The Sky That Broke the Hills: Book 1 of the Dire Skies Trilogy

Magic is his weakness. Can he make it his weapon?”The Rubrights are akin to Tolkien, Zelazny, Herbert, and Sanderson. They know how to build a complex world and populate it with characters you’ll love. When you have to put this book down you’ll find yourself thinking about it. You’ll dream about it.” E.R. StahlIn the northern woods of Stheara, a land of gaslamps, gears and forbidden magic, young Feldregor “Slaga” Boyden is a mim—an orphaned teen conscripted into military service. He’s used to following orders. Until one mission changes everything.Sent to pawn a mysterious pocket watch, Slaga encounters a charmed amulet that nearly kills him. He has sharna macha—a rare and dangerous sensitivity to magic. But in a realm where spellcraft has been banned but is slowly creeping back, that kind of weakness could be fatal…or powerful.When a magic-fueled raiding party tears through the fort, Slaga is forced to flee into the wilds with his friend Floort and an unlikely ally: a hardened officer with secrets of his own. Their destination? Bill Skye, the elusive Master Witch Warden and the only one who can teach Slaga to turn his curse into a weapon.Pursued by spies, assassins, and bounty hunters, Slaga must learn to fight back—and uncover what he can do to magic and what magic can do to him.A fast-paced YA steampunk fantasy for fans of Philip Pullman, Brandon Sanderson, and anyone who loves rich world building, unlikely heroes, and magic with a cost.