The Book of Zog by Alec Hutson

SPFBO9

What were the Great Old Ones like before they were old? In the shadow of cosmic horrors, newly-birthed entity Zogrusz must come to understand his true nature, learn how to wield his dreadful powers, and search for meaning in the mad spaces between the stars. Hopefully, he’ll make some friends along the way. Also, there’s a cat. A Lovecraftian cozy fantasy.

The Umbral Storm by Alec Hutson

SPFBO8 SPFBO Finalist

A thousand years ago the Heart of the World was shattered, its fragments scattered across the lands. In the chaos that followed, martial orders arose to gather these shards, for it was found that great powers were granted when these pieces were bonded to the flesh of the chosen. These are the Sharded Few, warriors imbued with the divine energies that once coursed through the Heart, and driven to absorb enough fragments to claim godhood. Deryn has known nothing in his life except suffering. Orphaned at the edge of the realms, indentured to a cruel slaver, he can see little chance of escaping his circumstances. But elsewhere in the world ancient powers are stirring, new alliances threaten the peace of the old order, and in the cataclysms that are coming a slave will become a hero.

The Shadows of Dust by Alec Hutson

SPFBO7

The Streams bind together the vast reaches of the stellar tributary, plied by brave streamsurfers and their telepathic starbeasts. Some of these adventurers are heroes. Some are rogues. And some just want to return from the void with their bodies and minds unbroken . . . Kerin thon Talisien is the heir to a legendary name. When he was a young boy, his grandfather swooped down from the stars and rescued him from the slums of his homeworld. But with the death of the infamous old streamsurfer, Kerin and his crew have fallen on hard times, exiled from the Starfarers Guild and forced to take on risky contracts in the shadowy margins of the stellar tributary. A strange encounter in a glimmer den offers a chance at redemption and glory . . . but the stakes are high, with the fate of the Known potentially hanging in the balance.

The Crimson Queen (The Raveling #1) by Alec Hutson

SPFBO Finalist Indie Recs Indie

2016 Ink and Insights Competition - Judges' Favorite 2017 Reader's Favorite Award for Epic Fantasy 2nd place in the 2017 SPFBO Long ago the world fell into twilight, when the great empires of old consumed each other in sorcerous cataclysms. In the south the Star Towers fell, swallowed by the sea, while the black glaciers descended upon the northern holdfasts, entombing the cities of Min-Ceruth in ice and sorcery. Then from the ancient empire of Menekar the paladins of Ama came, putting every surviving sorcerer to the sword and cleansing their taint from the land for the radiant glory of their lord. The pulse of magic slowed, fading like the heartbeat of a dying man. But after a thousand years it has begun to quicken again. In a small fishing village a boy with strange powers comes of age... A young queen rises in the west, fanning the long-smoldering embers of magic into a blaze once more... Something of great importance is stolen - or freed - from the mysterious Empire of Swords and Flowers... And the immortals who survived the ancient cataclysms bestir themselves, casting about for why the world is suddenly changing...