Most Recommended Books

Track reading, wishlists & new-book alerts

Get
Skip to content
Share:

Ben Galley Books in Order

Browse Ben Galley books in order, with quick summaries, series guides, reading order help, and easy where-to-start tips across his fantasy worlds.

Last updated: July 8, 2026

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).

View

Publication Order

Sort:

23 books

The Written

by Ben Galley

2010

When an ancient spellbook disappears and scholars turn up dead, the magick council sends battlemage Farden after it. His search across icy Emaneska uncovers political lies, old enemies, and a secret that could unmake the world.

Pale Kings

by Ben Galley

2012

Winter bites harder, war creeps closer, and the Pale Kings begin to rise. While Farden digs into his past, Emaneska's fragile hopes are tested by politics, deception, dragons, and something worse than war.

Dead Stars - Part One

by Ben Galley

2013

Written mages are being hunted and skinned, and a strange girl may be the spark that breaks Emaneska for good. As magick surges and fear spreads, everyone keeps asking the same thing: where is Farden?

Dead Stars - Part Two

by Ben Galley

2013

Farden heads north toward the Spine, where fire, ice, and cataclysm are about to collide. While cities crack from greed and panic behind him, Emaneska's champion must choose what he is willing to sacrifice.

Bloodrush

by Ben Galley

2014

When Prime Lord Hark is murdered, his young son Merion is sent to the brutal frontier town of Fell Falls, Wyoming. There he finds fae, railwraiths, family secrets, and a murder mystery tied to his own blood.

Shelf Help

by Ben Galley

2014

Ben Galley's nonfiction guide walks writers through the DIY side of self-publishing, from editing and design to distribution and marketing. It's practical, beginner-friendly, and built around keeping creative control.

The Written Graphic Novel

by Ben Galley

2014

This graphic retelling of The Written throws Farden into a hunt for a stolen spellbook that could topple Emaneska. It keeps the original's dragons, magick, and betrayals, now in bold visual form.

Bloodmoon

by Ben Galley

2015

Merion Hark heads east across the Endless Land hoping to get home, but old scores and new enemies are hunting him. With his strange found family beside him, everything points toward a reckoning under the Bloodmoon.

Bloodfeud

by Ben Galley

2016

After the Bloodmoon, Merion Hark returns to London with revenge on his mind and the empire hanging in the balance. To bring down Lord Dizali and the Order, he must trust a dangerous ally and finish the fight in blood.

The Heart of Stone

by Ben Galley

2017

Task is a golem built for war, sold yet again to another master and another hopeless conflict. As Hartlund tears itself apart, this ancient killing machine begins to wonder whether even stone can change.

Chasing Graves

by Ben Galley

2018

Master locksmith Caltro Basalt arrives in Araxes and is murdered on his first night. In a city where the rich own ghosts, he must win back his freedom while gods, cults, and rivals fight for the throne.

Breaking Chaos

by Ben Galley

2019

Araxes tips into chaos as the fight for the emperor's throne reaches its end. Caltro, Nilith, and their allies face cults, killers, and a city unraveling while an even darker omen spreads beneath their feet.

Grim Solace

by Ben Galley

2019

Ghost thief Caltro Basalt escapes one master only to land deeper in Araxes' vicious power games. With the dead gods whispering and old enemies circling, freedom starts to look possible, and more dangerous than ever.

No Fairytale

by Ben Galley

2019

Years after the Last War, peace in Emaneska turns out to be mostly a lie. When a young girl with forbidden magick is swept into the violence beneath the empire, the old world's wounds open all over again.

The Forever King

by Ben Galley

2020

When an illegal spellbook washes ashore, young Mithrid Fenn is pulled from a quiet coastal life into rebellion, daemons, and outlaw war. In a land where magick is banned, revenge may be the only thing keeping her alive.

Heavy Lies the Crown

by Ben Galley

2021

Stranded in strange eastern lands, Farden and Mithrid hunt a weapon that might kill a god. Back in Emaneska, survivors search for safety while nightmares, warlords, and old enemies close in.

Demon’s Reign

by Ben Galley

2022

Tarko Terelta is a nobody until a demon invasion binds him to a power he can barely control. To save Shal Gara, he must walk a thin line between hero and monster.

The Iron Keys

by Ben Galley

2022

Before his legend is made, a young Farden marches into the Marshes of Efjar with the Iron Keys regiment. Minotaur clans, murderous bogs, and a brutal first campaign test him fast.

