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The Tragedy of Liana Incubore #1
To Rise from Death
Liana Incubore is dying, and nothing will save her.
Neither magic nor medicine can cure the illness ravaging her body, so she is left with no other recourse than to do it herself. By combining her independent research of medicine and magic, and with the help of her war-veteran sister and a group of magic students, she seeks to invent a new form of magic to fix herself, and maybe fix the world.
TO RISE FROM DEATH is the debut novel from Gwendolyn Gunn, re-released here as an Anniversary Edition with brand new chapters including a completely rewritten first act, and heavy rewrites to expand and enrich her fantasy world. TO RISE FROM DEATH, like its sequels, is a character-driven story of death, loss, and purpose featuring a reforged, intricate, unique fantasy world, LGBT characters, and dark themes, with elements of body horror, existential dread, violence and vengeance, death and loss, and what it means to chase one's self-made glorious purpose, damn the consequences.
Neither magic nor medicine can cure the illness ravaging her body, so she is left with no other recourse than to do it herself. By combining her independent research of medicine and magic, and with the help of her war-veteran sister and a group of magic students, she seeks to invent a new form of magic to fix herself, and maybe fix the world.
TO RISE FROM DEATH is the debut novel from Gwendolyn Gunn, re-released here as an Anniversary Edition with brand new chapters including a completely rewritten first act, and heavy rewrites to expand and enrich her fantasy world. TO RISE FROM DEATH, like its sequels, is a character-driven story of death, loss, and purpose featuring a reforged, intricate, unique fantasy world, LGBT characters, and dark themes, with elements of body horror, existential dread, violence and vengeance, death and loss, and what it means to chase one's self-made glorious purpose, damn the consequences.
552 pages, Paperback
Published May 5, 2026
About the author
Gwendolyn Gunn
5 books4 followersGwendolyn Gunn is a fantasy author known for her three-part fantasy series "The Tragedy of Liana Incubore." She was raised in beautiful Montana, USA, and has crafted stories of magic and fantasy all her life. Gwen is a transgender woman, and proudly features characters of all colors, genders, sexualities, and walks of life in general throughout her books. Today, she still lives and writes in Montana with her beautiful wife and two cats, all of whom help greatly with the writing process.
In addition to her trilogy, she is actively publishing a fantasy serial on her website called "The Mead Wars," which acts as a prequel for two characters from the Tragedy of Liana Incubore, Caliz & Osa.
In addition to her trilogy, she is actively publishing a fantasy serial on her website called "The Mead Wars," which acts as a prequel for two characters from the Tragedy of Liana Incubore, Caliz & Osa.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 31, 2026
Brilliant. Sensational. Phenomenal. Worth several reads!
May 18, 2026
I loved this book. I couldn't read it fast enough, because I had to know what happened. Now I am waiting impatiently for the second one to come out.
The story was fascinating. I really liked the take on magic and how it works. The different species of "people" were very interesting, and I thought the way the types were introduced and explained was done perfectly: informational without feeling lectured at, or reading a textbook.
The world-building and character development were really well done. This world is truly its own thing, yet the descriptions of the geography and various people were so vivid, you could imagine everything. I grew to care about the characters, and looked forward to seeing how they were doing, and what they were up to.
There is just enough intrigue and drama to keep the story going, without it coming across as trite or forced. I really liked that there are several stories that intertwine, and each are unique and interesting.
My favorite species is the Nojern. You'll have to read to see why.
Overall, I highly recommend this book and author.
The story was fascinating. I really liked the take on magic and how it works. The different species of "people" were very interesting, and I thought the way the types were introduced and explained was done perfectly: informational without feeling lectured at, or reading a textbook.
The world-building and character development were really well done. This world is truly its own thing, yet the descriptions of the geography and various people were so vivid, you could imagine everything. I grew to care about the characters, and looked forward to seeing how they were doing, and what they were up to.
There is just enough intrigue and drama to keep the story going, without it coming across as trite or forced. I really liked that there are several stories that intertwine, and each are unique and interesting.
My favorite species is the Nojern. You'll have to read to see why.
Overall, I highly recommend this book and author.
June 1, 2026
At first glance, many aspects of the story seem tropey - a fantasy world with varied species with animalistic features, swords and sorcery, and a quest to defeat a deathly sickness. The longer I read, though, the more the author played with the tropes in novel ways. What could easily have been tired becomes compelling. There are hints to a deeper architecture to the world than we get to in this part of the story.
The prose is well-composed and fun to read. Legitimately funny in several places, and moving in others. The protagonists are complex and flawed in very relatable ways.
The characters and relationships are refreshingly queer, but not overwrought. I'm eager for the second installation!
The prose is well-composed and fun to read. Legitimately funny in several places, and moving in others. The protagonists are complex and flawed in very relatable ways.
The characters and relationships are refreshingly queer, but not overwrought. I'm eager for the second installation!
August 4, 2026
I personally had a slow start, digesting the early chapters, because I have little experience reading fantasy genre and taking in all the world building, character names, and so on. This book was loaded onto my ereader to enjoy in bits and pieces during a trip but by the time I was on an 11 hour flight back, I didn't use the fancy TV entertainment or wifi AT ALL. I simply couldn't put this book down. I grew to love and root for all the characters, so even when one chapter ended/perspective changed, I still looked forward to what's next. The pacing of the plot and intertwining of the characters' paths - wow - is truly masterful.
Now that I am suspended on this cliff hanger, I'm refreshing the author's website like it's the day of a concert ticket drop. Can hardly wait!
Now that I am suspended on this cliff hanger, I'm refreshing the author's website like it's the day of a concert ticket drop. Can hardly wait!
July 29, 2026
Definitely makes you want to get the next book to find out what happens! The story moved at a good pace and felt authentic, like the characters were clearly very real in the author's mind and they became real in yours. Things that might have been surprising didn't feel that way because they felt like "yep, that's exactly what that character would do". Great to be able to get that depth of connection with a fantasy book!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews