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The Thirst: Book Two of the Penultimate Dawn Cycle
After the catastrophic events of the Wrath, Azil and his companions wake up to a world completely transformed. The monstrous Mals are acting strangely, driven even deeper into their madness by a new and terrible sensation called the Thirst. The different Aspects of Rahim are now at war with each other, some trying to unite the power of all the Aspects again, while others fight to keep them apart. For Azil and his companions, the keys to ending the conflict lie both in a long-forgotten city deep below the earth, and high in the heavens on the moons that hang over the Realm. Even with the help of his newfound powers and allies, Azil is not sure he can win this dangerous contest that threatens to destroy all hopes of a new dawn.
284 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 16, 2021
About the author
Michael D. Young
80 books168 followersThough Michael grew up traveling the world with his military family, he now lives in Utah with his wife, Jen, and their three children. He writes family-friendly fantasy, humorous adventures, devotionals, and music history, creates online curriculum for Brigham Young University, and has sung with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square since 2010. He is a graduate of BYU and Western Governors University with degrees in German Teaching, Music, Educational Leadership, and Instructional Design. He enjoys acting in community theater, podcasting, playing and writing music, and spending time with his family. Before the Choir, he played for years with the Bells on Temple Square.
Start with A Wonderful Day for a Quest; Death/Wish (Book 1 of the Refried Trilogy) is out now. He is also the author of A Wonderful Week for a Quest, the Penultimate Dawn Cycle (The Hunger), The Last Archangel Series, the Chess Quest Series, and The Canticle Kingdom Series, plus non-fiction including An Advent Carols Countdown, Sacred Days, Sacred Songs, O Say, Can You Sing?, The Song of the Righteous, As Saints We Sing, and The Song of the Saints. He publishes picture books as David Michaels. He is represented by Heidi Gordon at Tsunami Literary Ink.
His shorter work has appeared in Bards and Sages Quarterly, Mindflights, Meridian, Nugent Magazine, The New Era, Keeping Tab, Allegory, Liahona, and Ensign.
Start with A Wonderful Day for a Quest; Death/Wish (Book 1 of the Refried Trilogy) is out now. He is also the author of A Wonderful Week for a Quest, the Penultimate Dawn Cycle (The Hunger), The Last Archangel Series, the Chess Quest Series, and The Canticle Kingdom Series, plus non-fiction including An Advent Carols Countdown, Sacred Days, Sacred Songs, O Say, Can You Sing?, The Song of the Righteous, As Saints We Sing, and The Song of the Saints. He publishes picture books as David Michaels. He is represented by Heidi Gordon at Tsunami Literary Ink.
His shorter work has appeared in Bards and Sages Quarterly, Mindflights, Meridian, Nugent Magazine, The New Era, Keeping Tab, Allegory, Liahona, and Ensign.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 24, 2024
A book about a book.
This book is written in a biblical way, chapters and verses numbers.
This is a new one for me,
The author Michael D. Young have written a book similar to a Bible withe chapters and verses.
It’s about a magical world which was leftover the end of the world wars.
At times I got lost in the verses till finding my way back to the story.
A hard one to review without listening to the continuation of this story.
Beautiful narration by Daemon Reah for each of the characters in this creation.
Recommended !!!
Oded Ostfeld.
This book is written in a biblical way, chapters and verses numbers.
This is a new one for me,
The author Michael D. Young have written a book similar to a Bible withe chapters and verses.
It’s about a magical world which was leftover the end of the world wars.
At times I got lost in the verses till finding my way back to the story.
A hard one to review without listening to the continuation of this story.
Beautiful narration by Daemon Reah for each of the characters in this creation.
Recommended !!!
Oded Ostfeld.
April 22, 2026
The Thirst was quite an adventure!
I appreciated the post-apocalyptic world building, brought about from the conclusion of The Hunger. While the religious theming in this series is not something I resonate with personally, I do appreciate the author's ability to further expand upon this fictional religion in his creation of The Mind of Rahim. I did really enjoy the verses at the start of each chapter, it was like a pleasant little snippet/prophecy of what was to come later as the story unfolded. With the segmentation of the Aspects of Rahim also comes a new danger - in the form of the Purple Aspect and his growing army of Mals.
Definitely an exciting journey, would recommend!
I appreciated the post-apocalyptic world building, brought about from the conclusion of The Hunger. While the religious theming in this series is not something I resonate with personally, I do appreciate the author's ability to further expand upon this fictional religion in his creation of The Mind of Rahim. I did really enjoy the verses at the start of each chapter, it was like a pleasant little snippet/prophecy of what was to come later as the story unfolded. With the segmentation of the Aspects of Rahim also comes a new danger - in the form of the Purple Aspect and his growing army of Mals.
Definitely an exciting journey, would recommend!
