The Veinfall Chronicle

The Veinfall Chronicle, Grudge of the Deep Forge - Book 1

An Industrial Grimdark Epic for fans of Steven Erikson, Joe Abercrombie, and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Retirement was a cozy lie. The mountain has a long memory, and the debt of the Deepfall is finally coming due.

For over two centuries, Thrain Ironvein has traded his war-hammer for an oak brewing paddle. As the legendary brewer of The Grudge Vat, he sought to bury the echoes of the Deepfall War beneath the honest engineering of steam and malt. But when the stone begins to pulse with a deliberate, probing "chew" from the direction of Deep Forge #7, Thrain realizes that the ancient wards keeping the Void at bay have finally cracked.

The Heart-Stone-the radiant monolith powering the hold's ancestor-runes-is being devoured by writhing shadow-tendrils. As the "hunger-pulse" ascends toward the surface, the traditionalist Dwarf Council chooses to bury the problem, but Thrain knows that engineering, not brawn, is the only way to mend a world-crack.

To save Ironvein Hold, Thrain must forge a high-stakes alliance that defies generations of prejudice:

• The Dwarf Muster: Ragtag miners armed with "Vein-Breakers"-hammers retrofitted with pistons to pierce void-scales.

• The Elven Star-Fleets: Silken star-gliders and star-glass arrows that sear the unlight where dwarf-steel fails.

• The Human Ironclads: Floating steel fortresses belching coal-smoke, providing the heavy-metal muscle to hold the sky.

From the zero-G madness of the Cloud-Canyons to the biological horror within the living maw of the Wyrm-Queen, Grudge of the Deep Forge is a high-octane industrial fantasy epic. It is a story of found family, technical grit, and a veteran's resolve to pay the iron price for survival.

The pot is mended, but the fire is still hot. The War of the Veins has only just begun.