Jon Cronshaw declares himself the King of Nobledark—because someone had to. In this post, he explains what nobledark fantasy is, why it matters, and how a ravenglass sword and some highly trained wyverns keep the crown in place.
I didn’t mean to become the King of Nobledark.
Truly.
I was just minding my own business, poking around the edges of grimdark, whispering sweet nothings to hope, when I stumbled upon a dusty old crown lying in a forgotten corner of the fantasy genre.
No one was wearing it.
No one was even looking at it.
So, I picked it up, gave it a polish, and popped it on my head.
It fits rather well.
Naturally, I assumed someone would try to stop me. Perhaps a grimdark usurper, still drunk on blood and betrayal, lurching from the shadows, broadsword in hand, quoting Nietzsche and snarling about nihilism.
But alas, no.
Apparently, claiming the crown of Nobledark—that little corner of fantasy where honour still breathes (barely), where sacrifice means something, and where good people try to stay good in worlds that want them broken—isn’t high on anyone’s to-do list.
So here I am.
Jon Cronshaw. The King of Nobledark.
Now, I realise some of my fellow authors might feel tempted. You may think, “That crown would look rather fetching atop my morally complex, world-weary protagonist, actually.”
And I respect that.
But before you mount your literary siege engines, a word of warning: I’ve got wyverns. Highly trained ones. They don’t breathe fire—they just watch. Constantly. Silently. Judgementally. And if that doesn’t unsettle you, it really should.
I also carry a Ravenglass blade, forged with my own blood and tears. Beautiful, yes—but with the rather unfortunate side effect of burning its victims from the inside out. You won’t notice at first. You’ll think you’re fine. And then the screaming starts.
So if you, too, write stories where the world is cruel, but your characters dare to care anyway… then by all means, take up the mantle. Write nobledark. Spread the word. Let readers know that fantasy doesn’t have to choose between despair and delusion.
Discover the story behind The Ravenglass Throne cover design. Learn how Covers by Christian blended stock images and digital painting to create a stunning fantasy book cover that captures the heart of the series.
When it came to creating a cover for The Ravenglass Throne, I knew I needed something that would truly capture the tone and scale of the story—royalty, rebellion, and wyverns.
The result? A breathtaking cover that exceeded all expectations, thanks to the incredible work of Covers by Christian.
Christian’s approach combines expertly chosen stock photography with layered digital painting to bring the Ravenglass Universe to life.
Irmin in her armour, Berthold at her side, the Imperial Palace in the background—it’s all there in a single, striking image.
Every element on the cover was selected with care: the lighting, the pose, even the subtle background details that hint at deeper story threads.
The final image isn’t just beautiful—it feels like the book.
Explore the Ravenglass Universe by Jon Cronshaw—an epic fantasy world of royal intrigue, rebellion, and wyvern magic. Discover the reading order, series connections, and where to start in this complete guide for new and returning readers.
The Ravenglass Universe is an epic, interconnected fantasy world created by British author Jon Cronshaw.
Rich in history, political intrigue, personal drama, and wyvern magic, the universe spans over a thousand years of in-world history and multiple series.
While each series can be read on its own, they all connect through recurring characters, families, relics, and one mysterious wyvern: Witz.
Whether you’re drawn to royal succession drama, grimdark warfare, coming-of-age fantasy, or brutal assassin tales, there’s no wrong place to begin—just start with book one of whichever series catches your eye.
Here’s a breakdown of the four major eras and how the stories fit together.
First Kingdom Era (Years 0–200)
Themes: Dynastic power struggles, royal succession, the early role of wyverns in politics
📘The Ravenglass Throne
Begin with Book 1: Shattered Kingdom A sweeping royal fantasy told in serial format, The Ravenglass Throne follows three sisters—Irmin, Adelinde, and Elana—each trained in a different discipline: war, knowledge, and diplomacy. After the king’s sudden assassination without naming an heir, the sisters must navigate court politics, hidden conspiracies, and the secrets surrounding the powerful material known as ravenglass.
🐉Wyvern Rider (Patreon exclusive)
A coming-of-age story about a girl who forms a close bond with a rescued wyvern. Visit: patreon.com/joncronshawauthor to learn more.
Expansion Era (Years 200–500)
Themes: Imperial conquest, resistance, legacy, the cost of civilisation
📗Ravenglass Legends
Begin with Book 1: The Fall of Wolfsbane Set during the rise of the Ostreich Empire, this series charts the bloody conquest and political transformation of Wiete. The story centres on Ragnar and Maja Wolfsbane—siblings caught on opposite sides of history. Ragnar is taken in by the empire and raised to lead, while Maja must survive on the outside and spark a rebellion.
⚔️ Prequel novellas (Patreon exclusives):
Blades of Wolfsbane
The Long Night
The Skald’s Quest Each offers vital backstory on Ragnar’s upbringing, the early resistance, and the mythology of the north.
High Empire Era (Years 500–700)
High Empire Era (Years 500–700)
Themes: Prophecy, identity, rebellion, and divine power
Set at the height of the Ostreich Empire, The Ravenglass Chronicles follows Princess Kathryn Ostehild (Kat), a young woman whose life is shattered when she’s chosen by the gods to fulfil a prophecy that will shake the Empire to its core. With the weight of divine power on her shoulders and the machinations of the court closing in, Kat must forge her own path—one that defies expectation, tradition, and fate itself.
This 22-part fantasy saga is structured around the Major Arcana of the Tarot, with each instalment reflecting a new stage in Kat’s journey—from The Magician through The Tower and finally The World. As the Empire teeters between stagnation and upheaval, Kat’s rise from sheltered princess to revolutionary icon reveals the cost of power—and what it means to claim your destiny.
Collected in a single omnibus edition and available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook, The Ravenglass Chronicles delivers a sweeping tale of transformation, sacrifice, and the fight to reclaim your voice in a world that demands silence.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Epic fantasy at its best.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Kat’s journey is raw, real, and utterly gripping.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A unique, beautifully structured fantasy saga.”
Perfect for fans of Robin Hobb, Kristin Cashore, and Tarot-inspired fantasy, The Ravenglass Chronicles blends political intrigue, symbolic depth, and emotional stakes into one unforgettable saga.
✨ Additional stories (Patreon exclusives):
Orphan Farm Boy of Destiny
The Princess and the Tailor Short tales expanding on the Empire’s height and the personal stories of characters outside the main series.
Retraction Era (Years 700–1000)
Themes: Collapse, legacy, revenge, and shadow warfare
🗡Guild of Assassins
Begin with Book 1: Guild of Assassins The Empire has fractured. As old colonies fight for independence and imperial cities turn inward, the Assassins’ Guild rises. This dark fantasy series follows Soren, a sculptor’s apprentice whose quest for vengeance leads him into the heart of the most feared organisation in the world.
Soren’s Guild years are explored in a growing number of Patreon-exclusive short stories.
🦴Dawn of Assassins
Begin with Book 1: Dawn of Assassins Set in the same era, this companion series explores Soren’s legacy from another angle. A gang of young thieves is drawn into the world of contract killing, political sabotage, and moral compromise.
🔪 Prequel novellas:
Birth of Assassins (Included in the starter library)
The Little Thief and The Great Tower Heist are available on Patreon.
The Witz Meta-Story
A hidden thread binding the Ravenglass Universe
Across centuries, a single character weaves in and out of history: Witz, the black wyvern. At times advisor, at others manipulator or even deceiver. His motivations remain unclear—but his influence is undeniable.
All series titled Ravenglass (Throne, Legends, Chronicles) feature Witz in key roles. His story emerges slowly, and readers can piece together his true nature by reading across the full universe.
Suggested Reading Approach
You can start with any series—just begin with Book 1 in that series. Here’s a simple breakdown depending on your reading preferences:
Love royalty, politics, and sibling drama? Start with The Ravenglass Throne
Want a gritty war epic with a Norse flavour? Start with Ravenglass Legends
Prefer symbolic, character-driven high fantasy? Start with The Ravenglass Chronicles
Enjoy dark fantasy, revenge, and assassins? Start with Guild of Assassins
And if you’re a completionist or looking for bonus content, join the Patreon for exclusive novellas and short stories that expand the lore and deepen character arcs.
Discover the magic system of the Ravenglass Universe, where sentient weapons, wyvern bonds, and mind manipulation intersect with cosmic horrors. Explore how the mysterious ravenglass substance shapes this intricate fantasy world.
Today, I want to pull back the curtain and give you an exclusive peek into the heart of the Ravenglass Universe – its magic system.
As the architect of this world, I’ve always believed that a well-crafted magic system is the lifeblood of any great fantasy realm.
So, let’s explore the forces that shape this universe.
The Cornerstone: Ravenglass
At the core of our magical world lies ravenglass, a substance as mysterious as it is powerful.
This black, light-bending material is more than just a magical McGuffin.
It’s the thread that weaves through the fabric of our universe, connecting disparate magics and parallel worlds.
Ravenglass is a paradox
It’s cold to the touch yet only malleable under extreme heat.
It’s nearly indestructible yet capable of cutting through the very fabric of reality.
Its properties challenge our understanding of physics and magic alike, making it the perfect foundation for a world of wonder and peril.