April 22, 2026
I really enjoy how Michael D. Young divided the aspects of Rahim in this novel. This 'aspect' of the novel gives him a great deal of room for play as an author. Inherent connectivity, conflict of self, and sacrifice can be found throughout the book.
The Mals as well in the novel add another layer of danger. With the Purple Aspect using bodies of the fallen to create an army of his own, the darkness of this fallen universe really sinks in.
Would recommend if you are into stories with fallen worlds, multiple plotlines converging, and unique systems of magic!
The Mals as well in the novel add another layer of danger. With the Purple Aspect using bodies of the fallen to create an army of his own, the darkness of this fallen universe really sinks in.
Would recommend if you are into stories with fallen worlds, multiple plotlines converging, and unique systems of magic!
June 30, 2026
A Dark, Addictive Sequel That Left Me Thirsting for Book Three
I just finished reading The Thirst by Michael D. Young, and since this was an ARC through StoryOrigin, I wanted to share my thoughts while everything is still fresh in my mind. This book is the continuation of The Hunger, the first book in the Penultimate Dawn Cycle, and I strongly recommend reading that one first. It explains so much about the substance everyone has to consume, because without it they turn into Malformed, or Mals for short. When they do consume it, the substance gives them magic abilities depending on the color, which is honestly one of the coolest parts of the series.
In book one, all the major centers of power were destroyed, and this second book picks up in the aftermath of that devastation. The world is darker, the stakes are higher, and we finally start to see what must happen with the god Rahim. The Aspects are pieces of Rahim that he separated from himself because he felt he was too powerful, and now three of those Aspects want to rejoin all six so they can take that power back. It adds a whole new layer to the story, and I really enjoyed how the author handled it.
This book also dives deeper into the Mals and the strange new word spreading among them, “Thirst.” What Azil discovers in the caverns is wild and honestly a little terrifying, especially with the purple flame and the transformations. It is a great escalation from the first book, and it kept me turning pages.
Overall, this is a really good book and I absolutely recommend it. The author left a clear opening for book three, but I do not see a publication date yet. Since this one was published in March 2026, I am sure the next one will eventually come out, and I cannot wait. I am already impatient for it.
If you want, I can also help you write a shorter Instagram caption version, or a spoiler‑free version for Amazon if you want something more compact.
I just finished reading The Thirst by Michael D. Young, and since this was an ARC through StoryOrigin, I wanted to share my thoughts while everything is still fresh in my mind. This book is the continuation of The Hunger, the first book in the Penultimate Dawn Cycle, and I strongly recommend reading that one first. It explains so much about the substance everyone has to consume, because without it they turn into Malformed, or Mals for short. When they do consume it, the substance gives them magic abilities depending on the color, which is honestly one of the coolest parts of the series.
In book one, all the major centers of power were destroyed, and this second book picks up in the aftermath of that devastation. The world is darker, the stakes are higher, and we finally start to see what must happen with the god Rahim. The Aspects are pieces of Rahim that he separated from himself because he felt he was too powerful, and now three of those Aspects want to rejoin all six so they can take that power back. It adds a whole new layer to the story, and I really enjoyed how the author handled it.
This book also dives deeper into the Mals and the strange new word spreading among them, “Thirst.” What Azil discovers in the caverns is wild and honestly a little terrifying, especially with the purple flame and the transformations. It is a great escalation from the first book, and it kept me turning pages.
Overall, this is a really good book and I absolutely recommend it. The author left a clear opening for book three, but I do not see a publication date yet. Since this one was published in March 2026, I am sure the next one will eventually come out, and I cannot wait. I am already impatient for it.
If you want, I can also help you write a shorter Instagram caption version, or a spoiler‑free version for Amazon if you want something more compact.
July 16, 2026
"The world has already burned." The initial setting. Their world is burned to such a state that nothing has survived. The creatures that roam the world are being transformed into creatures far worse. The God of the land has turned these beasts into something far worse.
Azil Harkness, the Paladin of the story serves as the vessel of the Golden Aspect. His role is to discover the meaning of horrible contagion that is taking over the land. Something called the "Thirst". It is calling all the creatures to it. Azil is beginning to question his God and if he can remain one of the God's faithfuls.
The novel is well written, but at times I had some difficulty putting all the pieces together. I had read the first novel, so I anticipated it would continue to move smoothly. This does interfere with the storyline. I wish I could rate it higher, but I am just not able to. This is an advanced reader copy, which I reviewed independently of the author.
Azil Harkness, the Paladin of the story serves as the vessel of the Golden Aspect. His role is to discover the meaning of horrible contagion that is taking over the land. Something called the "Thirst". It is calling all the creatures to it. Azil is beginning to question his God and if he can remain one of the God's faithfuls.
The novel is well written, but at times I had some difficulty putting all the pieces together. I had read the first novel, so I anticipated it would continue to move smoothly. This does interfere with the storyline. I wish I could rate it higher, but I am just not able to. This is an advanced reader copy, which I reviewed independently of the author.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews