The Talents Trilogy (Steven Price) Books in Order

The Talents Trilogy is Steven Price's dark historical fantasy series, published under the name J.M. Miro. It takes place in an alternate 1880s world of gaslit cities, remote Scottish landscapes, hidden societies, and a dangerous realm close to the world of the dead.

The story starts in Ordinary Monsters with Charlie Ovid and Marlowe, two children whose powers have made ordinary life impossible. Charlie has an ability to heal from almost any injury, while Marlowe gives off a blue light and carries a gift that is both wondrous and frightening. They are being taken toward Cairndale Institute, a refuge for children known as Talents.

Cairndale, near Edinburgh, gathers young people with abilities that other people cannot explain. Komako can manipulate dust. Ribs can become unseen. The Institute offers the possibility of safety and belonging, but it also has a troubled history and adults with secrets. The children need protection, yet they cannot assume every grown-up who offers help has their interests at heart.

Being different is dangerous here.

The first book follows several characters whose routes eventually meet, including the agents sent to find Charlie and Marlowe. A hostile figure made of smoke is already hunting them, and the journey reveals that the Talents' gifts are linked to a much larger threat. The boundary between life and death is weakening, bringing strange creatures and old dangers closer.

In Bringer of Dust, Cairndale has been damaged, Marlowe is missing, and the other Talents must look for a way to bring him back. Their search takes them beyond Scotland and into a wider world of criminal networks, lost places, bone witches, corrupted dust, and enemies who want control of what lies beyond death. The stakes grow, but the series stays focused on the children and the trust they build with one another.

Readers should expect a big cast and a slow-unfolding mystery, alongside supernatural danger and Victorian atmosphere. The mood can be grim, but it is not all darkness. Friendship, loyalty, and the hard-won feeling of being understood give the books their center. Begin with Ordinary Monsters, then read Bringer of Dust.