Blood, Tears, and Shadows
The magic of ravenglass is not for the faint of heart.
To forge a ravenglass weapon requires a ritual sacrifice of blood and tears, binding the wielder to the weapon in a deeply personal way.
This connection between life essence and magical power is a recurring theme in the Ravenglass Universe, reminding us that great power often comes at a great price.
But oh, what power it is!
A ravenglass weapon can cut rifts into the shadow realm, a parallel dimension that mirrors our own.
Imagine the possibilities – and the dangers – of moving unseen and unheard through a colourless, silent world.
It’s no wonder that assassins and thieves prize these weapons above all others.
The Whispers of Power
One of the most intriguing aspects of ravenglass weapons is their apparent sentience.
These aren’t mere tools, but partners – sometimes willing, sometimes not.
The whispers of a ravenglass dagger can be seductive, tempting its wielder towards darker paths.
This interplay between magical item and user adds layers of complexity to our characters’ journeys.
It forces them to grapple not just with external challenges, but with the very source of their power.
Beyond Ravenglass
While ravenglass is the cornerstone, it’s far from the only magic in our universe.
The Ravenglass world is teeming with various forms of mystical energy.
Each interacts with and enhances the others in fascinating ways.
Take mind manipulation magic, for instance.
This insidious form of power blurs the lines between persuasion and control.
It adds a chilling psychological element to our magical repertoire.
But here’s where it gets really interesting.
When combined with ravenglass, these mental powers can be magnified to terrifying degrees.
Imagine the possibilities, and the dangers, of a mind manipulator wielding a ravenglass artifact.
The potential for both great good and unthinkable evil is staggering.
And let’s not forget the wyverns.
These magnificent, dragon-like creatures can form magical partnerships with humans.
Their ability to sense minds hints at a form of psychic magic.
This adds yet another layer to our magical ecosystem.
The bond between wyvern and human is a magic all its own.
It blends the raw power of these ancient beings with the ingenuity and adaptability of humanity.
But perhaps the most intriguing aspect of all is the hint of something greater lurking behind ravenglass itself.
As I’ve delved deeper into this world, I’ve uncovered suggestions of vast, unknowable forces or entities connected to this mystical substance.
It raises profound questions.
When a character wields a ravenglass weapon, who – or what – is truly in control?
Are they tapping into powers beyond their comprehension?
And what might be the consequences of such a connection?
These questions add a delicious layer of cosmic horror to our fantasy world.
They remind us that even in a realm of magic, there are some powers that remain beyond mortal understanding.
It’s a theme that I find endlessly fascinating to explore.
It’s also one that I hope keeps readers on the edge of their seats, always wondering what greater mysteries might be revealed.
A World of Possibilities
What excites me most about this magic system is its versatility.
From the grand, world-shaking power of ravenglass to the intimate whispers of mind magic, the Ravenglass Universe offers a spectrum of magical experiences.
This allows us to tell a wide range of stories – from epic sagas of empires in turmoil to personal tales of individuals wrestling with their own power.
The magic of Ravenglass is not just a tool for spectacle, but a mirror reflecting the complexities of human nature.
It can corrupt as easily as it can empower, heal as readily as it can destroy.
In this, it becomes a powerful metaphor for power itself, and how we choose to wield it.
The Magic Continues
As we continue to explore the Ravenglass Universe together, I find myself more excited than ever to delve deeper into these magical mysteries.
With each new story I write, a different piece of the puzzle reveals itself, expanding our understanding of this complex and fascinating magic system.
There are still so many questions to answer, so many secrets to uncover, and so many stories to tell.
What other properties of ravenglass are yet to be discovered?
What happens when different forms of magic interact?
And what price must be paid for the greatest magical feats?
These are the questions that keep me up at night, scribbling in notebooks and dreaming of new stories.
But the beauty of this journey is that I’m not exploring alone.
My hope is that you will join me in this adventure, finding clues and answers scattered throughout the Ravenglass stories like magical breadcrumbs leading us to greater revelations.
For those of you who’ve followed me through multiple series and stories, you may have already noticed how the magic system connects across different tales.
Perhaps you’ve spotted a hint in one book that sheds light on a mystery in another.
This interconnectedness is intentional, and I’m thrilled to see readers piecing together the larger picture of Ravenglass magic.
As we move forward, I promise there’s still much more to uncover.
The magic system of Ravenglass is a living, breathing entity that grows and evolves with each tale.
It’s an ongoing exploration, and I’m committed to pushing the boundaries of what we know and understand about this mystical force.
So, are you ready to continue this magical journey with me?
There are more shadows to explore, more secrets to unearth, and more mind-bending magical interactions to witness.