The Weaver & The Wyrm

by Ben Galley

2022

Exiled to Albion, a younger Farden hopes for a quieter life and gets the opposite. A mission to recover a dangerous weapon turns into a chase involving a grifter, a hunter, and a very deadly wyrm.

A Feast For Wolves

by Ben Galley

2023

Long before Farden's story, Written mages Tyrfing and Beleketh race to stop a murder near the Siren border from starting a war. It's a sharp prequel about betrayal, winter, and old tensions in Emaneska.

Demon's Rage

by Ben Galley

2024

After Shal Gara, the war for the Swathe only gets worse. Tarko and Serisi must face spreading lies, fresh demonic danger, and the terrifying pull of the power growing between them.

To Kill a God

by Ben Galley

2024

Peace in Emaneska barely has time to breathe before old shadows return and Ragnarok looms. Mithrid and Farden must gather allies, answer impossible demands, and face a final battle with no room for failure.

New

Demon's Ruin

by Ben Galley

2026

The Swathe is heading for a final stand as chaos spreads and a new demon king rises. Tarko and Serisi must unite a fractured world before history repeats in the worst possible way.

Where should I start?

If you want the full Emaneska journey: The WrittenPale KingsDead Stars - Part OneDead Stars - Part Two
If you want dark fantasy first: Chasing GravesGrim SolaceBreaking Chaos
If you want a standalone first: The Heart of Stone
If you want weird west fantasy: BloodrushBloodmoonBloodfeud
If you want the later Emaneska sequel arc: The Forever KingHeavy Lies the CrownTo Kill a God

Author bio

Ben Galley grew up around fantasy early. Born in England, he spent part of his childhood in Scotland and later lived on the south coast of England. He has said that writers like Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and the Brothers Grimm were a big part of his reading life, and that mix of myth, monsters, and old stories still turns up all through his work.

He started young, too, writing a trio of unpublished monkey novels before he was even out of his early teens.

Writing was not a straight road. He briefly aimed at the Royal Air Force, quickly realised military life was not for him, and then spent his late teens more focused on music. He studied bass, kept playing it, and only around age twenty came back to the idea that had been waiting for him for years, getting paid to make stories up.

That choice led to The Written, the first Emaneska novel. He wrote it while working regular jobs in bars, restaurants, and even a pasty kiosk, then took the independent route and published it himself in 2010. That practical, figure-it-out-yourself streak became a defining part of his career, both as a novelist and as someone who thinks hard about how books actually reach readers.

A lot of readers first meet him through Emaneska, his cold, dragon-filled fantasy world of Written mages, old gods, and brutal politics. But he has never stayed in one lane for long. Bloodrush leans into weird west fantasy, all dust, fae, railways, and blood magic. The Heart of Stone goes in a different direction, following an immortal war golem who has seen too much violence and would very much like the world to surprise him for once. Then Chasing Graves shifts again, dropping readers into a desert city where ghosts are property and death is only the start of your problems. Later, The Forever King returns to the Emaneska world with a harder, later-age feel and a new lead in Mithrid Fenn.

Across those books, some of Galley's favourite pressure points keep showing up. Power is useful, but it always asks for something back. Empires lie. Old magic never stays tidy. The people who matter most are often thieves, exiles, soldiers, monsters, or half-broken survivors rather than clean-cut heroes. Even when the stories get dark, there is usually a streak of dry humour and a soft spot for found family, uneasy loyalty, and characters trying to stay human while the world gives them every reason not to.

The awards side followed the work. Bloodrush was the bloggers' favourite in the first Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off and also won Library Journal's Indie eBook of the Year for fantasy. The Heart of Stone won the Booknest Fantasy Award for Best Self-Published Novel in 2017.

He also turned his indie experience outward.

Through Shelf Help, Galley has spent years advising other writers on self-publishing and marketing, and he has spoken at book fairs, universities, and writing events in the UK and beyond. He has also worked as a Guardian Masterclass tutor. These days he lives in Victoria, British Columbia, where the outdoor life clearly suits him. When he is not writing, he still plays bass, takes photos and videos, travels, and gets out into the wild whenever he can. That feels fitting for a writer whose books care so much about weather, rough landscapes, and the dangerous things living inside them.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

Comments

Did we miss something? Have feedback?

Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts

We only use your email to notify you about replies.

All comments are moderated.

Discover and track your reading on the go

Track your reading, manage wishlists, and get notified when new books are added.