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Legacy of Bones – Book 1
#1 on Amazon in Epic Fantasy
#1 on Amazon in Historical Fantasy
#2 on Amazon in Sword & Sorcery
“A genuinely engaging story. One that I’d recommend to fans of grimdark stories.” – The Fantasy Inn
“Definitely find this to be a great read…engaging and fun.” Feathered Quill Book Awards Judges’ Comments – Finalist 2021
The dragons vanished. The evil foe defeated. But sorcery and lore speak of resurrection… and the one with the gift to raise the dead.
Gera Staghorn is ready to begin the rest of his life. Having just completed his apprenticeship, he journeys home to check on his siblings, the first time they have been together since their parents’ tragic deaths. But their reunion is shattered when his sister is abducted for her magic, which some believe can resurrect a dark emperor.
Terrified he will lose another loved one, Gera and his alcohol-soaked brother set off in determined pursuit to rescue her. But they quickly become entangled in an ancient legend crafted from the skeletons of dragons. And with the discovery of the sinister schemes underway, the young man fears he may be forced to reveal the growing power he has kept secret all these years.
Can he save his sister in time to prevent a terrible prophecy from coming true?
Legacy of Bones is the gripping first book in the A Tale of Bone and Steel epic fantasy series. If you like gritty battles, daring heroes, and potent magic in a grimdark package, then you’ll love Kirk Dougal’s action-packed adventure.
Black Shadow Rising – Book 2
Evil’s shadow is rising…
A thousand years of waiting are about to end. Emperor Abaddon’s generals believe they have finally discovered the way to resurrect him, using a woman who may be powerful enough in saca to bring life to him again and lead them to victory. But first they need to test Keely Staghorn to see if she can be the prophesied Matra.
Keely’s brothers are trying to rescue her from that fate. Gera and Dax rush to help her escape the generals’ clutches before she is locked behind the gates of the Sacara Institute, but that nearly impossible task has suddenly become even more difficult.
While Gera comes to grips with his new responsibilities as one of the legendary Draig D’Alikar, warriors chosen by the dragon bone weapons they wield, he must try to find a way to help his sister as war begins stirring around him.
Dax’s path is no easier. He has found Keely and helps her to escape, but demons of his own making are striving to destroy the siblings’ hopes, and with them the world’s last chance for peace.
Black Shadow Rising is the second book in the A Tale of Bone and Steel series, an epic adventure filled with unforgettable characters, gritty action, and the future of the world hanging in the balance.
Wings of the Storm – Book 3
War has been unleashed…
Blood and destruction have spread over the lands from the Windward Sea to the Luhlaza Ocean. At every step, the dead emperor’s forces take cities, dethrone kings and queens, and leave death in their wake.
Keely Staghorn has been swept up in the rising war. She took the dragon eye test and passed, proving herself powerful enough to be named the Matra, the mother of the resurrected emperor. Keely feels herself being trapped by the events swirling around her and, despite her abilities, she feels hopeless to escape.
Gera and his Draig D’Alikar brothers are the only thing standing between the people and everlasting defeat. But at every turn, they are met by overwhelming forces. Even as Gera embraces his saca, leading his few allies to battle victories, they continue to lose the war. Their slim hopes rest on the power still living in their dragon bone weapons and the prophetic ramblings of a mad man one thousand years earlier.
Yet, one question no one appears able to answer is why Emperor Abaddon wanted to destroy the kingdoms in the first place.
Wings of the Storm is the third book in the A Tale of Bone and Steel series, an epic fantasy adventure filled with unforgettable characters, gritty action, and the future of the world hanging in the balance.
Joiner of Bones – Book 4
When the people need them the most, their mightiest warriors have been torn apart.
Gera Staghorn is winning battles, but the war with the dead emperor’s army is spinning out of control. He is still growing into his role as a leader but one of his Draig D’Alikar brothers has lost his sword, another has died, and a third is losing his mind. Now their home is under siege with little chance of driving off the enemy.
But all hope is not lost. Gera and the other D’Alikars are searching for the meaning to an ancient prophecy that named a savior who could defeat the emperor. With his magic and dragon bone sword, he might be the answer. But the enemy is also looking for their own clues that will pave the way for the emperor’s rebirth.
Will Gera discover if he is the Joiner of Bones and destroy the enemy before the kingdoms and magic are lost?
Joiner of Bones is the exciting fourth book in the A Tale of Bone and Steel epic fantasy series. If you like gritty battles, daring heroes, and potent magic in a grimdark package, then you’ll love Kirk Dougal’s action-packed adventure.
Dragonkiller – Book 5
Keely Staghorn is trapped in a gilded prison.
The resurrected emperor’s power expands and threatens to overwhelm her. His armies capture more kingdoms every day, forcing survivors to worship his religion or face torture. Others are marched into caves to become slaves for his allies, never seeing sunlight again.
The Draig D’Alikar warriors are scattered to the winds, battling the enemy on several fronts.
Keely’s brother, Gera D’Alikar, having already defeated two of the emperor’s sorcerers, chases a third in a desperate attempt to save their homes. Two other legends fight the emperor’s forces in losing battles while Sanchere D’Alikar searches for the dragons to beg for their help in the war.
But the D’Alikars are so far away, and the watcher whispers in Keely’s head, pulsing with rage and mounting power.
And the voice is growing louder.
Can she escape before the emperor is reborn?
DRAGONKILLER is the gripping fifth book in the A Tale of Bone and Steel epic fantasy series. If you like gritty battles, daring heroes, and potent magic in a grimdark package, then you will love Kirk Dougal’s action-packed adventure.
