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Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Exclusive Cover Reveal: The God King's Legacy by Richard Nell + Q&A (by Mihir Wanchoo)

Official Author Website
Order The God King's Legacy over HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Kings Of Paradise
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Kings Of Ash
Read Fantasy Book Critic interview with Richard Nell

Today we have another excellent cover reveal courtesy of Richard Nell and cover designer Shawn T.King. Richard has been on my radar after his debut Kings Of Paradise blew Lukasz's and my mind. Since then he's released a sequel to it and also managed to write about a whole new series and world. The God King's Legacy is an omnibus of novellas that serve as prequels to the main series The God King Chronicles.


The cover art and design is by Shawn T. King and looks very, very snazzy while perfectly illustrating what readers can expect within. Knights with gunpowder and swords, demon infestations and political intrigue. Here's the blurb for it:

From the author of Kings of Paradise comes two tales in a world of knights and demons, muskets and cannon fire. God-king Marsun, the 'Demon King', has ruled for centuries. Once just an illiterate tribal chief, Marsun trapped an ancient evil within his mighty soul, united scattered tribes in peace, then retreated from the world. But his sacrifice is all but forgotten by those he now rules. Technology marches on; new ambitious powers rise; unhappy lords plot rebellion; and from every corner of civilization, savage enemies gather. The god king's legacy, it seems, has just begun...

1) Rebellion of the Black Militia - Johann Planck, bastard and scribe of the god-king's tower, is yanked from his peaceful life of academia, and ordered to capture an immortal creature of darkness. If the knight he's accompanying doesn't kill him, or the demon 'Sazeal', fresh rebellion just might.

2) Devil of the 22nd - A crumbling empire. An abandoned army. Kurt Val Clause is an ordinary man trying to keep it all together because no one else has the balls. Now he has one chance to win a glorious future, die in agony, or lose his soul. He might do all three...


Richard was also very kind to answer a few questions about the cover, his new upcoming series, the world within and more...

Q] Welcome back to Fantasy Book Critic and thank you for the opportunity to allow us to host this cover reveal. Can you tell us about why you decided to go the omnibus route?

RN: My pleasure! The two stories in The God King’s Legacy are very much intended to ‘showcase’ the world. Both are stand-alone and fast-paced, and together should give the reader a good sense of what they’re getting into with the series to come. If you like this, basically, buckle up…

Q] You are currently writing an epic, epic fantasy that perhaps offers the only fantasy equivalent to Hannibal Lecter. But yet you wrote these novellas between the releases of Kings Of Paradise and Kings Of Ash. What motivated you to create this story?

RN: I’m one of those writers with 15 projects on the back-burner. I chose these partially as a break from the giant, 600 page epics that are the Ash and Sand books - almost like therapeutic writing. But beneath these shorter adventure stories is another detailed world of multiple continents, epic wars and social turmoil, spanning a trilogy with likely more room for novellas.

Q] What can you tell us about the inception of the Godking Chronicles of which this omnibus is a prequel to? Particularly that title is very intriguing and when can we expect the main series?

RN: I’m a fan of Brian McClellan, Django Wexler and similar writers, and wanted to try my hand at ‘flintlock’. My stuff is in many ways lower magic, and maybe presents a more brutally realistic world plucked from the pages of history. But then, there are flesh and spirit rending demons…so, there is that. I hope to have the first book in the trilogy by the end of 2020.

Q] I loved the cover for the Omnibus with its haunting image and the demonic aspects. What were your main pointers for Shawn as you both went through the process of finalizing it? What were the main things that you wished to focus on in it?

RN: I love it, too! I really didn’t tell Shawn much - I told him the genre, a little about the world and the magic aspect. I find it best with professionals like him to just go where he takes you and not interfere too much. Couldn’t be happier with the end result.


Q] Can you tell us more about the world that The Godking chronicles is set in? What are the curiosities (geographical, mystical, etc.) of this world?

RN: This is a ‘flintlock’ world with early gunpowder, in historical terms maybe 14th or 15th century. Armies still use swords and spears and cavalry, but they also have cannons, muskets and pistols. It’s a time of huge chaos, both on and off the battlefield, with wealth changing hands, monarchy in crisis and new republics forming to challenge them. The main magical aspect of the world is the presence of ‘demons’, a kind of seemingly immortal predator that men have managed to imprison by binding them inside an individual’s flesh, usually with magical consequences. The ‘godking’ is one such man, and has ruled over a kingdom for centuries with his enhanced powers. But times, they are a changin’…

Q] So what should readers expect from this omnibus and will you be releasing any more novellas in the near future?

RN: Expect fast-paced, character-driven adventure, with flintlock battles, knights and demons in a gritty, low-fantasy world. I’d honestly like to do several more novellas, but the next on my list involves a mysterious woman with amnesia who becomes a rather terrifying pirate. And if that sounds a little unlikely, you just remember it’s historically inspired!

Q] What are you currently writing and what will be your next release?

RN: I’m currently hard at work on the final book in the Ash and Sands series, Kings of Heaven. I intend to release it January of 2020, and so far so good. For me it will be the end of five years of love and labor.

Q] Do you have any parting thoughts or comments you’d like to share with our readers?

RN: Just a thanks as ever for being patrons of the arts and the genre. I couldn’t do what I do without readers supporting, reviewing, and spreading the word. I hope you enjoy the books.

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