King’s Dark Tidings Books In Order

Publication Order of King's Dark Tidings Books

The King’s Dark Tidings is a series of fantasy fiction novels by Kel Kade. The author makes her home in Texas and sometimes works as an adjunct college professor. She has said that she loves working with young minds so that she can inspire and introduce them to the very real and fascinating world of geosciences.

Growing up, Kel lived in all manner of places as she lived the full military lifestyle. Living all over the United States, the distinctive geography and cultures instilled in her a wanderlust that has never gone away. These experiences opened her young mind to the knowledge that the Earth is wild and expansive.

Kel Kade still maintains a deep interest in spirituality, science, languages, ancient history, music, art, and cultural anthropology. This is evidenced by the richness and diversity of the cultures and places that she depicts in her novels.
She published “Free of the Darkness,” the debut novel of the “King’s Dark Tiding” series of novels in 2015 and by 2022 the series had at least 5 novels. Ever since she started publishing the series she has achieved a lot of success.

Thanks to her success with the “King’s Dark Tidings” series of novels she has been able to become a full-time author. She has become known for writing novels in which her universes span time and space, she plots the downfall of tyrannous rulers, develops criminal empires, and dives into some bizarre fantastical mystery stories.

She has said that she was first introduced to fantasy by reading the “Arthurian Saga” by Mary Stewart. She was inspired to pen her stories by how Stewart combines intelligence and magic in a way that stuck with her for years.
While Kel Kade enjoys literary fiction and mystery, what she loved best had always been fantasy fiction. Ultimately, when she decided to become a fiction author she decided to write what she loved rather than coming up with a traveling thriller or a great mystery.

“King’s Dark Tidings” by Kel Kade follows the story of Rezkin a 19-year-old. He had been brought up from birth in a remote fortress and turned into the greatest weapon in the service 0f the Kingdom of Ashai.
He was taught everything from economics to healing arts and had become a master at all of them. However, Rezkin is deficient when it comes to dealing with people since he was raised in isolation. All he knows is how to follow rules that had long ago been provided to him by his masters and teachers.

When war breaks out, he is the only one alongside another warrior that survived. As he was dying, one of his favorite masters provided him with two important rules; “kill without conscience,” and “honor and protect the king.”
But since he was in the throes of death and choking on his blood, what Rezkin heard was that he should kill with conscience and honor and protect his friends.

Enraged by the deaths at his home and seeking to find his identity, he heads out to find the man who gave orders to kill everyone he cherished and loved. He is also on a mission to find his life’s purpose.
But he is ill-prepared for the realities of a world in which almost no one follows the rules he is accustomed to.

“Free the Darkness” the debut novel of the “King’s Dark Tidings” series introduces Rezkin as a young warrior. The young man is unexpectedly sent into a world he is unfamiliar with when a tragic battle destroys everything he knew.
He has no understanding of his purpose in life and his identity, even if he has in his possession some powerful weapons that had been left to him by his master. He has only one lead which he pursues relentlessly.

He believes there was an elite enemy warrior that survived the battle who was responsible for the tragic destruction and death at his home. Rezkin needs to travel across the Ashai kingdom to find the warrior that may have clues to his identity.
While his favorite mentor had told him to honor and protect his friends and to kill with conscience, he does not have an understanding of friends or a conscience. Nonetheless, he is determined to adhere to the orders of his master.
Rezkin goes on to extend his protection to all manner of people resulting in some poignant and sometimes humorous incidents.

The second novel of the “King’s Dark Tidings” series of novels is “Reign of Madness.” Rezkin has some very particular skills that most other people do not have as he finds himself thrust into a very different world.
The young warrior continues to pursue his purpose, even as he searches for the reason for his existence and information about his identity.

Even as the hardened warrior scorns tournaments and dueling, he still believes that he could find some of the answers he needs by participating in the greatest dueling championships in “The King’s Tournament.”
He is still looking for Striker Farson, an elusive man that may have a few clues as to his identity. Rezkin and his friends then go on a journey that is full of all manner of intrigue, mystery, and danger.

Amidst an impending economic collapse in the kingdom, the actions of a tyrannical and seemingly mad king, rumors of a military draft, and a new revelation threaten to destroy all of Reskin’s plans.

“Legends of Ahn” is the third novel of the “King’s Dark Tidings” series by Kel Kade. Rezkin is working on restoring order in his homeland of Ashai ever since an attack on the King’s Tournament by the Cayde had transformed former trading partners and former allies into enemies.

With only a ragtag group of refugees and no army, Rezkin had to wrest control of the kingdom from a powerful and mad usurper.

The usurper does seem to be determined to destroy the kingdom but this may not be the only threat given that if Rezkin fails he will have violated one of his rules. He had promised to honor and protect his friends which would leave him with no honor, purpose, or country.
In this work, the author extends the world-building and shines a light on the intricate magic system that makes you want to learn more about this fantastical world.