Martin R. Nelson
Fiction

Fiction

Novels

The Annals of Tessian, Book 1:

Children of the Dying Hearth

When the world was young, there were the Ancients: primordial beings who shaped the land and bore all life. From the most powerful Ancient came the Imperial Dynasty of Kai’loth, tasked by their creator to govern the realms of Tesseris. For countless generations they ruled justly and peacefully.

Then they defied Him.

Thousands of years after their Sundering, the empire’s story is barely remembered as a legend. The lands of Tesseris are now united only by the Crux, a city-state whose corruption is publicly known and secretly reviled. Yet the Crux’s rulers have their own problems. Pirates plague the Verdant Sea, unleashing terror and chaos in their wake. Meanwhile the ancient sands of the Barrens begin to stir, a sign of something far more ancient…and deadly…than any pirate.

Yet some see the chaos and corruption as a chance. Whispers spread of a lost heir to the old empire. A select few seek to help a young hopeful whose bloodline could alter the world, but others hope death, not destiny, will find the child first.

“[Nelson] expertly sets the stage for future stories
and reveals just enough about each character to pique
the interest of readers who enjoy intricate narratives
and immersive worldbuilding-and the heroic quest at
the novel’s heart proves an inviting way to transport
readers through an abundance of extraordinary
settings. This elaborate meld of fable and fantasy
entertains and surprises.”

– Kirkus Reviews –

“An immersive fantasy epic uniting magical
creatures and humans in a quest to restore an ancient
empire.”

– Booklife Reviews, Publishers Weekly –

The Annals of Tessian, Book 2:

Coming Soon!


Short stories

THE JOURNAL OF DR. RUDY J. GLEEMEN”

Written after a lengthy Lovecraft binge, this short story received Honorable Mention in 2016’s L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest. It’s very much an exercise in consequentialism that was originally intended as a full length novel, which it may end up being one of these days.