They Once Had Names

by Drew Bailey

One lays dying, one just lost their beloved, and the third finds themselves lost amidst rogues and wretches. Times have grown grim as the grave as the blight descends on Lancastle and House Lanier. But ghouls and lichlords are just the beginning of the horrors to come. As something far more sinister than the dead lurks beyond the devouring dark, but will the royal nothings survive long enough to stand and fight against it?

Genres: Fantasy

328 pages, Paperback

Published January 20, 2022

About the author

Drew Bailey is an emerging author of horror and fantasy. Though he attended college to expand his knowledge of Literature and History, it still took him the better part of a decade to actually mold it into something worth chasing after. Better late than never, as they say. The Royal Nothings is his first novel. In his spare time, Drew is a chronic coffee drinker, avid movie watcher, and follows Liverpool F.C. and the Green Bay Packers.

Reviews

[Katie Feik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I am usually not a fantasy reader, but I love horror and thrillers so I wanted to try something different, but in the same family. I liked this book so much more than the first, but that’s also because I knew the characters and wanted to see where the story would take them. There was mages, zombies, portals, pirates, kings/queens, possessions…the list goes on. It was a fun read and I’m dying for the third book to come out. I need to know what happens! The author is good at having some gruesome descriptions but doesn’t over do it. There is a sprinkle of a romance in here. It has a little bit of everything. If you’re interested, these two books are on kindle unlimited!

[Ryon Cottle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first book, but this book TOOK OFF! I couldn’t put it down, and would find myself losing sleep to try and read further into the night. The story is picking up pace and keeps going with tons of action.
I’ve seen some complaints about the amount of lore/world building, but I think it’s integral to making the world not feel so small. It is fantasy after all, so we as readers have to be open to allowing the author to take us on a bit of a guided tour of the world they have spent so much time in.
Hats off to Drew, I’m really looking forward to seeing where you take the final part of this series.

[Rachel Shipley]

I very much enjoyed this.

Great writing, with great characters. As with the first one, the descriptions of gore were well-balanced. Enough to give you a clear image, but not so much that it grosses you out. We get some new POVs in this one. They added so many layers that created an interesting dynamic, I loved seeing how everything is connected and how all the people are connected.
There were a few times when my heart was broken, (I won't share why to save from spoilers, but if you read this you'll get it.)

Literally cannot wait for book three.

[Tyler Mackey · Rating 3 out of 5]

God, what a trip. I wanted to prove a point by just dropping into book 2 with no knowledge at all about anything previous, and honestly it was one of the best starts I think I've ever had. It kind of devolved a bit due to pacing issues on Marsea's arc, and some of the flashbacks could have been moved around, but honestly on the whole I love the characters and concept. Strong 3/5, and with some minimal changes this could easily have skyrocketed to 5/5 with another fifty pages and adding a little more stability so that it didn't feel like a slump between book 1 and 3.

[Erin Penn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I developmentally edited this book.

Apocalyptic fantasy horror. The end of the world is only the beginning of survival. The author calls this splatter fantasy.

[Jakob Erntson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book to the series was really heavy with the lore that it was overwhelming in the beginning. Let’s see how the third book in the series wraps it up. Overall dig the story

[Sierra G · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wouldn't even recommend this book to an enemy. That would be too cruel.

[Jason Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, it gets darker still!

Possessions from a myriad of entities, mad warlocks who just won't stay dead, and creatures that conjure images of John Carpenter's The Thing...that's just to name a few of the surprises waiting here. It reads smooth, still, and the horror and action are taken up to an even higher level. Just when you think that a switch to another character means the tempo will slow, it only proves that it's getting its speed up to the rest of events. We learn more about characters from the first book, and I appreciate the greater definition it gives them.

[Atia Nunnally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read, this series is really finding its stride in all the best ways. The 1st book was a lot of set up for payoffs that come in this second book. Had some excellent twists and turns, and definitely a few surprises. Really enjoyed it and am very much looking forward to the next book in the series