Despair

by Katika Schneider

Demons had buried a legend... And now that Nessix has reached Zeal, she is free to pursue the answers she needs to rescue the army she left trapped in the hells. Or so she thought. Even with Mathias's backing, the holy city is reluctant to act on the word of the creature she has become. As the Council engages in debate over what to make of Nessix's startling reports--and the peril she inadvertently brought to the surface--she and Mathias are left to piece together what they can from just one the mystery of a long-dead demon named Berann. Meanwhile, the dark forces of Abaeloth have already begun to make their moves to take control of the situation. Zeal wants Nessix silenced, the god of the undead wants her speaking, and the demons want her back before she can bring about their doom.

394 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 12, 2020

About the author

Fueled by bedtime stories of The Hobbit and The Last Unicorn and afternoons adventuring in the woods behind her rural Missouri home, the jump from epic fantasy reader to epic fantasy author was a natural transition for Katika. She discovered her love of writing in fourth grade writing workshop, and embraced this art from that point forward. Spending junior high learning the ups and downs of style development via DragonLance fan fiction, she began crafting her own stories in high school, winning local writing competitions. Happiest when wordsmithing, she enrolled in creative writing courses in college and was told fantasy "wasn't creative fiction." This led her to seek alternative writing wisdom and heavily shaped her indie author ideals.

Kat accidentally discovered her world of Abaeloth in 2003 when creating a character for an RPG. This character shared her life story from birth to death and everything in between. With nothing left to game with, the only logical option was to begin writing so Nessix could live outside of Kat's mind. Devotion, the first book of Tale of the Fallen, was published in 2016 and three more series within the encompassing Afflicted Saga are currently drafted.

Today, Katika still considers rural Missouri home and lives on a farm with her supportive husband and their assortment of special needs animals. She forewent veterinary school due to unplanned life circumstances, and now spends her non-writing time playing with her dog, riding her horses, and drowning in garden gnomes.

Katika strives to draw on the brilliance of the fantasy classics to craft and deliver epic tales reminiscent to those told in the genre's golden age. It is among her most sincere hopes that you fall in love with Abaeloth and those who call it home as deeply as she has.

Reviews

[Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid build up to what I hope is an exciting conclusion in the final book.