An expansive work of modern eldritch horror fantasy steeped in literary sensibility.
Though Firard and Sestel enjoy a peace as impermanent as melting snow, each nation’s presence at the War Games is non-negotiable. On Firard’s side, Legate Dante Praeto does what he can to keep his eager forces from triggering a political nightmare, even as his father works to undermine his authority. “The outcome won’t be mine, but the bearing will.” No matter how precarious his position or how little lies within his control, Dante won’t sidestep honor and can never ignore the goal that drives him: to find the Meridian of Existence. Across Furia Gorge, Sestel’s sensible Lady Calya Seve keeps a sharp eye and a level head, alert to any acts of aggression in the Games that might signal a genuine attack. How she represents the House of Seve will influence the others, and little matters more to her than maintaining appearances and preserving her authority. Though they hail from different sides of the map and political spectrum, Calya and Dante share far more than a desire to sustain the fragile harmony between nations. Each wages a quiet internal battle, carrying hidden scars and unspoken fears that shape their choices. Yet all of their military might, political posturing, and private struggles are of little consequence to The Rector, an alchemist that never acts without forethought, never fully reveals their machinations, and has an evolution in store for two insignificant humans searching for something more. Because nothing is more powerful than knowledge.
An expansive work of modern eldritch horror fantasy steeped in literary sensibility, The Omens of War pits inner virtue against inherited status and lets the lingering unknown swallow the difference. This novel’s strength lies not in spectacle but in the slow, purposeful movement of forces that defy comprehension, forces that shape the world with an unsettling indifference to human ambition. The ideas are abstract and the constructs are intricate, so the initial War Games serve as a clever backdrop to reveal the complexities of the characters, their governments, and the impassive hand capable of reshaping all of it. Bits of timeless wisdom color the pages, giving the world an eternal feel, while reflecting how much humans are capable of and what lengths we’ll go to in order to preserve our perceived equilibrium. This gripping psychological tale contains elements of horror, yet readers can feel entirely safe in the author’s judicious hands. Livia J. Elliot never writes violence for shock value or gore for its own sake. Rather, every deliberate moment serves the story’s emotional core, deepens the characters, and reinforces the novel’s thematic weight. A story of unsettling depth, The Omens of War is a cosmic dark fantasy saga where power falters, virtue fractures, and the value of knowledge becomes indistinguishable from its cost.
