Stone Serpent Update

Hello everyone, I’m happy to say that the final draft of my upcoming fantasy novel, Stone Serpent, is finally complete! It was a lot of work and I’m eternally grateful to my beta-readers, Jeff Pettis and Marian Thorpe, for their expertise and advice. Artist Liam Reynolds is currently working on the art for Stone Serpent, and recently completed some outstanding hand-painted book cover art for the upcoming re-release of the two Falhorne series novels.

I also wish to share the Stone Serpent Map which details Kenetchi and the Great Rift, the ancient and lore-steeped setting for the novel.

Finally, we have a brief excerpt from Stone Serpent - Chapter 6 to whet your appetite for this epic dark fantasy adventure.

“…The light shone from a small chamber with a vaulted roof. It was devoid of dust, having been sealed for what must have been centuries. An otherworldly marvel cast its shadow over Ta. Jeweled eyes shone terribly, drawing him across the threshold until he stood gazing up at its gloriously inhuman countenance.

The statue was black marble, its dark shining surface shot through with twisted green veins that glinted weirdly in the low light. It was dressed in the robes of a priest, the long, hooded garment covering its body from neck to floor – but its head was exposed, hairless, and covered in cold scales. Its wide mouth hung open and long fangs shimmered as though they were about to close about a victim’s neck. The figure’s clawed hands were extended, grasping at nothing. The glassy orbs of cold predatory eyes were the source of the silver light illuminating that horrible crypt.

Ta could not look away, enthralled by the unblinking stare of this humanoid serpent.

He could see things in those crystalline eyes: vast deserts and high mountains stark below red, wispy clouds. There were sky-flung monoliths between which wove processions of hooded figures, their outlines hideously inhuman. He beheld worlds beyond worlds, a dark universe terrible with secrets no man was meant to know and secured in unfathomable depths of space where he was never meant to journey.

In that stony gaze, he saw the truth that the skies had hidden, the source of the Master’s power and legendary skill. In embracing that which had fallen from Heaven, Shang had embraced forbidden knowledge and used it to cement his greatness for all time.

Ta did not dare to breathe as he reached for those glowing orbs, the enigmatic ‘Sky Rocks’ that were the source of everything. How could any mortal resist their call? It was the deepest feeling. The most primal instinct.

They would be his and his alone.

But as his fingers closed upon this fabulous treasure, he felt a presence, spying him across untold leagues of nothingness, but with the power to track his every movement. There was an expectation, an inhuman will questing relentlessly for a way in, untold centuries spent waiting at a locked door, keeping vigil for the key bearer.

Ta was terrified, more terrified than he had ever been, but the terror was buried deep, pulsing numbly in the chill void as his steady fingertips made contact with the frozen orb in the statue’s face.

Then it blinked at him…”

Stone Serpent, along with the re-released Falhorne novels, will be available in early May 2026.

 

Announcements 2026

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR!

2026 is shaping up to be an eventful year for me already. 

1) NEW NOVEL

Stone Serpent, the first instalment in The Cataclysm Series, is complete and currently being edited. My third published novel explores the ancient subcontinent of Kenetchi as it is torn apart by an interdimensional invasion. Ta, the farmer's son, is forced to confront an alien evil not seen for thousands of years - but which he inadvertently released.

Release date TBA but it will be in early spring.

2) FALHORNE RE-RELEASE 

I'm pleased to announce that the entire Falhorne dark fantasy epic following Tagus's quest to stop an undead invasion of his homeland, originally released in 2022, will be re-issued this coming spring. United by a shared disdain for AI art, I've teamed up with local Guelph artist Liam Reynolds to create hand-painted cover art for the new edition which will be available in hardback, paperback and e-book formats.

Liam has graciously agreed to apply his artistic talents to the cover of Stone Serpent as well, which will be released simultaneously.

3) GAME DESIGN   

Since 2024 I've been working on a dark fantasy table top roleplaying game (TTRPG) set in the world of my novels. While a lot of work remains to be done, sufficient progress has been made to render this synopsis: The ancient wards have failed across the continent of Nazor, unleashing dark forces that threaten to consume the entire World of Marr. Mystic ignorance and imperial hubris have combined to open doors sealed since the dawn of time, allowing hordes of demons to enter the Mortal Plane. As civilization collapses under the onslaught, the gods turn to the one army that will not yield in the face of the infernal - the dead.

    

Author Spotlight

Shoutout to canadianindieauthors.substack.com for spotlighting me and my work!

https://canadianindieauthors.substack.com/p/author-spotlight-tristan-dineen 

 

My Latest Interview

Hello all! Here's my latest interview with allauthor.com. For those of you who want to know what makes me tick as a fantasy writer!

https://allauthor.com/interview/imperator60/ 

 

Creating Dark Realms - A Rampaging Author of Dark Fantasy

By Tristan Dineen 

I am an independent author of dark fantasy with a complete two novel series to my name and a second series in production. While my original muse was a boring job with too many office hours, I am happy to say that my writing has grown beyond those humble beginnings and has taken on a new and rampaging life.