It’s my sincere hope that these mysteries will spark your imagination, drawing you ever deeper into the magical world of the Ravenglass Universe.
Discover how Egypt’s ancient history and culture inspired the world of “The Fall of Wolfsbane.” From cultural artifacts to powerful female leaders, explore how a journey through Egypt shaped the themes, characters, and worldbuilding in this fantasy novel.
As a fantasy author, inspiration can strike in the most unexpected places.
For me, the seed that would grow into “The Fall of Wolfsbane” was planted not in some misty forest or atop a craggy mountain, but in the arid heat of Egypt.
This happened somewhere between the ancient cities of Cairo and Luxor.
A Flight of Fancy
It was on a domestic flight, soaring over the timeless landscape of Egypt, that the initial idea for “The Fall of Wolfsbane” began to take shape.
As I gazed out of the window at the Nile snaking through the desert below, I found myself pondering the rise and fall of civilisations, the clash of cultures, and the enduring power of history.
Little did I know that these musings would eventually crystallise into the story of Ragnar and Maja Wolfsbane.
The Question of Cultural Artifacts
One of the most thought-provoking experiences of my trip was a visit to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The original, as many know, resides in the British Museum.
This sparked a train of thought that would significantly influence “The Fall of Wolfsbane”.
Where do cultural artifacts truly belong?
How does the way we display these artifacts affect our understanding of them?
What messages do these displays communicate about power, ownership, and cultural identity?
These questions found their way into my novel, particularly in Maja’s storyline.
Her experiences in the Ostreich capital, surrounded by artifacts looted from her homeland, echo the complex emotions and ethical questions raised by the display of Egyptian artifacts in Western museums.
Monuments of Power
My visits to iconic sites like the Giza Plateau, with its Great Pyramid and Sphinx, left an indelible mark on my imagination.
These colossal monuments, built to project the power and immortality of the pharaohs, influenced my conception of the Ostreich Empire’s architecture and self-image.
The Step Pyramid at Saqqara, with its innovative design marking the transition from earlier burial practices, inspired me to think about how societies evolve and how these changes are reflected in their built environment.
This idea is mirrored in the transformation of Meerand into Nebel Hafen under Ostreich rule.
Hidden Histories
Exploring the Valley of the Kings, with its elaborately decorated tombs hidden beneath the earth, sparked ideas about hidden histories and buried truths.
This concept found its way into “The Fall of Wolfsbane” through the secret tunnels beneath the imperial palace and the hidden aspects of ravenglass lore.
The vast temple complex of Karnak, with its successive additions by different pharaohs, each leaving their mark on the site, influenced my approach to worldbuilding.
It reminded me that fantasy worlds, like real ones, should bear the imprint of successive generations and changing cultural influences.
Women in Power
The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, with its grand scale and the fascinating story of Egypt’s female pharaoh, provided inspiration for some of the strong female characters in “The Fall of Wolfsbane”.
Hatshepsut’s legacy as a woman who seized and held power in a male-dominated world resonated with me and influenced my portrayal of characters like Maja and Princess Saranka.
Cultures in Collision
Perhaps the most profound influence of my Egyptian trip on “The Fall of Wolfsbane” was the omnipresent sense of cultures in collision.
From the ancient Egyptians and their conflicts with neighbouring powers to the later influences of Greek, Roman, Arab, and European cultures, Egypt is a testament to the complex interplay of different civilisations over time.
This culture inspired the rich, complex world of “The Fall of Wolfsbane”, where the clan culture of Meerand collides with the imperial ambitions of Ostreich.
The struggles of characters like Ragnar and Maja to maintain their cultural identity in the face of an overwhelming foreign influence draw directly from the historical dynamics I observed in Egypt.
From Ancient Sands to Fantasy Realms
My trip to Egypt provided more than just a fascinating journey through history.
It offered a wellspring of inspiration that profoundly shaped “The Fall of Wolfsbane”.
From questions of cultural ownership to the dynamics of power and resistance, the influences of this ancient land are woven throughout the fabric of my fantasy world.
It just goes to show that for a fantasy author, every journey can be a creative odyssey.
The next time you visit a historical site or museum, who knows?
You might be planting the seeds of your next great story.
Have you ever found inspiration for your writing or creative projects in unexpected places?
No wizards. No fire-breathing wyverns. Step inside the Ravenglass Universe, a nobledark fantasy world where magic is nearly gone and always costs blood.
Welcome to the Ravenglass Universe
There is a stone in this world that costs more than gold, and it will not let you look at it properly.
It is called ravenglass. Hold a piece up to a lamp and the light bends away from the edges, so you never quite fix where the thing ends and the shadow begins. Reach for it and your hand arrives before your eye agrees it should. Once worked, it sits cold in the palm. It does not chip. It does not scratch. It does not dull, tarnish, bend or break, and no hammer in any forge on any coast will persuade it otherwise. Only volcanic heat will make it soft enough to shape.
There is not much of it left. Nobody has found a new seam in centuries. Every blade, cup, ring and orb in the world was something else first, melted down and recast and melted down again, so that a merchant’s pendant might once have been a crown, and a crown might once have been an altar. Nothing is destroyed. It only becomes something else.
That is where these books start.
Magic here is old, and it is nearly gone
There are no wizards. No academies of sorcery, no wands, no memorised words of power, no helpful old man in a hat. Magic was freely available once, long ago, and then it was taken away, or spent, or sealed, depending on which priest you ask and which empire pays him. What survives is residue.
Most people live and die without seeing it work. Plenty of them think it never did.
So when the uncanny does arrive, it arrives with a bill attached. Ravenglass answers to blood and to tears, and it wants both from the person it belongs to. Blood binds it. Tears open it. And the tears have to be real – the grief genuine, the guilt earned, the shame paid in full. You cannot fake your way into this power. You have to feel something honestly first, and then you have to live with what you spent to feel it.
Magic here solves one problem and hands you a worse one. It always has.
The wyverns are sapient
Let us clear up the obvious question. They do not breathe fire. Not once, not ever, not in a single book. Any story you hear about a wyvern burning a village is propaganda, superstition, or a lie told by someone with an interest in you being frightened.
Most of them are about the size of a dog. Leathery wings, scaled hide, beady black eyes, a forked tongue and a barbed tail. They perch on rafters. They waddle. They snap at fingers they do not like.
They also talk. They remember, argue, sulk, judge, grieve, bargain and manipulate, and they will absolutely lie to you if it suits them, regardless of the superstitions that wyverns can’t lie. Many of them can press against a human mind, and most humans cannot keep them out.
A bond between a wyvern and a human is intimate, psychic and mutual, and it is not ownership. It can be earned, damaged, broken, mended or poisoned. Treat a wyvern as transport and you will find out how fast a partnership becomes a grudge. How a culture handles that question – partner or property – tells you almost everything you need to know about the culture.
An empire that builds roads and takes children
The great imperial power of the age brings law, medicine, aqueducts, schooling, engineering and grain in winter. It also brings slave gangs, hostage-taking, public executions and the quiet erasure of anything that came before it.
Both of those sentences are true. I am not going to resolve them for you.
Some conquered peoples grow to prefer the roads. Others count their dead. Priests of a faith that forbids killing bless armies on their way to kill, and mean it kindly. Believers are right about some things and catastrophically wrong about others, and no god in these pages will step out from behind the curtain to settle the argument. Faith comforts and faith excuses. Usually in the same chapter.
What I promise you
The world is harsh. Institutions are compromised. Good intentions fail, violence leaves scars that do not fade by the next book, and nobody gets to use magic without paying for it out of their own body.
But this is not misery for its own sake. People here still choose courage when cowardice is cheaper. They still show mercy inside systems built to punish it. Those choices matter precisely because the world makes them so difficult.
Hope bleeds. It never dies.
Where to begin
The series in this universe share the rules, the ravenglass and the wyverns, but they stand on their own feet. One follows assassins. One follows hostages. One follows the young and the bonded. You can start anywhere, and reading one will quietly sharpen the others.
Silent Watcher by Jon Cronshaw is out now in Kindle, paperback and audiobook, narrated by Claire Aston. Discover this standalone fantasy spy thriller.
Silent Watcher is officially out now in all three formats: Kindle, paperback and audiobook.
This is the first novel in my new Ravenglass Guardians series, and although it takes place in the same world as my other Ravenglass books, Silent Watcher has been designed to work completely as a standalone.
So, if you’ve never read one of my fantasy novels before, you can start here.
And if you’re already familiar with the Ravenglass Universe, this book takes you somewhere rather different.
A century has passed since the events of Ravenglass Legends.
The Guardians have become an established institution. They were founded to watch without shaping, protect without ruling, and preserve the truth.
But institutions change.
And sometimes the people tasked with protecting the truth become very good at controlling it.
A Fantasy Spy Thriller
Silent Watcher follows Anselma Versen, a Watcher sent to the isolated town of Halborg under a false name.
Her mission appears straightforward.
A fellow Guardian is dead.
The official report says it was an accident.
Anselma quickly becomes convinced it was murder.
But Halborg is a town where everything feels slightly wrong.
The streets have been scrubbed clean. Witnesses give suspiciously similar answers. Records disappear. People seem to know more than they are willing to say.
Then Anselma discovers reports carrying her own signature.
Reports authorising operations she never witnessed.
Some are dated to days she cannot remember.
Someone knew she was coming.
Someone has already decided what she is supposed to discover.
And the last Watcher who asked these questions is already dead.
With Silent Watcher, I wanted to write something that felt closer to an espionage novel than a traditional quest fantasy.
There are no armies marching across continents here. No chosen one setting out to defeat an ancient evil.
Instead, the danger lies in reports, testimony, missing documents and carefully constructed lies.
Anselma is trained to observe.
Her job is to establish what happened and report the truth.
The problem is that she works for an organisation that may have its own definition of what the truth is allowed to be.
That made Silent Watcher a chance for me to focus on questions of institutional loyalty, secrecy, surveillance and the ways organisations protect themselves.
What happens when the system you trust tells you that the evidence in front of you cannot possibly be true?
And what do you do when telling the truth could make you the next problem the institution needs to remove?
The Beginning of Ravenglass Guardians
Silent Watcher is also the first book in Ravenglass Guardians.
The series will consist of seven standalone novels, each following a different branch of the Guardian Order during a growing internal schism.
Each book will tell its own complete story with its own protagonist, setting and central conflict.
At the same time, the novels will gradually reveal a much larger struggle over what the Guardians are supposed to be.
Protectors.
Observers.
Judges.
Or rulers.
Silent Watcher approaches that conflict through espionage and psychological suspense. Other books in the series will take on very different styles, including military fantasy, ethical and medical dilemmas, legal conflict and other corners of the Ravenglass world.
You won’t need to read every book to understand an individual novel, but readers who follow the whole series will see the larger crisis developing from several different perspectives.
The Audiobook, Narrated by Claire Aston
I’m especially pleased that the audiobook edition is launching alongside the Kindle and paperback editions.
Silent Watcher is narrated by Claire Aston, who has done a fantastic job bringing Anselma and the inhabitants of Halborg to life.
This is a story built around suspicion, uncertainty and the things people leave unsaid, so the performance matters enormously.
Claire captured that atmosphere beautifully.
If you prefer to experience your fantasy through audio, the complete audiobook is available now.
What to Expect from Silent Watcher
If you pick up Silent Watcher, expect a slow-burning mystery built around secrets, deception and institutional betrayal.
At its heart, it’s a fantasy spy thriller.
It’s about a professional investigator entering a place where everyone appears to be lying, only to realise that the conspiracy may extend far beyond the town she was sent to investigate.
If you enjoy the political and institutional tension of Seth Dickinson, the espionage of John le Carré, or the morally complicated fantasy of K. J. Parker, Silent Watcher should be right up your street.
A Dead Agent. A Silent Town. A Conspiracy Written in Her Own Hand.
Watcher Anselma Versen arrives in Halborg under a false name to investigate a colleague’s death.
The official report calls it an accident.
The evidence says murder.
The streets have been scrubbed clean. Witnesses repeat the same rehearsed answers. Records vanish overnight. Then Anselma finds reports bearing her signature, authorising operations she never witnessed and dated to days she cannot remember.
Someone knew she was coming.
Someone has already decided what she will find.
The last Watcher who asked these questions is already dead.
As Anselma pulls at the threads, she uncovers a truth buried at the heart of the Guardian Order itself. The rebellion she was sent to document may never have been real.
And if her role in the conspiracy was written before she arrived, she may not be meant to leave Halborg alive.
Silent Watcher is available now in Kindle, paperback and audiobook.
Jon Cronshaw reaches 40% of The Hammer and the Crown, returns to Wyvern Academy, and shares his thoughts on finishing Will Wight’s Cradle series.
This week, I’m around 40% of the way through my draft of The Hammer and the Crown, book five in my Ravenglass Legends series.
The story is gathering momentum, and I talk about how the draft is progressing as I move deeper into Ragnar and Maja’s next adventure.
I’ve also returned to an older project, Wyvern Academy, a follow-up to my Wyvern Rider novella for Patreon.
On the reading side, I’m nearing the end of Will Wight’s Cradle series. I’m now on the final book and have been hugely impressed by how the series has developed.
Wight has done a fantastic job of building the characters, escalating the stakes and improving his craft across twelve books while keeping the story compulsively readable.
I’ve just unlocked the complete Wyvern Rider on Patreon.
And I’ve made the entire collection public, so you can read it right now for free.
No payment. No Patreon sign-up. No account required.
Wyvern Rider follows Irina, a young woman whose life changes when she discovers an injured wyvern hatchling beside a stream.
She names him Nim.
But the connection between them soon becomes something far deeper. Irina can sense his thoughts and emotions, marking her as one of the rare few capable of becoming a wyvern rider.
What begins as a secret friendship becomes a story of flight, courage, sacrifice and finding the path you were meant to follow.
If you fancy some wyverns, adventure and an emotional coming-of-age fantasy, you can read the complete novella now.
Jon Cronshaw finishes Six of Swords, reaches 25,000 words on Ravenglass Legends book five, and discusses Will Wight’s Cradle series.
This week, I’ve finished Six of Swords and sent it off for editing, bringing another Ravenglass Chronicles novella to the next stage of production.
I’ve also made good progress on The Hammer and the Crown, book five in the Ravenglass Legends series. I’m now around 25,000 words into the draft as Ragnar and Maja’s story continues.
I also talk about my ongoing readthrough of Will Wight’s Cradle series. I’m currently on book eight, Bloodline, and thoroughly enjoying it.
One of the things that has stood out is how much Wight’s craft develops as the series progresses, particularly in terms of pacing, character work and handling an increasingly large story without losing momentum.
What if a rebellion wasn’t entirely real? A look at agent provocateurs, manufactured unrest, institutional power, and the ideas behind the fantasy spy thriller Silent Watcher.
Here’s a question I’ve found myself thinking about a lot recently:
This week I reach 17 chapters of Six of Swords, work on Arthurian prequel The Last Eagle, and visit Lammerside Castle and Pendragon Castle for inspiration.
This week I’ve continued making progress on Six of Swords and now have 17 chapters drafted. The book is moving along well, and I’m getting close to the final stretch.
I’ve also been working on The Last Eagle, a prequel novella for a potential new Arthurian Britain series. The idea is to take the legends of Arthur and place them in a grittier, more grounded post-Roman Britain, while still keeping the heroic and mythic elements that make the stories so enduring.
That project also tied in nicely with a couple of recent visits to Lammerside Castle and Pendragon Castle. Both places have plenty of history and atmosphere, and Pendragon in particular comes with its own Arthurian associations.
So this week’s diary is a mix of Ravenglass progress, new Arthurian ideas, and a bit of real-world historical inspiration.
A weekend trip through Cumbria tracing my wife’s Wharton family ancestry, from Lammerside Castle and Wharton Hall to rebellion, exile and a lost fortune.
This past weekend, my wife and I went on a bit of an adventure into her family history.
She’s been researching her ancestry recently and uncovered the story of the Wharton family in Cumbria. It turns out she has aristocratic lineage, although that particular chapter of the family history came to a fairly dramatic end.
One of her ancestors found himself on the wrong side of the Jacobite rising and eventually ended up living in Spain, with the family lands seized by the Crown. By all accounts, he was also a gambler with a taste for extravagant living, which probably didn’t help matters.
So, in the space of a generation, an aristocratic family went from landowners to tenants of the Lowthers, with the estate and fortune largely gone.
You really couldn’t make it up.
We decided to visit some of the places connected with the family, starting with Wharton Hall, where later generations lived. The hall is still standing, although it’s on private land, so we could only see it from a distance.
Before Wharton Hall, though, the family had a castle.
Or, at least, what remains of one.
We visited the ruins of Lammerside Castle, where part of the central keep is still standing in the Cumbrian landscape. These days, its primary line of defence appears to be a field full of rather standoffish cows.
We wandered around the ruins, had our lunch there and took in the surrounding valley and the view towards Hunger Fell.
It was beautiful, but there was something quite sad about it too. You’re standing beside the remains of a home that once represented wealth, power and permanence, knowing that within a few generations nearly all of it had disappeared.It was beautiful, but there was something quite sad about it too. You’re standing beside the remains of a home that once represented wealth, power and permanence, knowing that within a few generations nearly all of it had disappeared.
Naturally, as a fantasy writer, my brain immediately started filing things away for future use.
There’s probably a novel hiding in there somewhere.
While we were in the area, we also visited nearby Pendragon Castle, another atmospheric ruin with an appropriately legendary name. We crawled through a low tunnel to explore the ruins, only to notice when we were on our way out that the ruins were closed to the public. Oops.
It was a fascinating weekend and a reminder that sometimes the best story fuel is sitting quietly in the landscape, waiting for you to notice it.
This week: halfway through Six of Swords, revisiting The Hammer and the Crown, publishing Blind Sight, returning to Black Death and reading Ghostwater by Will Wight.
This week I’ve been making good progress on Six of Swords.
I’m 12 chapters into the draft, which probably puts me somewhere around the halfway point.
I’ve also been going back over what I’ve written so far for The Hammer and the Crown, continuing work on the next Ravenglass Legends novel.
