live in the mountain. Everyone in Fort Hope is called Renn and are touched by having growths, lesions and sicknesses afflict them.

After a women falls from the sky it sets Cade and his people on a path that forces them to relook at their existence and who they are in relation to their world. It also brings to light secrets and answers from the past.

I really wanted to love this book but the first half of the story was very confusing and felt convoluted. It wasnt the writing but maybe the subject matter and maybe I wasnt totally understanding the point the author was trying to make. Either way this was a good book and story and good for lovers of high sci-fi and fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Drew Harrison and Victory Editing for the ARC Copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hands down one of my favourite books I read this year.
The setting is so well done and how slowly layer and layer us peeled to see how the world works and how they got there. How the communication with Robyn works is genious. We, as readers, know whery well what she is talking about and how they are communicating and she is explaining with easy words, impeccable. I enjoyed that so much.
I liked the romance subplot and how they are helping each other.
And the character work. The emotion, the human connection, the guilt, the care for each other, the grief, everything is so well done. Also one of the best depictions of survivors guilt I've ever seen.
The main character is a very down to earth character that cares for the people around him, he has a strong moratity, that feels almost too perfect at points. You are able to feel with him and support his desicions.
The only minor thing I wished for is that the magic of the world was explained and explored a little more.

I recived an ARC copy of the book trough BookSirens and I'm leaving an honest review.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this story. This book definitely went in a direction I didn’t see coming but that was OK it just wasn’t expected. It is definitely a Fantasy/ScFi book. There is a lot of what I would call religious undertone in the story especially at the beginning. The characters have several philosophical interactions and conversations. You follow MMC Cade as he navigates this world. There is a lot of action towards the middle and end of the story. I can’t think of another story I have read recently to compare this one to but if a blending of fantasy and sci fi sounds interesting to you I would try this one.

[A.R. Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Men of the Mountain was a very fun and very exciting read. Filled with memorable characters and a refreshing narrative, I found that once I began reading, it was very hard to put down. This is a story that knows what it wants to say, and, through considerate world building and character development, does quite well in doing so.

Very much recommend for those who are into blends of science fiction and fantasy.

[Melissa Widmaier · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Giver" meets "The Hunger Games" meets "The Martian" -- A creative mix of fantasy/adventure and sci-fi, this story left me speechless. I was so heavily invested in the characters and their adventure, I'm an emotional wreck. This was a wonderful, thought-provoking exploration of what it is to be human and how the choices we make shape ourselves and the world around us.