PRE-ORDER Thorn: Shadow’s Lament Book One · Ryan Aussie Smith
Coming soon to Authortunities Press!
Thorn was never meant to be one of them.
Among the Viridio, immortal children born of deadly nymphs and raised in the hidden forest of Tsanie, peace depends on obedience. Thorn has always been different: curious, defiant, and haunted by nightmares of battles he never fought.
When he discovers an ancient temple filled with traps, treasure, and blood-fed magic, Thorn awakens a power tied to the memories of the dead. But before he can understand what he has found, invaders breach the forest, enslave his people, and force Thorn into a battle he cannot win.
He dies fighting.
Twenty years later, Thorn wakes in a new body with old scars, a ravenous hunger, and a divine debt. Chosen by Nemosyne, god of memory and knowledge, Thorn is tasked with ending a centuries-old war.
But gods can wait.
Milia cannot.
Armed with the skills of dead warriors and driven by the rescue he failed to complete, Thorn steps beyond the forest for the first time, into a brutal world of kingdoms, slavers, monsters, and secrets powerful enough to reshape history.
Dark, violent, strange, and mythic, Thorn is the first book in Shadow’s Lament, a fantasy series about memory, vengeance, destiny, and the terrible cost of becoming what the world needs.
You’ll love Thorn if you enjoy:
- Dark fantasy with ancient gods, strange magic, and brutal stakes
- Outcast heroes who are sarcastic, wounded, and dangerously clever
- Forbidden temples, deadly traps, magical relics, and cursed treasures
- Reincarnation, inherited memories, and warriors shaped by the dead
- Rescue missions that expand into epic world-changing conflict
- Fantasy with grit, humor, monsters, battles, and emotional loyalty at its core
