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RYAN CAMPBELL
THE BOOKS
Visit my fantasy realms: a prehistoric Africa where the formation of a new and growing desert forces a once-happy village to travel in search of water; a mangrove swamp filled with giant trees supporting whole civilizations that craft magical wonders; a lost island where a ruthless gangster rules with terror and brutality.
God of Clay
The Fire Bearers: Book One
ISBN-978-1-936689-31-6
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Driven to the borders of an unfamiliar forest by an ever-expanding drought, two rival brothers find their fortunes and that of their tribe entwined in a long-forgotten conflict between the old gods of the world. Clay’s fervent belief in devotion to the gods does nothing to prepare him for their true natures, while Laughing Dog’s self-assured insistence that his destiny is his own leads him on a very different journey. As battle lines are drawn, each brother must decide where his allegiance truly lies — a decision that will change each of them forever.
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Meanwhile, Doto, the son of the sullen and wrathful forest god Kwaee sets out to capture a member of the brothers' tribe and bring them back to his father for interrogation, believing the humans to be in league with the insatiable fire god Ogya. In the process, he begins to doubt the stories he has always heard from his father about the original conflict, and the mysterious places in the heart of the forest that he was forbidden to ever visit.
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Best Novel, Cóyotl Awards 2013
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Cover and interior art by Zhivago
Forest Gods
The Fire Bearers: Book Two
ISBN-978-1-936689-49-1
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Kwaee, god of the forest, has turned all his power toward the destruction of the human tribe that he accuses of serving the treacherous fire god Ogya. Seeking reasons for the ancient conflict, Clay and Doto embark on a dangerous journey far outside the forest in search of savanna god Sarmu.
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Meanwhile, in the human village, the healer Cloud fights new and terrifying threats from the forest and tries to help her people survive, but at every turn, she must battle prince Laughing Dog, who seeks to turn their king down a path that could lead to the end of humanity.
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Along both their journeys lie dangers they never expected and secrets that may have been better left buried.
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This is the second book in the Fire Bearers trilogy, which started with God of Clay. Cover and interior art by Zhivago
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Best Novel Nominee, Cóyotl Awards 2015
Koa of the Drowned Kingdom
ISBN-978-1-61450-270-8
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The Kingdoms: A civilization built in giant mangrove treees, where enchantments are common for the wealthy flying foxes of the upper branches.
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When Koa was just a pup, a terrible storm killed his family and left him with shredded wings. Now living with his adopted otter family, Koa falls in love with a bat from the world he lost long ago.
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Though he will never belong in a world made for those who can fly, he's willing to brave dark magic and treachery for just one dance.
Cover art and interior illustrations by Cooner
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Best Novella, Cóyotl Awards 2015
Smiley and the Hero
ISBN-978-1-93559-973-9
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San Fernando is a small island port in the tyrannical grip of the giant gangster wolf, Smiley O'Hannigan. Here, barely surviving and on the edge of starvation, there seems to be no future for young Johnny and his mother. But when Johnny finds a key to the back door of Smiley's fortress and treasure vault, he has a chance to change everything. Johnny's always dreamed of being a hero like his father, but he's about to learn that heroism isn't quite as easy--or as simple--as he thought.
Cover art and illustrations by Cooner
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Best Novel Nominee, Ursa Major Awards 2011