From Black Fires Rise: The Vicissitudes, Book 1, by Joseph Sale

Self-published, October 2026

ISBN: 9798175031677

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

If you thought author Joseph Sale was going to sit back and rest on his laurels after completing his acclaimed Carcosa series, think again. From Black Fires Rise is the start of a new fantasy series, The Vicissitudes, and it’s a real humdinger. The book has all of the excellence that marked the Carcosa books, but takes a different approach to fantasy fiction.

In the world of Erethia, Telos is a master thief, sentenced to the harshest prison in the land. After making his escape, (with a bit of help from the gods) he’s focused on fleeing, with the man known as the Warden in hot pursuit. A thief with questionable morals, he finds himself caught up in a larger plot involving the gods: their assistance with his escape comes at a price. The book follows the journey of Telos and the companions he meets along the way as they journey across the land, trying to evade the Warden and at the same time, figure out what exactly the gods expect of them.

That’s the bare bones of the story: there’s a good deal more to it, but I don’t want to give away any of the surprises. This is more of a straightforward fantasy series than Carcosa, but, as always with Joseph Sale, he’s taken the genre and created his own additions, making it a world unique to his writing. Instead of using standard races like elves and dwarves, he’s added in theronts, a unique race of human/animal crossbreeds. There is magic of a sort, but it derives from Daimonsblood, a unique fossilized fluid found in the ground. (think dinosaurs and oil, and you’ll get the idea) Sure, there are dragons, and… spaceships? Yes, you read that right, although they are called “sky-chariots” here. This is what makes the land of Erethia one of a kind, the plugging in of new ideas to a familiar genre.

Of course, none of that matters without excellent writing, and with this author, that’s par for the course. The book is a fast read, with the pacing being good enough to keep you up at night, just because you “gotta know what happens next”! The supporting characters are good enough to stand on their own merits. The tavern owner Ylia and her gigantic cougar-pet Urrgal are excellent, and the Warden is a fearsome antagonist who keeps the suspense level high, with his single-minded pursuit of Telos. In a way, this book is kind of a “chase” book. While Telos and Ylia are trying to figure out how they fit into things, there is always the specter of the Warden behind them, and he keeps the tension tight throughout the book. It’s worth noting that this is a fantasy book, as opposed to the dark fantasy of the Carcosa series, so this book is a bit light-hearted and has a little more bounce than that series. That shows up in the humorous moments that occasionally pop up. The scene where Ylia gets utterly bombed in a bar was hilarious, and Telos just has a funny way of rubbing the Warden’s face in it whenever he can. Most prisoners would be happy to just escape, but Telos can’t do it without provoking the Warden, and further enraging him. There are even a few scenes that startled me enough to make me jump in my seat a bit (one involving a giant spider), and that is NOT an easy thing for a book to do.

Bottom line is, this book is a surefire winner. Fantasy fans, you do not want to miss this one: there isn’t a chance of disappointment. Highly recommended!

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson