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Everyone Dies
• Aaron, a mercenary archer with a murderous past.
• Bram, a man who lives by winning contests of skill.
• Timo, a quiet woodcutter with no taste for war.
• Melody, a young swordswoman desperate to prove she belongs.
• Trent, a weary soldier awaiting the birth of his great-grandchild.
• Konstantina, a fire mage sworn to the king's service.
• Shai, a seer cursed with the knowledge of what is to come.
They travel together, bound by circumstance, loyalty, and fragile hope. But their fates are already sealed. Because in the end...
Everyone dies.
A grimdark fantasy for adult readers containing violence, betrayal, and despair.
• Bram, a man who lives by winning contests of skill.
• Timo, a quiet woodcutter with no taste for war.
• Melody, a young swordswoman desperate to prove she belongs.
• Trent, a weary soldier awaiting the birth of his great-grandchild.
• Konstantina, a fire mage sworn to the king's service.
• Shai, a seer cursed with the knowledge of what is to come.
They travel together, bound by circumstance, loyalty, and fragile hope. But their fates are already sealed. Because in the end...
Everyone dies.
A grimdark fantasy for adult readers containing violence, betrayal, and despair.
93 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 20, 2026
About the author
Daniel Roy Greenfeld
17 books66 followersOver the course of his life, Daniel has:
* Learned how to fight with swords
* Ridden horses
* Cycled thousands of miles on multiple continents
* Performed cartwheels in capoeira circles on multiple continents
* Worked as an engineer at NASA
* Married a woman he dreamed about before he ever met her
He believes this combination of skills and experiences makes him the ideal fantasy and tech author.
* Learned how to fight with swords
* Ridden horses
* Cycled thousands of miles on multiple continents
* Performed cartwheels in capoeira circles on multiple continents
* Worked as an engineer at NASA
* Married a woman he dreamed about before he ever met her
He believes this combination of skills and experiences makes him the ideal fantasy and tech author.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Read
May 16, 2026I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
fast-paced action, read it in one go, had a lot of fun with the concept
i loved the free indirect style, and the shifting points of view
i got invested in the characters. even if the book was more like a novella, Greenfeld managed to create full-fledged characters
looking forward to reading more by the same author
Everyone Dies was a completely original and engaging work, but to me it also had an old-fantasy vibe (see for instance c.l. moore's jirel of joiry stories)
fast-paced action, read it in one go, had a lot of fun with the concept
i loved the free indirect style, and the shifting points of view
i got invested in the characters. even if the book was more like a novella, Greenfeld managed to create full-fledged characters
looking forward to reading more by the same author
Everyone Dies was a completely original and engaging work, but to me it also had an old-fantasy vibe (see for instance c.l. moore's jirel of joiry stories)
Read
June 21, 2026Grim Tale. xo
The cover caught my eye—that’s what made me pick it up; after that, the title. Top marks for that alone. What follows is a grim tale twisted in fate, morality, and sacrifice: many POVs, lots of action, and a quest that leads exactly where the title promises. This is a quick read, and it’s worth it.
The cover caught my eye—that’s what made me pick it up; after that, the title. Top marks for that alone. What follows is a grim tale twisted in fate, morality, and sacrifice: many POVs, lots of action, and a quest that leads exactly where the title promises. This is a quick read, and it’s worth it.
Review of advance copy
It’s evident that someone has played a lot of D&D!
The title tells you everything: six heroes, one suicide mission against the Liche Queen, and an explicit promise that none will return. It's an elevator pitch, and Greenfeld delivers on it.
The structure is simple and effective. A group of champions is recruited by the king after a tournament fair: the archer, the swordswoman, the wrestler, the woodcutter, the old soldier, the seer. They are teleported into the Liche Queen's domain and must fight their way to her tower. One by one, they fall. Some to age, some to cowardice, some by deliberate choice.
The most interesting character is Shai, the seer who knows from the beginning how it will end but [SPOILER!]. It's a genuine tragic dilemma, and the book works best when exploring this tension.
