Isandor, the City of Spires.
Bickering merchant families vie for power through eccentric shows of wealth, their tower homes and magical gardens a stand-in for the gold in their vaults. For decades, trade wars have been internal affairs, but the faraway Myrian Empire has established a new enclave nearby, throwing local politics out of balance.
The ripples of their arrival will affect everyone in Isandor-from an idealistic lord and his extended family to three friends, living in a homeless shelter at the bottom of the city, desperate to save one of theirs now accused of Isandor’s most infamous assassination. Their stories are linked as inextricably as the sprawling bridges and towers they inhabit.
City of Spires is a fantasy series about local politics and platonic relationships told in a mosaic style, with a large queer cast.
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Isandor, the City of Spires, where bickering merchant families vie for power through eccentric shows of wealth. In time, an idealist elven noble will embroil his home city in a war with the local imperial enclave, altering the course of many lives forever. But the mosaic of lives in Isandor must first be woven, one thread at a time.
For some, these threads are marked by the gods. In the distant Myrian Empire, genderqueer priest first hears of a child naturally blessed by Keroth and nurtures the flame. Meanwhile, two brothers flee their isolated elven village for their blasphemy against the Water Dancer. Much closer, a mercenary leader recruits a fellow follower of Gresh, though not without submitting her to puns that grate like sandpaper.
For many others, they are bound with family and friendship. Two siblings building a glider together to participate in their family’s age-old tradition, a nephew celebrates their uncle’s 200th birthday with songs, and a halfling discovers the limits of his luck when he tries his hand at cooking for a sick friend.
Whether life-changing or ordinary, these events have forged them, one indelible moment at a time, into who they are when trouble finds them.
Into the City of Spires is a collection of twelve stories that happen before the events of the City of Spires series, featuring a wide array of characters from the universe.
Representation of note
City of Spires features several characters exploring their aromanticism and asexuality throughout the books, making it them the most notable identity.
The series also includes several bisexual characters, two gay men, and a trans woman as major narrators.
Minor POVs also include two lesbians and an agender character.
Bottom line: if someone narrates, they are queer, and sooner or later it will be clearly established.
content notes
Abuse (physical, emotional, mind control), torture, homelessness, child abandonment, police brutality, racism, family death, memory loss, death by fire (mention) and hanging
TROPES
Grumpy/Sunshine (platonic & romantic),
Found Family, Enemies Work Together,
Hurt/Comfort (platonic & romantic)
Big Political Meeting TM, Redemption Arc (Book 3 & 4)
GET AS A HARDCOVER
Every hardcover comes with brand new interior design, with chapter headers and scene breaks all drawn by me!
Furthermore, you can get the complete City of Spires collection in a single 1200-pages hardcover! Thick enough to be a murder weapon!
OTHER INFORMATION
Genre/Age Category: Adult, Fantasy (Epic, Political), Queer Fiction
Publisher: The Kraken Collective
Publication Dates:
Feb 22, 2017 (Strife), Oct 22, 2017 (Betrayal), Feb 22, 2022 (Deceit), Feb 22, 2023 (Exile)
Cover Artists:
Gabrielle Arseneault (Paperbacks), Juniper Lake Fitzgerald (Hardcovers)
ISBN-13 (City of Strife): 978-1-7753129-2-5
(paperback),
978-1-7778464-4-2 (hardcover)
ISBN-13 (City of Betrayal): 978-1-7753129-3-2
(paperback),
978-1-7778464-5-9 (hardcover)
ISBN-13 (City of Deceit): 978-1-7778464-0-4
(paperback),
978-1-7778464-6-6 (hardcover)
ISBN-13 (City of Exile):
978-1-7778464-2-8 (paperback),
978-1-7778464-7-3 (hardcover)
ISBN-13 (City of Spires Collected Edition): 978-1-7778464-8-0
(hardcover)
FAQ
Can I read these books out of order?
Do not. They are very much like one continuous story, with very little timeskips, and I do not advise skipping any.
Okay … it’s been ages since I’ve read the first, though. Should I start over?
Nah. Every book has a summary of what happened in previous ones at the start. It should be enough to jog your memory back and get you in the flow of things!
Will there ever be other books in this universe?
Oh boy oh yes, absolutely. At this point in time, I am not promising any dates, but there are still quite a few plotlines I want to bring to their conclusion before I am done with Isandor. In particular, you can expect me to return to Mia, Larryn, and Arathiel. :]
I wanted to buy the omnibus as an ebook, but it’s not available on Amazon. Will it ever be?
Nope! Unfortunately, Amazon cuts my royalties in half as soon as I price anything above $9.99 (USD). There is no way to price the omnibus on it in a way that isn’t a massive ripoff for me, so unless that changes, your best bet is probably to buy it from itch.io and upload to your kindle!