Azzadul, the god-king, the Lord of Light revered by many. When the darkness corrupted him, he became the Dark Lord, feared the world over. His magic, once a gateway to immortality for his people, delved instead into horrors as he sought ever deeper levels of mastery. Children were stolen from their beds, coveted for his blood-rites. When he vanished, it all ended, and the people of the world tried to forget, to move on...
Jak Fuller has been bound to a magic he does not understand. Adopted into the household of a mysterious man, he grew up in Fort Lasthall trusting that somehow it would all work out. He did not expect his home to end up in ruins, nor his would-be father to end up dead, nor to have a bounty on him tied to the heart of Azzadul's former Underworld.
Jak will run, how he will run, yet can he outrun the darkness that is now tied to his soul? He will sail far away, lead the life of adventure he once dreamed of, but can he outrun the shadow-man who stands over his bed sometimes when he awakens at night?
Once, he wanted to be somebody. Once, he dreamed of the powers of Azzadul and the Dwarf Men of old. Now, he wants more than anything to be nobody, to start life fresh and experience the pleasures of the world denied to him during his former life of devotion.
And it just might be too late...
Ruin & Escape is the second part in the 5-part serial publication of A Thousand Roads.
Autorentext
It all began when he was an eight-year-old boy, when he discovered Tolkien's map of Wilderland tucked in the pages of an old, beat-up copy of The Hobbit on his grandmother's bookshelf.
From that point onward, John Robin knew he was destined to make his own world and tell stories about it. Over a period of twenty years, he read the great fantasy epics, learned the craft of storytelling, wrote three novels just for practice (unpublished), and all the while his fantasy world and unique vision as a writer ripened. Growing up in the 80's and 90's, the fast change of technological advancement was also a heavy influence on his world-building and magic system, an analog of how mastery over environment can change the human condition. A teenage addiction to horror movies and gritty comic books also added its touches to his work. The result is an epic that channels the same deep, mythic epic notes of Tolkien, but more contemporary and dark.
After working for many years in academia and adult education, John left his job to pursue his dreams as a writer. Having cut his teeth as an editor at a small publishing company, John decided that, while he worked hard to prepare his debut novel, he would build a book production business to help connect self-publishing authors with editing, cover, design, and marketing services based on the traditional model. He presently is the creative director, senior editor, and production manager for his company and oversees a team of twelve.
When he's not writing, John enjoys reading, listening to educational podcasts, playing chess, recreational mathematics, drawing trees or maps with pen, creating vector graphic artwork (mostly fractals), working with textiles, playing classical piano (especially Beethoven and Chopin), long distance running and strength training, gardening, long walks, serially watching his way through TV series' in the evenings, board game nights with friends, and of course...pandering to the whims of his cat, Wizard, who is the true muse behind his stories.