The action scenes are cinematic and clear. Greenfeld knows how to handle group combat without confusing the reader, and the creatures, wights, a Dark Captain, spiked abominations, have physical presence.
Where the book doesn't convince is in depth. The characters are functional to their roles, the brute, the treacherous archer, the competent swordswoman, but they don't breathe beyond that. The worldbuilding is standard medieval fantasy with a Liche Queen who could come from any D&D campaign.
It’s a solid and entertaining book.
The title tells you everything: six heroes, one suicide mission against the Liche Queen, and an explicit promise that none will return. It's an elevator pitch, and Greenfeld delivers on it.
The structure is simple and effective. A group of champions is recruited by the king after a tournament fair: the archer, the swordswoman, the wrestler, the woodcutter, the old soldier, the seer. They are teleported into the Liche Queen's domain and must fight their way to her tower. One by one, they fall. Some to age, some to cowardice, some by deliberate choice.
The most interesting character is Shai, the seer who knows from the beginning how it will end but [SPOILER!]. It's a genuine tragic dilemma, and the book works best when exploring this tension.
The action scenes are cinematic and clear. Greenfeld knows how to handle group combat without confusing the reader, and the creatures, wights, a Dark Captain, spiked abominations, have physical presence.
Where the book doesn't convince is in depth. The characters are functional to their roles, the brute, the treacherous archer, the competent swordswoman, but they don't breathe beyond that. The worldbuilding is standard medieval fantasy with a Liche Queen who could come from any D&D campaign.
It’s a solid and entertaining book.
Full review
I post more reviews like this on kendiro.com.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I read an advanced review copy of the ebook dated April 24, 2026. I’m not normally a fan of horror or fantasy, but decided to try something different. And I was rewarded with a great story. I probably shouldn’t use the word horror because this isn’t like, say, Friday the 13th. This is much more artful.
Several things impressed me about this. First, the writing was smooth. The chapters flowed by effortlessly. It is a short novel, so yes, that’s part of it, but I’m specifically calling out how the writing was easy to follow. There are just seven main characters (excluding the queen), with a few chapters focusing on each, nicely weaving together a unified story. The transitions and relationships between the characters was clear.
The settings are explained well. In any novel, readers can rarely know if their imagination of the world or the appearance of the characters quite matches what the author has in mind, but in this case, I felt pretty comfortable envisioning the scene descriptions. The unobtrusive prose makes you feel like you’re standing in the scene.
Another plus was how many times the author threw a surprising detail into the story. Roy Greenfeld researched this well, for example, how the characters use and learn magic and mystic powers. Since I’m a novice to this genre, I didn’t know how sorcerers would ever learn their skills. Here, it’s cleverly done by reading books, of course! I won’t give away other examples, but you can look for them.
Several things impressed me about this. First, the writing was smooth. The chapters flowed by effortlessly. It is a short novel, so yes, that’s part of it, but I’m specifically calling out how the writing was easy to follow. There are just seven main characters (excluding the queen), with a few chapters focusing on each, nicely weaving together a unified story. The transitions and relationships between the characters was clear.
The settings are explained well. In any novel, readers can rarely know if their imagination of the world or the appearance of the characters quite matches what the author has in mind, but in this case, I felt pretty comfortable envisioning the scene descriptions. The unobtrusive prose makes you feel like you’re standing in the scene.
Another plus was how many times the author threw a surprising detail into the story. Roy Greenfeld researched this well, for example, how the characters use and learn magic and mystic powers. Since I’m a novice to this genre, I didn’t know how sorcerers would ever learn their skills. Here, it’s cleverly done by reading books, of course! I won’t give away other examples, but you can look for them.
June 2, 2026
💪 ARC Review ⚔️
"Timo didn’t know what ‘survive’ meant, but he liked living. He was very good at it, having done it since the day he was born.”
In this Dark Fantasy novella, everyone dies. I promise it's not a spoiler 🤣 - the title speaks for itself.
