Ruiner (Tellers, #1)

A political fantasy where storytelling is combat magic and ordinary people must fight against exploitation and environmental destruction.

War and physical violence have been rendered obsolete. Now tellers are pitted against each other, spinning tales out of storylight to outmaneuver the other, whether in battle, for glory, or in a bid to stave off poverty and hunger. But the teller must be careful, as a story lost in combat is lost forever—and with it, sometimes, a part of the teller.

Kell is a ritual lorist, trained in her people's legends and tradition of navigating by way of the pulsar stones across the vast and ever-changing desert. A gift from the gods, these ancient stones with their strange heartbeats are their most sacred resource. When the unthinkable happens and the imperial capital of Soogway annexes the stones, mining them for geologic resources, Kell must make her way to the city as an envoy of her clan—and reluctant combat teller, should negotiations fail.

Shade, a scrappy genderqueer street fighter of indeterminate age, is a regular of the illegal underground combat circuit, a fierce survivor of the city’s rougher spots, and a keen storyteller. When offered the chance to better their lot and train for an illustrious prize fight, Shade falls under the influence of a shadowy backer whose unorthodox techniques in story combat reveal capabilities beyond what they’d ever imagined possible. Soon, this taps something already broken in Shade.

Ruiner is the first installment of the Tellers series, an epic fantasy of colliding worldviews that demands its fighters draw on all their resources to stop an encroaching extractivist power. Lush and complex, the story wrestles with trauma, the high cost of resistance, and the nature of violence. Lara Messersmith-Glavin’s depiction of strategy and dedication in the face of despair offers us energy for the times ahead.