I was drawn to the genre of darker, grittier fantasy because it more closely mirrored the medieval European history I’d been interested in while growing up. The more you learn about history, the less you believe in fairy tales about simple morality and clear divisions between good and evil. I wanted my fantasy world to be just as complex and believable as Medieval Europe or the Ancient Mediterranean. Good guys and bad guys still exist, but they live in a world governed by overarching political and economic forces that shape behavior and are far more complicated characters than a writer like Tolkien would allow. It follows that dark fantasy allows an author to explore real world themes to a greater extent than traditional fantasy.

The Falhorne series (begun with Falhorne: The World is Burning and concluded with Falhorne: Dark Dawn) follows the quest of Tagus, who is among the last of the Falhorne: an ancient order of warriors dedicated to the Elder Gods and to the protection of the persecuted Old Believers. The Old Believers, along with their Falhorne protectors, are pariahs in the eyes of Church and State. When catastrophe engulfs his community, Tagus must risk all in order to save the people he loves from destruction. His journey will take him far from home and into the darkness of his own past, as he confronts an evil deeper than his wildest fears.

Vinos, Tagus’s homeland, is much like Renaissance Italy, and, like Italy, was born out of a fallen empire similar to Rome. It has a largely feudal economy but that is beginning to change due to the demand for “satincane” in the textile mills of Tarn, a rising empire to the north. The profits from this trade have allowed the reigning Prince of Vinos to centralize political power and the crackdown on the Old Believers is not only due to their refusal to follow the established state religion but also because the prince wants slaves for the plantations producing satincane for export. There are very real parallels to actual history here and I believe it makes the fantasy world I’ve created, and the struggles of its people, more believable.

In the real world, people who challenge oppressive systems of power do not have access to secret arsenals of space-age weapons technology or magic so powerful that it negates any advantages their enemies have. Real world heroes are almost always outgunned and lack anything close to the resources their powerful enemies possess. Real world heroes die. Real world heroes experience loss. While fantasy worlds will always offer advantages that the real world does not give, I wanted to emphasize the challenges that someone resisting entrenched power structures must face. It makes the hero’s eventual triumph, or their mere survival, all the more heroic.

What little stability Tagus enjoys in his life collapses very early in the story, and, for the first time, he must determine his own path with the help of unexpected friends and allies. While he struggles to uphold his honor as one of the Falhorne warriors and defend the Old Believers, he is confronted by situations that force him to confront the very core of who he is. The political and economic forces of Vinos were not made to benefit someone like Tagus and he must struggle to make his way in the world; striving toward his goals against crushing odds. It could not be any other way for someone in his circumstances.

Vinos resembles 16^th Century Europe. Early Modern Europe was full of religious persecution as states like Spain, France and England centralized royal authority and defined themselves in political and religious terms. Vinos and the wider region are undergoing a similar process with similarly bloody results: whole groups are politically marginalized, religiously persecuted and economically exploited because they do not fit into the new order of things. Old Believers are killed, enslaved, forced into slums or driven into exile. Tagus (and the various characters aiding him on his quest) is resisting this brutality while at the same time trying to save the world from destruction at the hands of a much deeper evil.

This element of my world building was inspired by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht, who set his anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children in the 17^th Century, although he was really trying to warn people about the coming outbreak of World War II. He did this because he knew that his audience would be biased if he set his story in the 20^th Century and that he would be more likely to get his message across if he placed his characters in a different time period. Fantasy worlds are similar in that they allow us to communicate real world themes in a setting removed from the real world, making them easier for people of different backgrounds and politics to accept.

Overall, I believe I’ve found my niche in merging elements of fantasy, horror and historical fiction. I have started work on a new series (two novels planned) that will be set in a very different part of the same fantasy world as the Falhorne books. Instead of Renaissance Italy, this region is more like Medieval South Asia, but the main character is similarly confronted by a nightmare power that is not of this world – and which may devour it if not stopped.

Please follow my author blog for more details and release dates.

 

CRAFTING DARK REALMS (Tristan Dineen Author Interview)

Hello everyone, I realize it's been awhile. But I present to you my latest interview in which I get into the dark fantasy genre in general, the writing of the Falhorne series, as well as my future writing projects as a rampaging author of dark fantasy!

BOOKIMOV - TRISTAN DINEEN - CRAFTING DARK REALMS

 

Now Available at The Bookshelf in Guelph!

I'm happy to announce that the Falhorne series is now available in paperback at The Bookshelf! Come check it out if you're in the area!

Photo Credit: guelphtoday.com