One of the more satisfying things this week has been returning to older projects. I revisited Blind Sight, a prequel novella to Blind Gambit that I originally abandoned back in 2018. I’ve finally finished it and published it on Patreon.
I’ve also been working through another story from my open projects folder, this time set in the Black Death world, which should hopefully be ready next week.
On the reading front, I’m continuing with Will Wight’s Cradle series and have now reached Book Five, Ghostwater. I’m really enjoying the series, and I’ve also finally worked out why I struggled to follow parts of the second book, Soulsmith. It turned out to be a useful lesson in storytelling craft.
Looking for fantasy novels where information is the battlefield? Discover five fantasy books about secrets, espionage, bureaucracy, political intrigue, and the struggle to control the truth.
Armies clash. Heroes fight villains. Kingdoms rise and fall.
But some of the most interesting fantasy novels I’ve read are about information.
Who controls it.
Who hides it.
Who gets to decide what’s true.
In these books, the decisive battles aren’t fought with swords. They’re fought with records, secrets, bureaucracy, manipulation, and the ability to shape what people believe.
If that sounds like your sort of thing, here are five books worth checking out.
This is probably the clearest example of what I’m talking about.
Baru comes from a conquered people and decides she’s going to destroy the empire that took her homeland.
The twist is that she doesn’t do it with an army.
She does it through administration. Tax policy. Economics. Bureaucracy.
It’s a novel where financial systems are weapons and accounting can be more dangerous than a sword.
What makes the book so compelling is the cost. To use the empire’s tools, Baru has to understand them. To understand them, she has to become part of them.
The result is one of the most devastating political fantasies I’ve ever read.
You could put several K. J. Parker novels on this list, but this is probably the easiest place to start.
The protagonist isn’t a great warrior or a chosen hero. He’s an engineer.
When a city comes under threat, he survives through logistics, planning, deception, and sheer nerve.
The joy of the novel is watching an intelligent person solve impossible problems.
The horror is realising how easily practical solutions can become moral compromises.
Parker understands better than almost anyone that institutions often run on paperwork, procedure, and people convincing themselves they’re being reasonable.
Abraham is interested in leverage rather than spectacle. Most of the important moments involve negotiations, agreements, obligations, and people understanding things their opponents don’t.
Very little is settled by violence.
Almost everything is settled by information.
What I love about Abraham’s work is that he never loses sight of the human cost. These aren’t abstract political manoeuvres. They’re choices that affect real people.
If you’ve read any of these books, I’d love to know what you thought of them.
And if you’ve got recommendations for fantasy novels where information, bureaucracy, espionage, or institutional power sit at the heart of the story, let me know. I’m always looking for more.
A week of adventure in the Lake District with Galloway’s, including sailing, canoeing, fell walking, Rydal Cave and plenty of new experiences.
I didn’t do any writing last week.
And, for once, I’m very happy about that.
I spent the week in the Lake District on an adventure week with Galloway’s, a charity supporting blind and visually impaired people.
We were based around Coniston, and the week was packed with activities. It was a chance to get outdoors, try some new things, meet other visually impaired people, and learn how they approach activities that I’d either never tried before or hadn’t thought much about doing without sight.
One of the first adventures was canoeing out on the lake.
We used a tethered raft made from two three-person canoes tied together, which gave us a stable platform for getting out onto the water. The lake itself was surprisingly warm, certainly warmer than I’d expected.
Being in the Lake District in good weather is always impressive, but spending so much of the week outside, moving through the landscape rather than simply visiting somewhere, gave me a very different experience of it.
The highlight, though, was sailing.
We went out on a Dart catamaran in some very windy conditions.
And it was brilliant.
At one point, we apparently hit around 32 knots. I can’t verify that personally because I was rather occupied with hanging on, but it certainly felt fast.
Really fast.
The combination of the wind, the movement of the boat and the water rushing past was exhilarating. Of everything we did during the week, sailing was the thing that immediately made me think: I need to do more of this.
So I’m now going to have a look at what sailing opportunities there are closer to home.
One of the best parts of the week wasn’t any particular activity, though. It was getting to know the other people there.
It was interesting hearing about how other blind and visually impaired people do things, what activities they’re involved with, and the opportunities that are out there if you know where to look.
I came away with quite a few ideas for things I’d like to try.
And, inevitably, plenty of story fuel.
There’s something useful about getting away from the desk and having completely different experiences. The physical sensations of being on a catamaran in high winds, scrambling up a fell, entering a cave or paddling across a lake are the sort of details that eventually find their way into stories, even when you’re not consciously looking for them.
So, no words written last week.
But after a fantastic week in the Lakes, I think the break was probably worth far more than another few chapters.
