Ali Jon Smith
Author
Ali Jon is a fantasy and sci-fi author. His major work to date is Of Shepherds and Mages, an epic fantasy trilogy: Magic is dying and mages are rebelling, desperate for permission to explore dangerous schools of sorcery that might save it. An assassination fractures the ruling dynasty and there is an irrecoverable slide to civil war.
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Against this backdrop, a provincial shepherd and notorious love fool, Zanthred, rashly signs up to join the Emperor’s emergency army. He stands shoulder-to-shoulder with a strange cohort drawn from shy poets and libertine nobles, including the object of his unrequited love, the notorious seductress, Janistor. Together, the eccentric team will play a pivotal role in the course of the strife. Can they, and their burgeoning friendships survive through it? And if they can, will Zanthred ever shake his reputation as a fool?
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The trilogy is an intricate work, following multiple characters from different factions through the war, with love, loss, politics and strategy at the fore. You can read a sample chapter HERE.
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Pictured: Zanthred makes an ill-judged public proposal to Janistor
Announcements
Of Shepherds and Mages Book 2: The Broken Land
December 13th, 2022
The wait is over! Continue Zanthred's adventure as he earns his second chance at love during the siege of the Sagacious League's capital. Meanwhile Akai is forced to adopt a lost soul as he works to make Tisenin's schemes real in foreign lands overrun by barbarian humans.
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The second book is twice as thick as the first and I'm sure you'll enjoy it twice as much!
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Now available on all major book sales websites. For example:
Of Shepherds and Mages Book 1: The Wise and the Faithful
August 9th, 2022
Ali Jon Smith is extremely proud and excited to share their latest work, the first book of his epic fantasy trilogy. A young shepherd is caught in a conflict between sorcerers who are battling to keep magic in their world at the risk of attracting demons, or on the other side, letting magic die...and probably civilization as they know it as well.
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Now available on all major book sales websites. For example:
