Darren_Joy avatar Darren_Joy writer

I’m a dark epic fantasy author from Ireland, writing tales shaped by myth, metaphysics, and dark magic. I’m drawn to the darker edges of fantasy, where power always comes with a cost.

https://darrenjoy.com




Stories

Tharaxis

Tharaxis by Darren Joy

Tharaxis is the city of the dead. Within its walls, creatures known as souleaters hunt and feed. Lorn Larthuz, recently deceased, finds herself on a perilous quest to steal back the List of Souls, and end their reign of terror. Yaldo, a boy who pretends to be alive, searches for the family he may have only imagined. But when the Souleaters target him—it becomes clear they have darker plans for Yaldo. Can Lorn succeed in her bid to steal the List of Souls, and can Yaldo escape the Souleaters before he loses himself forever? Tharaxis is a dark epic fantasy tale of courage, sacrifice, and the resilience of the human spirit—even in death.


A Wrath of Souls

A Wrath of Souls by Darren Joy

Across the Spectrum of Existence, angelic hosts gather their strength. While the infamous duo, Manic and Mania, finalise their plan, a mysterious dark armada engulfs far flung lands. Threadfin Todder, recovering from a great loss, is woefully unprepared for the final battle. Struggling to relearn his magic, he knows there is no time to waste. Lucifer threatens existence itself, and will soon step on to the mortal plane. Astra Dar’s fractured soul is dominated by Lucifer, as she fights for sanity—for soon she will destroy the world, while Myral Azarm, now queen of vampires, battles a terrible bloodlust as she is caught between primal instinct and the memory of who she was. Meanwhile in Desool’s fractured kingdom, as he prepares for war, rebellion erupts in an attempt to cut out the heart of his kingship, and as Sarscha Todralan fights to save her imperium, disaster descends on her people. The final battle draws near—a desperate gambit to thwart the end of all things. Can they each defy fate, survive, and beat back the Darkness? “A Wrath of Souls” is an exciting conclusion to this dark epic fantasy tale, filled with chaos, dark magic, treachery, and death, all tempered by loyalty, friendship, and hope.


A Wretched Darkness

A Wretched Darkness by Darren Joy

Threadfin Todder, has been infected by a dark magic, and time is running out. His only hope is to find an ancient being known as the Despoiler. As his search brings him to a lost world, Threadfin discovers the cost may prove too high. Myral Azarm thought she had left her past behind, but when a name resurfaces, she’s must journey into the bowels of the underworld to find her destiny. Sarscha Todralan, the ruling imperatrix, has lost friends and family, and can’t settle into her role. When a dark witch threatens Icarthya, she must again take up the sword to defend her people. In the kingdom of Raddhon, civil war looms over the giants. Desool, the youngest son, seeks to become king. At stake is more than a throne, for the fabled Shathra Stone will belong to the victor. Four disparate paths collide in a world of magic and war as they fight for their lives and the survival of all. Will they each find the strength to overcome their past, and save the world? ‘A Wretched Darkness,’ is a high-stakes dark fantasy epic that explores the limits of good and evil, love and sacrifice, and the power of magic.


A Nefarious Grim

A Nefarious Grim by Darren Joy

Death is never the end. While the shadow of an ancient sorcerer plots to invade the world, an undead mage endeavours to stop him. With the shraeds of Tartaros continuing their relentless advance across the Spectrum, Threadfin Todder once more sets out to defeat the Grim. Meanwhile, his sister Aiyana is being hunted by an angelic assassin. She will soon make a perilous journey into the past to learn the secrets to unlocking the world’s only hope. And Sarscha Todralan, once a legend and now an irritable drunk, decides to infiltrate the enemy to foil a rebellion against the imperium. ‘A Nefarious Grim,’ is a dark epic fantasy tale stuffed with dark twists, unpredictable magic, and undead mages.


A Malignant Fetch

A Malignant Fetch by Darren Joy

The Father of Darkness and Reaper of souls, the Grim, seeks to reclaim the world, and he will stop at nothing to get it. Threadfin Todder, an imperial undead mage, is determined to get in his way. Though his magic is unreliable, his reputation questionable, his stubbornness is legendary. And, Lorn Larthuz, the thief who stole existence, walks the wasteland of another world to face the Grim and her fate. While, Myral Azarm, once a cult priestess, crosses a bleak desert to confront an ancient form of undead and the Grim’s own vengeance. As Threadfin once more confronts evil, he will discover a darkness within his own soul. ‘A Malignant Fetch,’ is a dark epic tale packed with undead creatures, snarky mages, delicious danger, and dark magic.


A Viral Imperium

A Viral Imperium by Darren Joy

A plague‑born magic is awakening inside Threadfin Todder — hungry, volatile, and impossible to control. Exiled, undead, and hunted by a relentless shapeshifter, he races across the imperium to save his sister as a horde of armoured giants marches toward the capital. When the power inside him erupts, Threadfin becomes the only force capable of stopping a terror that turns cities to ash and stone to dust. At the heart of the empire, Princess Aiyana Todralan faces a usurper possessed by a fallen angel. With the throne stolen and her people trapped beneath a rising tide of monsters, Aiyana uncovers a truth older than the empire, one that could threaten existence itself. Two lives. One corrupted empire. A darkness older than the world. A Viral Imperium is a dark epic fantasy of ancient magic, monstrous legions, and a world on the edge of annihilation.



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