So, when I started reading, I'm sitting there wondering how the book's going to pull me in because I already know what's going to happen.
The characters! There's a band of characters who we meet at the beginning. They set off on their journey and we get to experience it through their eyes.
I didn't think I could be emotionally attached to characters with so few pages, but I found myself cheering for them even in the face of impending doom. And...when their time came, each met death in a different way.
My favorite - Timo. 🥺🫶😥
I'm so impressed at how Daniel was able to write so much depth to the story. I was sad to see some of the characters die and I had only been reading about them for a few dozen pages.
This was an enrapturing story for the length. I've read my fair share of novellas and most aren't developed enough to really rate highly for me, but this one definitely checked the boxes and I'd recommend it 100%.
If you're looking for a < 100 page read, an introduction to fantasy, or a multi-POV novella, you may like this book.
Triggers: Death, Violence, Gore
"Timo didn’t know what ‘survive’ meant, but he liked living. He was very good at it, having done it since the day he was born.”
In this Dark Fantasy novella, everyone dies. I promise it's not a spoiler 🤣 - the title speaks for itself.
So, when I started reading, I'm sitting there wondering how the book's going to pull me in because I already know what's going to happen.
The characters! There's a band of characters who we meet at the beginning. They set off on their journey and we get to experience it through their eyes.
I didn't think I could be emotionally attached to characters with so few pages, but I found myself cheering for them even in the face of impending doom. And...when their time came, each met death in a different way.
My favorite - Timo. 🥺🫶😥
I'm so impressed at how Daniel was able to write so much depth to the story. I was sad to see some of the characters die and I had only been reading about them for a few dozen pages.
This was an enrapturing story for the length. I've read my fair share of novellas and most aren't developed enough to really rate highly for me, but this one definitely checked the boxes and I'd recommend it 100%.
If you're looking for a < 100 page read, an introduction to fantasy, or a multi-POV novella, you may like this book.
Triggers: Death, Violence, Gore
June 25, 2026
I was instantly drawn to Everyone Dies because of the stunning cover and I was not disappointed. This is a fast-paced D&D style adventure with multiple POVs from a party that is sent out to defeat the Lich Queen. I was apprehensive about the number of POVs, but I felt the author expertly wove the characters into each other’s perspectives making it incredibly easy to follow. There was also a turn-based feel to the narrative, in keeping with the D&D style.
I was impressed by how invested I became in the characters, especially Timo (justice for Timo!) and each character was fleshed out just enough for us to understand their motivations without taking up too much time and distracting from other POVs or further world-building. My only critique is that I would have loved to see more of the magic system in action. There was a lot of melee fighting but not much spell casting.
Everyone Dies is a fast-paced, action-packed novella with endearing characters and is well worth a read. I can’t wait for the next instalment!
I received an eARC from Booksprout and I am voluntarily leaving this review.
I was impressed by how invested I became in the characters, especially Timo (justice for Timo!) and each character was fleshed out just enough for us to understand their motivations without taking up too much time and distracting from other POVs or further world-building. My only critique is that I would have loved to see more of the magic system in action. There was a lot of melee fighting but not much spell casting.
Everyone Dies is a fast-paced, action-packed novella with endearing characters and is well worth a read. I can’t wait for the next instalment!
I received an eARC from Booksprout and I am voluntarily leaving this review.
Review of advance copy
“Doomed. They were all doomed.”
At just 93 pages, Everyone Dies is a fast-paced fantasy adventure. Honestly, it felt a bit like speed running a video game, with each chapter acting as a new level (no time for side quests.)
The story follows a group of characters travelling together towards what feels like inevitable disaster, and each chapter is told from a different POV. What impressed me most was how distinct each character’s voice was despite the chapters being so short. Daniel Roy Greenfeld does a really good job of building personality through interactions and observations from other characters, rather than just having everyone explain themselves directly.
If you are looking for a quick fantasy packed with battles, quests, betrayal, and constant momentum, this is a fun one to pick up.
Thank you to Book Sirens and Daniel Roy Greenfeld for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
At just 93 pages, Everyone Dies is a fast-paced fantasy adventure. Honestly, it felt a bit like speed running a video game, with each chapter acting as a new level (no time for side quests.)
The story follows a group of characters travelling together towards what feels like inevitable disaster, and each chapter is told from a different POV. What impressed me most was how distinct each character’s voice was despite the chapters being so short. Daniel Roy Greenfeld does a really good job of building personality through interactions and observations from other characters, rather than just having everyone explain themselves directly.
If you are looking for a quick fantasy packed with battles, quests, betrayal, and constant momentum, this is a fun one to pick up.
Thank you to Book Sirens and Daniel Roy Greenfeld for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 21, 2026
Everyone Dies really reminded me of playing a round of Dungeons and Dragons. The story follows a large cast of characters, switching perspectives throughout the book as they all come together for what is more than likely a suicide mission to stop the Lich Queen.
The chapters are fairly short, which made this a quick and easy read to fly through. With such a large cast, I did find myself needing to keep a note on who everyone was since we only really get a brief introduction to the characters before the action begins.
One of my favorite parts of the book was the descriptions of the different monsters and villains. The imagery was vivid and made the world feel immersive, and honestly, I think including artwork would make an amazing addition to this story.
I will definitely be continuing to check out this author's work in the future.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The chapters are fairly short, which made this a quick and easy read to fly through. With such a large cast, I did find myself needing to keep a note on who everyone was since we only really get a brief introduction to the characters before the action begins.
One of my favorite parts of the book was the descriptions of the different monsters and villains. The imagery was vivid and made the world feel immersive, and honestly, I think including artwork would make an amazing addition to this story.
I will definitely be continuing to check out this author's work in the future.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 26, 2026
First off, I demand justice for Timo. Second, the title tells you everything you need to know, even if I dislike that I knew there would be no survivors going in.
Surprisingly, there wasn't much where I felt needed to be expanded on or reduced, aside for one of the characters where it was a little hammered home in that he was a bad dude. The rest of the cast I felt was very well done, and one duo even had decades of history explained perfectly in just a few paragraphs.
Well done story, nothing groundbreaking there and the world-building was great, settings and descriptions let me know exactly where we were. This is a book where I would be happy to re-read down the line.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Surprisingly, there wasn't much where I felt needed to be expanded on or reduced, aside for one of the characters where it was a little hammered home in that he was a bad dude. The rest of the cast I felt was very well done, and one duo even had decades of history explained perfectly in just a few paragraphs.
Well done story, nothing groundbreaking there and the world-building was great, settings and descriptions let me know exactly where we were. This is a book where I would be happy to re-read down the line.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 29, 2026
Everyone Dies is a quick, grim‑dark fantasy read with smooth writing and surprisingly vivid world‑building for its length. The rotating cast keeps the story moving, and the magic, monsters, and lore feel well‑researched and immersive. Some characters are more developed than others, but the pacing and atmosphere make it easy to stay engaged. A solid, fast read for fans of dark fantasy and D&D‑style quests.
Review of advance copy received from Author
*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*
I liked the premise of this book, but found that the characters needed further development. There is a large cast here, and I wanted more of an emotional connection to the characters as they went about their quest. The mood of the story fit the grim dark genre well, and the world was intriguing.
I liked the premise of this book, but found that the characters needed further development. There is a large cast here, and I wanted more of an emotional connection to the characters as they went about their quest. The mood of the story fit the grim dark genre well, and the world was intriguing.
Review of advance copy
Received this as an ARC read. This book was great. It was action packed, well written, and in a format that was very interesting. I also liked that it was fast-paced and you couldn’t get too attached to the characters. Cannot wait for book two. Highly recommend!
May 24, 2026
Most enjoyable read. I loved how the story show the aspect of all the characters. Wow what a story and wow what an ending, nail biting.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews