Glass Hammer founding member Steve Babb has announced his debut fantasy novel, Skallagrim - In The Vales Of Pagarna, which has been published by Sound Resources.
The 367-page novel is a direct tie-in with Glass Hammer's last two albums, 2020's Dreaming City and last year's Skallagrim - Into The Breach, based around the central charcter in both conceptual albums
"What started as an idea for a series of concept albums quickly grew into a year-long project," Babb explains. "Glass Hammer fans really locked on to the protagonist, really wanted to know more about him--and so did I. The plan is to spread his story out over four volumes, the first of which was just published.
"The first few chapters will remind readers of classic sword and sorcery novels. Sword fights, sorcerers, a damsel in distress, a sentient sword--all the tropes are there. But it goes way deeper than tropes. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald and Lord Dunsany are as much an inspiration to me as are the likes of Michael Moorcock and Robert E. Howard. As it is with our music, so it is with my writing--all of my influences are at work within the book. But the music hasn't been abandoned. Glass Hammer is already at work on the third and final Skallagrim album!"
Excerpt: “And those monsters saw not a young man with a sword but a scarred and screaming horror with the rising red doom of the sun at his back and a hellishly shrieking, flashing, living sword in his hands.
Babb continues describing the novel's premise: "How would you feel if you woke up in the middle of a fight for your life with only the vaguest idea of who you are? You're about to be slain by an angry mob of cutthroats, and the love of your life is being kidnapped right before your eyes. Strange; you can't remember her name. Looks like someone has stolen your memory too!
"That's how Skallagrim begins his epic saga. And though he will wield a sentient, screaming sword that falls from the sky, and mysterious allies come to his aid, ultimately, Skallagrim must endure a nightmare journey alone. His quest—find the girl and kill the sorcerous fiend that stole her. Driving him on is the certain knowledge that he only has four days to rescue his love before she dies. To make matters worse, he must cross a ghoul-haunted, demon-infested wilderness to find her!"
Skallagrim - In The Vales Of Pagarna is available in paperback, hardcover and as an e-book.
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