Dave Rudden Books In Order

Publication Order of Knights of the Borrowed Dark Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Doctor Who Short Stories/Novellas

Dave Rudden is a science fiction and fantasy author from Ireland, who has made a name for himself with the “Knights of the Borrowed Dark” series. He loves to call himself a tall and loud author from West Cavan with a love for fajitas, video games, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and getting into mischief. He also loves to sing and dances and draws a little. Born on Valentine’s Day his parents considered naming him Valentine but decided not to, something which he is happy they never did. During his early twenties Rudden worked as a teacher until he published his first critically acclaimed novel “Knights of the Borrowed Dark” when he was twenty-six. He currently writes novels about hideous monsters and high-strung teenagers that confront them. He also teaches creative writing to aspiring writers across the globe.

Before he became an author Dave worked in the story telling, spoken word, and Dublin theater scene since 2010, and was a frequent fixture on “The Works”, “Culture Night”, “Electric Picnic”, “Shore Writers’ Festival”, “The Monday Echo”, “Bang Bang Forty Coats”, and “Milk & Cookies”. His poetry and short fiction has been published in anthologies such as “Duck and Maids of the Sea”, “Under the Stairs and Shoes”, “Dam Fairies, and in journals such as “Minus 9 and Poddle”, “the Quotable”, and “Bare Hand”s. He is also the author of the “Brain Drain Baby” of the “Nightmare Club” series. His fiction has won several awards including the 2013 Short Story Prize by Fantasy Book Review, and a nomination for the Hennessy New Writing Prize. While he has achieved a lot in his career he wen through the usual rejections and had to submit his work to anthologies and journals before he got his first full novel accepted for publishing. With several short stories and poems under his belt he went to UCD for his Masters in Creative Writing, before signing on with Clare Wallace, from where he wrote his first novel “Knights of the Borrowed Dark” in 2016. His debut novel was the first chapter of a novel he was writing for his masters homework, which his instructor so loved that he showed it to Darley Anderson Children’s Agency’s Clare Wallace, who immediately signed him on.

Dave Rudden writes in a creative writing style creating vivid images that explode in fantastic settings, where his lovable characters engage in interesting dialogue. What makes his novels so great is that he does not give overly verbose descriptions of his characters thus allowing the reader to create their own version of the characters. “Knights of the Borrowed Dark” the first novel of the series defines fantasy literature with it dark and excellent depiction of Dublin. Rudden writes about complex characters that are evil and good that makes it so easy to relive childhood nightmares. In fact the lead character Denizen is the type of character that one would love to be proud of for his courage and strength in one moment, then protect and hug for his vulnerability in the next. In the second novel of the series Forever Court, Rudden excellence in showcasing the Irish culture from a fantasy fiction perspective continues to shine through. Denizen continues to learn about his city and take on responsibilities while taking his reader on a tour of his home city of Dublin. The novel comes with exhilarating action scenes to titillate the senses and immerse the reader into a totally new world. The novel culminates in an exciting cliffhanger that sets the stage for the third novel of the series.

“Knights of the Borrowed Dark” the first novel of the series is a book about Denizen Hardwick, a thirteen year old boy that was orphaned when he was only two years old. However, despite spending most of his childhood in an orphanage he has made a good life of himself with his extraordinary magical powers. He has spent much of his childhood reading fantasy novels at the Cerosscaper Orphanage, until a person that claims to be his aunt sends someone to pick him up. His dull life now becomes exciting when the man sent by his aunt arrives to take him to the aunt he never knew he had. From the time he gets into the stranger’s car, he knows his life will never be the same. He soon learns that the birthday he has been celebrating for all these thirteen years had been a lie and that he is destined to fight against dark forces for the rest of his life if he wanted to stay with his aunt. An encounter with a ghoulish creature gets him to learn about a new world as he is taken on a tour of Serephin Row. It is at the mysterious Row that he discovers about people that fight dark creatures and call themselves Knights of the Borrowed Dark. He then gets an enlightenment experience when he meets his aunt and her darkness fighting knights who tell him that they want him to join them. It is a great career path but will he give his life to a cause he knows nothing about?

“The Forever Court” is the sequel to the first novel of the “Knights of the Borrowed Dark” series of novels by Dave Rudden. Set a few months after the events of the first novel, it opens to Denizen still trying to reconcile himself to living with a mother that had abandoned him in an orphanage as a toddler so that she could go on a revenge mission that was for all intents and purposes suicidal. Denizen learns that he has more than seventy magical powers that he can use to do whatever he wants. However, using magic typically has severe consequences. Denizen fancies Mercy the daughter of the king of a neighboring realm, who has been sent to negotiate peace with the Knights of the Borrowed Dark. Rudden introduces Uriel Croit a man with magical powers that worships the Redemptress and lives on a secret island. The Redemptress is on a quest to conquer the world forcing an unlikely alliance between Uriel and Denizen. Full of knights, mystery, magic, and a hint of romance it is a great fantasy adventure novel full of twists and turns that will leave the reader enthralled.