Alistair Thorn – författare

Every transmutation has a cost. Not all of them are physical.Candidate-Guildmaster Ambrose operates on an 11-day countdown. His internal register is finely tuned, not to emotion, but to the progression of the iridescent scar advancing past the safe parameters on his forearm. It is the cost of the forbidden "e;love-logic"e; transmutation that saved his brother, Kael, but destroyed Ambrose's standing within the Guild.Now, exiled to the border town of Velrae, Ambrose lives behind a protective array of alchemical glyphs. His days are a precise sequence of clinical observations: measuring the heat of Kael's skin, charting the encroaching iridescence, and cataloging the spatial distortions unique to this strange outpost, where the geometry of birds feels "e;wrong"e; and the architecture is designed to deceive.To secure the fleeting efficacy of the crucial pale-edged lily, Ambrose is forced to engage with the elements he cannot control: Fen, a masked and silenced illusionist, and Mira, a wary regional healer. As the physical threat to Kael accelerates, an administrative snare begins to tighten. Ambrose must navigate the encroaching shadows of the Illusion Grove while contending with the impersonal, crushing weight of civic records.In this claustrophobic environment, Ambrose realizes the standard Guild methodologies are insufficient. To finalize the cure, he must trade the safety of technical notation for "e;named truth,"e; surrendering his clinical isolation to the unpredictable logic of connection.The Color of a Lie is a technical fantasy procedural about institutional pressure, hard magic systems, and the quiet resilience of outsiders. Featuring slow-burn platonic intimacy, "e;alchemist's notation"e; narrative style, bureaucratic antagonists, atmospheric shadow geography, detailed reagent-based magic, finding family in exile, and a structured narrative that champions accurate witness over explosive conflict.

The north is dying.King Hakon's armies march across the frozen lands burning villages, hanging rebels, and crushing the old clans beneath steel and holy law. The age of warriors is ending, and the last remnants of the old world are being buried beneath blood soaked snow.Far from the war, Eirik Vargrsson lives alone in the mountains, hiding from the world and from the monster inside himself. Once feared across the north as the most savage berserker ever to live, Eirik abandoned war long ago after losing everything he loved. But when refugees fleeing Hakon's slaughter arrive at his cabin, the old rage awakens once more.Now hunted by royal soldiers, assassins known as the Black Hands, and the king himself, Eirik is dragged back into a war he wanted no part in. As the north gathers for one final stand at Black Fjord, stories begin to spread of a dead berserker walking through fire and arrows without falling.But legends are dangerous things.Especially when they are true.Brutal, bleak, and soaked in blood and frost, The Last Berserker is a grimdark Viking inspired epic about war, vengeance, fear, and the terrible cost of becoming a monster to fight monsters.

Across Britain, Ireland, and the ancient landscapes of Europe, there are places where the land itself feels different—where movement slows, sound shifts, and the space around you seems to hold something older than memory. These are not myths or imagined realms, but real locations. Groves of ancient yew and oak. Circles of stone set with deliberate precision. Hills, lakes, and forgotten ritual grounds that were once central to druidic and pagan practice.Sacred Groves and Cursed Land is a grounded and deeply atmospheric exploration of these places, focusing only on real sites and the experiences tied to them. From the oak groves of Savernake Forest to the ritual landscape of Anglesey, from the yew shadows of Kingley Vale to the ancient alignments of Carnac Stones, each chapter uncovers the history, the belief, and the consistent patterns of experience that continue to surround them.This is not a book of fantasy or speculation. It is an investigation into how these landscapes were used, why they were chosen, and what remains when the rituals have long since faded. Drawing on historical accounts, archaeological context, and modern observations, it builds a picture of a world where sacred space was not built—it was recognised.For those who walk these places, something still lingers. Not always seen. Not always understood. But present, in the land itself, waiting to be noticed.