Ashtadukht is a star-reckoner. The worst there's ever been.



She commands the might of the constellations... though her magic is as unpredictable as the die rolls that decide its fate. But star-reckoners are humanity's first defense against divs, so if Ashtadukht is to fulfill her duty, she must use every trick at her disposal—risks be damned.



An excuse. A lie she tells herself. All that remains of a life she should have had. She travels the empire to hunt down the div that brought her world to ruin. The longer her pursuit, the more her memories threaten to consume her. The darker her obsession becomes.



Every spell is a catastrophe waiting to happen, every div a tale of its own, every tale a thread in her tapestry of vengeance. This is the story of her path... a warning to those who would follow in her footsteps.



Ashtadukht is a star-reckoner. The worst there's ever been. Hers is no hero's journey.



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A tale of loss and misadventure in a fantasy setting inspired by the history and culture of 6th-century Sasanian Iran.



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"I'm afraid I'll overuse the word imaginative if I tried to describe what Drake has done here in the depth I want to. You haven't read a fantasy novel like this one before — almost certainly, anyway — but you should." — Irresponsible Reader



"a hard-edged version of One Thousand and One Nights" — Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews



"the ending is one of the most heartfelt conclusions I’ve read" — The Coffee Archives



"Waray is a complex creature, angry and violent but with a sweetness and vulnerability that I found deeply compelling." — The Tome & Tankard Inn



"When magic can have serious consequences I think it adds something extra to the world rather than having magic always be safe." — Weatherwax Report (Top 10 Indie-Authored Novels)



Do not be misled by the author's light hand (and occasional bad puns); this is a story with some haunting imagery and deep themes, and not one I'm going to forget quickly." — Words & Birds



"At first, the novel may seem like one grand adventure for justice and retribution, and while it most certainly is, it is also a cautionary tale of what holding onto the past can do to a person." — Door Stop Novels



"[ On Ashtadukht, the protagonist. ] I found her to be one of the more realistic female characters I've read about in a long time. She, along with the detail is what really made this book worth reading the most." — The Arched Doorway