Stoneriver Chronicles Books in Order

The Stoneriver Chronicles show Heather Atkinson stepping away from crime and into epic fantasy. The first book, Hollowspire, drops readers into a world where two neighbouring realms, Hollowspire and Grimwulf, have been locked in civil war for two centuries and are on the brink of collapse.

When the king of Grimwulf is killed on the battlefield, his son Thorn Sigwulf is thrust into power long before he is ready. Grief-stricken and furious, he fixates on destroying Queen Ravenswell of Hollowspire, the young ruler he blames for his father’s death. Their personal vendetta threatens to prolong the bloodshed indefinitely.

That bitter feud is interrupted by an even greater threat. An army known only as The Nameless sweeps across the map, conquering realm after realm. Led by an elusive figure called The Leader, they wield a terrifying form of magic that can turn dreams into living weapons – strange creatures called ephemera, born from twisted imagination and unleashed on the battlefield.

Faced with annihilation, Thorn and Ravenswell are forced into an uneasy alliance. She carries dragon blood and a powerful magic of her own, making her both a target and the best hope their combined forces have of resisting The Nameless. The series blends large scale conflict with court politics, fragile trust between former enemies and the question of whether inherited hatred can ever really be set aside.

Readers who know Atkinson only from her gangland novels may be surprised by the dragons, sorcery and shadow armies, but her trademarks are still here – bruised leaders, complex loyalties and battles where the real cost is measured in people, not just territory.