Path of Shadows – Book 6
Gera D’Alikar has failed the western kingdoms.
The greatest warrior of the legendary D’Alikar caste, he now lives his life in an enemy cage, tortured to within a hair of his death. The kingdoms’ armies continue to fight without him, when they stop bickering with each other, but they lose ground and lives with every battle.
Emperor Abaddon continues his march forward, playing country against country, king against queen, and defeating all those with the courage to stand up to his forces. With Gera’s capture, his dream of finally killing the last of the dragons and taking all their magic for himself is within his grasp.
Gera is not the only Draig D’Alikar still alive, however. The others search desperately for him, betting their own lives and the fate of the kingdoms on bringing him back into the fight. Even Clark Miller, the young man Gera swore to protect from harm, scours the countryside for clues to where Gera is being kept, joined by a crazy old man who rambles incoherently about signs and dreams.
But even if the D’Alikars and his friends find Gera alive, will he still have the power to steer war away from the darkness?
PATH OF SHADOWS is the exciting sixth book in the A Tale of Bone and Steel epic fantasy series. If you like gritty battles, daring heroes, and potent magic in a grimdark package, then you will love Kirk Dougal’s action-packed adventures.
Flight of the Dragonlord – Book 7
Flight of the Dragonlord – Amazon
Gera D’Alikar has killed another of the emperor’s favored magic users and escaped the sadistic torture that almost convinced him to surrender his fight against the evil leader’s rebirth. With the help of Lizza Percle and her niece, Chara, the trio desperately tries to find their way back to his D’Alikar brothers and rally the kingdoms in the war.
Emperor Abaddon and his armies continue to destroy anyone who stands in his way as he prepares for his rebirth. Those kingdoms in the east who have not bent their knee to his rule now fall beneath his swords. He is left with only one more great task before he breathes again for the first time in more than a thousand summers: Kill the ancient dragon who lives in the temple at the heart of the Faramor mountains. When that deed is done, Abaddon and his followers know there will be no one left to stop his arrival.
But word is already spreading about a new danger, an army of refugees fed up with the war, the D’Alikars, magic users, and dragon worshipers. The merciless horde kills any they believe have been touched by the power, leaving a bloody trail behind them as they head north to a lone city on the frontier where a faithful group of dragon worshipers is rumored to have done the impossible and summoned a dragon for their protection.
The whispers also reach Gera. But to him, they do not just tell of a dragon, but a story of one of his family in jeopardy. Now he must choose between attempting to save the kingdoms from the emperor or rescuing someone he loves.
FLIGHT OF THE DRAGONLORD is the exciting seventh book in the A Tale of Bone and Steel epic fantasy series. If you like gritty battles, daring heroes, and potent magic in a grimdark package, then you will love Kirk Dougal’s action-packed adventures.
Roar of Dragons – Book 8
“The blood and death never reach my nose. The decaying bodies never touch my sight. Their cries fall short of my ears. I’m thinking about how this war and the killing have become all that I am.”
Gera D’Alikar is the last hope for many of those attacked by Emperor Abaddon and his armies. For others, he is a harbinger of death.
The Pure, the fanatics led by Gera’s insane brother, Dax, continue waging war against everyone who has anything to do with magic—Emperor Abaddon, the dragons and their worshipers, but most especially Gera and the Draig D’Alikar warriors. Having already murdered Gera’s infant son and a city filled with true believers, Dax drives his force south across his former homeland toward his brother.
For his part, Gera’s concern with his duty to protect all the kingdoms is rivaled only by his desperation to find Gini and their unborn son before Dax and The Pure. When he and his brother finally meet, the winner will be the only one standing who can defeat Emperor Abaddon.
Their fight and the emperor’s armies continue to draw all the kingdoms’ attention away from Abaddon as he proceeds towards his coronation ceremony where a sacrificial ritual will give him complete control of magic…and the world.
Meanwhile, the whispers grow louder in Gera’s head, voices telling him to gather the dragons together for battle, a meeting, a ROAR OF DRAGONS.
ROAR OF DRAGONS is the exciting eighth book in the A Tale of Bone and Steel epic fantasy series. If you like gritty battles, daring heroes, and potent magic in a grimdark package, then you will love Kirk Dougal’s action-packed adventures.
The Last Dragonlord – Book 9
Control of magic and the world hangs in the balance.
Final war has arrived.
The eastern kingdoms have already fallen to Emperor Abaddon’s reign while the ragtag remains of armies in the west fight to keep what little land they hold to protect their people. Some battle death and destruction, facing genocide fueled by Abaddon’s rage, while others negotiate with his allies, granting free passage and aid in a futile attempt to remain out of the war.
Gera D’Alikar, the world’s best hope of defeating Emperor Abaddon, has beaten another of the evil leader’s black Chosens with the help of the dragons. But the effort cost him nearly everything. Now, he wanders without memory or purpose in the darkness beyond the Path of Shadows, attacked by ghosts of the past and beings who know his only way to victory is through their deaths.
With the help of Ki, the mother of dragons and giver of magic, Gera must escape the abyss to gather the mythical creatures and D’Alikar swords to unleash THE LAST DRAGONLORD and defeat the emperor in a fight prophesied to kill him and destroy magic forever.
THE LAST DRAGONLORD is the exciting conclusion in the A Tale of Bone and Steel epic fantasy series. If you like gritty battles, daring heroes, and potent magic in a grimdark package, then you will love Kirk Dougal’s action-packed adventures.
