“To challenge the gods is to invite their wrath.” So it is written of Lachyla, the Blighted City, in the Codex of the Ages. But who reads codices? And who really believes the tall stories of the Taleweavers? Dagra does. If it’s a story about the gods – even a dead god – he believes every word. When his sellsword team is offered a contract to cross the Deadlands and find a burial jewel in the crypts of the Blighted City, Dagra wants no part of it. His companions are undaunted by the legend; to them, the blurred divide between the living and the dead is superstitious nonsense. Completing the contract would earn their guild’s failing reputation a much-needed boost and secure them the bounty of a lifetime. They’re going, with or without him. Torn between the convictions of his beliefs and the importance of his friendships, Dagra reluctantly journeys into the godless region in search of the fabled city. But the Deadlands are only the first challenge. The sellswords uncover an age-old deception when they learn that Lachyla’s foul seed is much darker than its legend, that its truth must forever remain untold or risk plunging humanity into an eternal nightmare. Snagged on the barbs of the blight, Dagra faces the toughest choice of his life … and of his death. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The Blighted City is a dark epic fantasy adventure for adults and mature teens. As the first full-length entry of The Fractured Tapestry series, the novel can also be read as a stand-alone story.**Review "A fun fantasy romp of swordsmen (and women), the undead and a little light grave-robbing, all told with real heart. It kept my attention as the pages went by, and I thoroughly enjoyed it." - Tom Lloyd

he Volami opened the walls of their shining city of Midhallow and invited the surrounding tribesfolk to venture within. Decades later, the two races dwell together inside the city, not quite as equals, and watched over by the ever-present Retainers. A treaty, offered by the tribes to the Volami, was to seal their tenuous union during a long-held ritual.But it was a ruse.The celebrations became the bloodiest treachery the Volami would ever know, and set in motion events that would echo down the ages.**About the Author Scott Kaelen writes in the genres of epic fantasy, science fiction, horror, humour, spec-fic, contemporary fiction, poetry and non-fiction. His short stories include the dystopian urban sci-fi Moses Garrett and the apocalyptic horror The Lingering Remains. His current projects include a novel entitled The Blighted City – the first major release in the epic fantasy Verragos Tapestry series – and his second collection of poetry. As well as the pen, he is also modestly adept with the pencil; his work includes character concepts and sketches of famous personalities. His interests are all things sci-fi, fantasy and horror, as well as etymology, psychology, deep Earth history, palaeontology, geology, cosmology and computer RPGs. He’s also an ex-flosculator. 

“To challenge the gods is to invite their wrath.” So it is written of Lachyla, the Blighted City, in the Codex of the Ages. But who reads codices? And who really believes the tall stories of the Taleweavers? Dagra does. If it’s a story about the gods – even a dead god – he believes every word. When his sellsword team is offered a contract to cross the Deadlands and find a burial jewel in the crypts of the Blighted City, Dagra wants no part of it. His companions are undaunted by the legend; to them, the blurred divide between the living and the dead is superstitious nonsense. Completing the contract would earn their guild’s failing reputation a much-needed boost and secure them the bounty of a lifetime. They’re going, with or without him. Torn between the convictions of his beliefs and the importance of his friendships, Dagra reluctantly journeys into the godless region in search of the fabled city. But the Deadlands are only the first challenge. The sellswords uncover an age-old deception when they learn that Lachyla’s foul seed is much darker than its legend, that its truth must forever remain untold or risk plunging humanity into an eternal nightmare. Snagged on the barbs of the blight, Dagra faces the toughest choice of his life … and of his death. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The Blighted City is a dark epic fantasy adventure for adults and mature teens. As the first full-length entry of The Fractured Tapestry series, the novel can also be read as a stand-alone story.**Review "A fun fantasy romp of swordsmen (and women), the undead and a little light grave-robbing, all told with real heart. It kept my attention as the pages went by, and I thoroughly enjoyed it." - Tom Lloyd

The beginning is a good place to go wrong, some say, but there’s a certain deity who omnipotently disagrees. Forget all you thought you knew about the first moments of existence, and prepare to have your beliefs played with, tickled, spanked, stretched across spacetime and shattered into so many irrelevant motes of stardust. Travel back to before creation itself, and witness what happens… When Gods Awaken. This definitive edition of When Gods Awaken is chock-full with bonus material, but remember: Be not desirous of his dainties, for they are deceitful meat… When Gods Awaken: A Biblical Collection of Cosmic Proportions includes the following: When Gods Awaken, (His First Avowed Intent) To Wear His Codpiece, Never Judge An Eglon By His Blubber, Preserved Remains of ‘First Man’ Discovered, Like A Deity Scorned, To Onan Is Human, Deuteronomy 22 Commandments Explained/Rewritten, Lock Up Your Daughters, Gods of Extinction **About the Author Scott Kaelen writes in the genres of epic fantasy, science fiction, horror, humour, spec-fic, contemporary fiction, poetry and non-fiction. His short stories include the dystopian urban sci-fi Moses Garrett and the apocalyptic horror The Lingering Remains. His current projects include a novel entitled The Blighted City – the first major release in the epic fantasy Verragos Tapestry series – and his second collection of poetry. As well as the pen, he is also modestly adept with the pencil; his work includes character concepts and sketches of famous personalities. His interests are all things sci-fi, fantasy and horror, as well as etymology, psychology, deep Earth history, palaeontology, geology, cosmology and computer RPGs. He’s also an ex-flosculator. 

Atheists don't have a faith or a teaching, or a book of rules and commandments. What they have is an inquisitive and open mind that is willing to explore every corner of the universe and not be afraid of what they discover out there, even if it's a superbly powerful entity that tries to bully us into worshipping it. The word 'atheism' merely confirms a lack of faith and belief in the improbable and unprovable. This collection of essays by Scott Kaelen shines the spotlights of science and psychology into the corners of religion, exposing those anachronistic belief systems for the oppressive shackles that they truly are. Life, The Universe & Free Thinking is a journey that spans a far greater expanse of time and space than even the known universe. It offers truths and theories with the strength to negate any possibility of an all-powerful cosmic puppet-master. It utilises the words of the holy scriptures as a tool to turn against themselves, because, as the great Isaac Asimov once said, “Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.” These are essays for those who dare. These are essays for you. **

he Volami opened the walls of their shining city of Midhallow and invited the surrounding tribesfolk to venture within. Decades later, the two races dwell together inside the city, not quite as equals, and watched over by the ever-present Retainers. A treaty, offered by the tribes to the Volami, was to seal their tenuous union during a long-held ritual.But it was a ruse.The celebrations became the bloodiest treachery the Volami would ever know, and set in motion events that would echo down the ages.**About the Author Scott Kaelen writes in the genres of epic fantasy, science fiction, horror, humour, spec-fic, contemporary fiction, poetry and non-fiction. His short stories include the dystopian urban sci-fi Moses Garrett and the apocalyptic horror The Lingering Remains. His current projects include a novel entitled The Blighted City – the first major release in the epic fantasy Verragos Tapestry series – and his second collection of poetry. As well as the pen, he is also modestly adept with the pencil; his work includes character concepts and sketches of famous personalities. His interests are all things sci-fi, fantasy and horror, as well as etymology, psychology, deep Earth history, palaeontology, geology, cosmology and computer RPGs. He’s also an ex-flosculator.