book-review – JEREMY SZAL

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So. After about three thousand years, the Wolfskin finally has an official release date:

March 3, 2026.

And yes, it is available for pre-order.

(The copy description has massive spoilers in it, so unless you’ve finished Blindspace, I do not recommend reading it!)

I do not exaggerate when I say that Wolfskin is the best thing I’ve ever written. The character arcs, the storylines, the set-pieces, even the prose, just works. Never before have I written something so epic, so brutal, so heart-wrenching. It is, in my humble and totally unbiased opinion, a damn good book.

Yes, it’s taken a long time to come out. But that’s given me the time to make sure that what I’ve put down is my absolute best, and my exact vision for the story. Again, it is my best book.

However, because of various reasons, including things that are totally beyond my control, my career is not the best place at the moment. Wolfskin is still coming out, but after that? I don’t know. Things are unclear. I’ve suffered a lot of sleepless nights because of it, and there have been days where I’ve contemplated giving up this gig for good.

I’m not giving up. But that also means that I cannot afford to hold back, either.

So. I am going to ask you all to please pre-order Wolfskin.

Pre-orders are disproportionately helpful for authors. It helps the book trade to gauge the interest on a book, or a series. The more pre-orders there are, the more copies get printed. The more copies get printed, the more the publisher has to work to sell said copies, and the greater likelihood of those copies selling.

I kinda hate that I have to weigh all these things up instead of, you know, writing. But that’s the business we’re in.

So, any and all pre-orders and support is much, much appreciated.

Here’s a link to Wolfskin’s Books2Read page, where you can select the retailer of your choice.

Alternatively, you can also pre-order from Galaxy Bookshop, my local bookstore, and I can happily sign and personalise any copies ordered from there.

If you cannot pre-order it, then there’s a lot of other things you can do for Wolfskin and for the Common series. You can buy them. Ask your local library to purchase them. Tell others about them. Review them on Amazon and Goodreads. Sacrifice goats on an altar of black stone in their name.

Not sure about the last one, but you can always give it a go.

If you are a reviewer with a blog/review channel/BookTube/Instagram account, please get in touch with me and I’ll get my publisher to send out a review copy to you.

It’s been a hell of a long journey, for me and Vakov both. But we’re nearly at the end of his story. I hope that you’ll all stand by my side and see it through to the end.

Remember when I told you that you’d be getting something from me soon?

Well . . . surprise!

“Broken Stars combines previously published short stories and novelettes with new and exciting tales, ranging from space opera to military SF to science-fantasy and everything in-between. Tales of broken heroes fighting for hope in dark worlds, full of aliens and outcasts, drug dealers and bounty hunters, mercenaries and soldiers. Tales of far-flung worlds where the lines between machine and human become blurred, the humanity of monsters is explored, and victory always comes with a heavy price. In these eighteen stories of far-flung worlds, violence explodes, betrayals abound, and no one is safe.

A smuggler for alien drugs is thrust into a high stakes of subterfuge and interstellar drug trades, only to find herself out of her depth.

Yharv, a mercenary, must escort the King through a besieged city and see him crowned. The only problem is, Yharv isn’t human, and neither is the king, and nonhumans usually end up dead in a gutter. And luck has never been on Yharv’s side.

An alien and a human fight to liberate a planet where aliens are treated as second-class citizens. But freedom comes at a steep price.

A kidnapped warrior discovers her memories may not be her own, and she may be on the wrong side of her war.

And many more . . .”

Broken Stars is my debut short story collection. I’ve published dozens of shorter works over the years, mostly before Stormblood was released, and I decided that it’s time to give them new life! So, sixteen of my best tales are being collected together for the first time, in addition to two brand new stories that are original to this collection. There’ll also be some story notes, detailing the writing process and origin of each story.

This means that you’ll be getting 100,000 words from me! Given that a number of these short stories are buried behind paywalls or published only in anthologies, many of you would not have read them yet, so I’m delighted for you all to get them into your hands.

Although the genre and voice for these stories varies, you should expect the same sort of approach and style that my novels are known for, but in a more condensed volume: battle sequences, gritty yet exuberant worlds, aliens, all written with an eye towards emotional and character-driven storytelling.

The release date is Friday, November 1. It will be released both as an ebook and as print-on-demand. This collection is being self-published, so you won’t find it in bookstores, (although it can certainly be ordered in, for anyone who wants one).

If you’re a newsletter subscriber, you’ll be able to get the first three stories for free, as a thank you for sticking around. I’ll send a download link out soon.

It’s been a little while since I’ve had a book out, and I’m really excited to have this project out in the wild. I’ve also got several other projects brewing away, so you’ll be getting a lot of content from me in the future!

If you’re a reviewer/blogger and would like a free copy to review, please get in touch and I’ll hook you up. You can find my contact form over here on my website.

And finally, this awesome cover was designed by the incredible Mike Shackle, who’s a great writer in his own right. Thanks a lot, Mike!

Pre-orders for Broken Stars are already available from Amazon.

You know what to do.

Tag: book-review

Wolfskin: pre-orders are open!

Broken Stars Cover Reveal