Shami Stovall Books In Order

Publication Order of Astra Academy Books

Publication Order of Frith Chronicles Books

Publication Order of The Half-Life Empire Books

Publication Order of The Kirin Arcanist Books

Publication Order of Nexus Games Books

Publication Order of The Sorcerers of WWI Books

Publication Order of The Star Marque Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Shami Stovall is an American award-winning author of crime, fantasy, and science fiction books. She draws her influences from famous popular authors such as Stephen King and Robert A. Heinlein. Shami was born in Utah and spent her childhood in California with her brother and their mother. After high school, she attended Stanislaus State University, earning a history BA and a Juris Doctorate from Laurance Drivon School of Law. Shami’s favorite book as a child was Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. The book opened up her imagination to the one she never imagined. As an adult, her favorite book is Stranger in a Stranger, authored by Robert A. Heinlein, which again opened her mind to the possibilities she never imagined, thanks to the author’s take on a perfect world. When not writing, you will find Shami Stovall playing video games, storytelling, and reading.

Knightmare Arcanist is the first book in the Frith Chronicles series by Shami Stovall. We are introduced to Gravedigger Volke Savan, who wants only to live a life similar to his hero, the famous magical swashbuckler Gregory Ruma. But before anything else, he has to become an arcanist with the power to contain magic, requiring him to bond with a mythical creature. But for Volke, he will do whatever it takes, even if it means connecting with a griffin, Pegasus, or a ravenous hydra.
So, when he comes across a Knightmare, a creature composed of shadow and terror, he has no skepticism. But the Knightmare is all aware of a dark secret: Ruma is a killer to spread his corrupted magic throughout the nation. He has already murdered several phoenixes and intends to slaughter thousands more. Volke will have to face off against a man he considers his hero to protect his home and his family from afar. This is a fast-paced fantasy novel featuring a cast of magical creatures and is ideal for anyone who enjoys Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan and Jim Butcher, Unsouled (Cradle Series) by Will Wight.

If you’re a reader of fantasy books, one question you wouldn’t miss about Shami Stovall’s series debut novel is, what makes Knightmare Arcanist unique? First and foremost, this book sets up a character and a magical world that will carry forward to the rest of the books in the series. The story excels in immersing the readers, first in the island of Ruma, where the main character Ruma is a resident, and later on the mainland, which he visits. The main character also gets sufficient screen time to show the readers the story as it unfolds. In addition, the protagonist has a checkered past; the people close to him have consistently judged him for his parents were criminals.

Volke was raised by the only person in town who cared for him, William the Gravekeeper. He grows up with one goal- to prove he has whatever it takes to be a hero and defy the townspeople’s expectations. He thinks the best way to prove them wrong is to become an arcanist, and the journey to his life purpose begins at 15 years.

This novel feature two distinct age ranges. We have 15-year-olds and people who are centuries old, but it puts the teens forward as adults due to their world’s coming-of-age period. The book is also set up to a greater series and set in a world larger than we’ve seen, so plenty of tropes are introduced. For instance, pirates are heavily talked about in the backstory but seen on the screen once. This paves the way for more pirate plots in the later books in the series.

Academy of Arcanist is the first book in the Astra Academy series by Shami Stovall. Grey is unwilling to continue living on the little island where he resides or follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a candlemaker. He has been experiencing nightmares in which he gets assaulted by puppet monster spiders and wakes up with wounds. Naturally, his stepmother and father don’t believe his tales. He encounters Professor Helmith in his nightmares. He chooses when she shields him and informs him of the Astra Academy, where she teaches magic. He will go there, but he must wait till he is 15 years old.

A few days after turning 15, he and his identical brother leave for the academy. Since they don’t have many options on their island for bonding with magical beings, they hope to discover one at the menagerie located below the academy.

The story’s menagerie segment, including the supernatural creatures, is nicely written. Read more about each animal and how each one’s Trials of Worth, which a person must pass to be deemed bondable, differ from one another. Bonds last a lifetime and strengthen each party. Once more, Stovall’s vivid imagination creates a universe that combines enchantment, optimism, dreams, and horrors.

The Academy Arcanist is set in a world where each person with magic is bound to a mythical creature. This world is filled with griffins, unicorns, and every magical being looking to bond. These beings choose few people to participate in a Trial of Worth, and even fewer individuals succeed in their tests. Gray must first climb a very tough hill to link with a creature—and to bond with one over the other candidates who were born into arcanist households and got years of additional training.
If you like reading about magic schools, you should read this book. The characters Gray and Sorin encounter while trying to get admission to the school will have you hooked to the story to the last page. It strikes the ideal mix between the “planned obstacles to get into magic school” and the “unplanned adventures due to students trying to figure out what’s happening.” The narrative is told from a first-person point of view. It can be read without having finished Shami Stovall’s previous book series, the Frith Chronicles, as it explains several bits of world-building and makes some bits of allusion to the war in the first series.