Margins
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Steamborn
Series · 8 books · 2015-2022

Books in series

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#1

Steamborn

2015

Jacob, a tinker's apprentice and sometime thief, has lived his entire life in the mountain city of Ancora, protected by the city walls. These towering barriers keep the Deadlands creatures at bay, but the monsters move higher into the peaks every year. More and more, they breach the defenses of the Lowlands while the Highlands rest easy. A swarm overruns the walls and wreaks utter devastation on the Lowlands. Charles, the old tinker, suspects the attack may not be natural. With help from Jacob's closest friend, Alice, and Samuel, one of the city's elite spider knights, Jacob and Charles will uncover a terrible darkness at the heart of their city.
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#2

Steamforged

2016

There are old wounds in the forgotten places of the world, and some are soaked in blood. Jacob and his allies flee into the Deadlands after the fall of Ancora. Charles, the enigmatic smith, hopes to find answers in the desert city of Bollwerk that could prevent a war. Their enemies are many, and here Jacob will learn the cost of life in the Deadlands.
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#3

Steamsworn

2016

The world dies in war only to be reborn. It is the way of things, and always will be. Forged in the Deadlands crucible, and armed with the knowledge of their true enemy, Jacob, Alice, and their allies bring the fight back to Ancora. They'll liberate their homeland, or die trying. The wounds cut deep in their darkest hour, but in the end, vengeance will light their path.
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#4

Skyborn

2021

A king denied. A princess restored. A victory undone. Ancora's survival came at a great cost, and the reconstruction is an endless task for those who remain. Jacob and Alice explore what's left of the Lowlands, discovering the lost journals of Charles von Atlier in the rubble. Between those leatherbound covers, Jacob finds a secret that could help him rebuild Ancora, but first it will lead him back to the desert city of Midstream. Joining Mary on the Skysworn, Alice travels to Belldorn. There she encounters an unexpected ally, and threads of a rumor that carry her across the Crystal Sea. Pirates and rebels are just the beginning of her troubles as the King of Fel proves he has no intention of allowing the defeat in Dauschen and Ancora to go unanswered. Conflict spreads into the desert as dark forces threaten to crush all that remains of the lives Jacob and Alice once knew. To protect their people, allies new and old must stand together, or a long forgotten enemy will swallow them all.
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#5

Skyforged

2021

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#6

Skysworn

2021

Jacob and Alice have no choice but to turn their focus to Belldorn. The coastal city is paramount in the war with Fel. Without Belldorn, and the aid of Canopy’s dragonriders, all will be lost. Soon, the battle takes to the skies once more. Knowing they need all the support they can find, Mary, captain of the Skysworn, engages the same Pirate guild she turned her back on years before. The drums of war have sounded. Rumors of a resistance in Ballern draw Jacob, Alice, and Furi across the Crystal Sea. Yet as their hunt for allies continues, one truth refuses to be ignored. All paths lead to Belldorn ... and some won’t make it out alive.
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#7

Stormborn

2022

A throne claimed. A city reborn. A family broken. Thanks to the help of Jacob’s Titan Mechs, much of Belldorn survived the battle that ravaged its shores. But the war is far from over. Demands to chase Ballern’s surviving forces across the sea meet more resistance than Jacob could have imagined when Lady Katherine ignores her allies’ protests and shifts her focus to reinforcing the city. Alice knows they’ll need to grow their numbers if they’re going to stand a chance against Mordair on the other side of the Crystal Sea. Their hopes rest on Furi bringing the Skyborn into the fold. But Samuel has another plan that will take them back to where it all began … behind the towering walls of Ancora. Whether they await Mordair’s return or bring the fight to him, their survival once more depends on Jacob’s allies. As hope begins to fade … so come the Stormborn.
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#1-3

Steamborn

The Complete Trilogy

2016

A supernatural swarm. A treacherous scheme. A tinker’s apprentice may be the village’s only hope… STEAMBORN (Book 1) Jacob has yet to meet a gadget he couldn’t fix or an adventure he could resist. With trade routes to his remote Lowlands town cut off, Jacob must exchange his boyhood adventures for petty theft. After all, his wages at the tinker shop aren’t enough to pay for his father’s medicine. But it soon becomes clear why few merchants brave the nearby roads as a plague of terrifying creatures descends upon the town. With the Lowlands under siege, Jacob and his friend have no choice but to run for their lives. When their escape uncovers a terrible secret, Jacob learns there are those who’ll stop at nothing to make sure the teen takes the scandal to his grave… STEAMFORGED (Book 2) There are old wounds in the forgotten places of the world, and some are soaked with blood. Jacob and his friends fled into the Deadlands after the fall of Ancora. With the city now under the Butcher’s control, they’re going to need help if they ever hope to return home. Venturing to the desert city of Bollwerk, they seek an old ally who may hold answers that could prevent a war. But the path to Bollwerk is rife with danger. Sky needles. Fire lizards. Around each arid bend lies a new threat. Their enemies are many. Their chances... few. If they don’t find Archibald, ruler of Bollwerk, and convince him to join their cause, however, their very lives could be claimed by the desolate wasteland that calls to their souls. STEAMSWORN (Book 3) The world died, only to be reborn in war. It was the way of things, but change comes with the wind... Flanked by Bollwerk’s forces, Jacob and his friends march to the front lines of Dauschen, their sister city. There they find the armies of Fel cutting off the path to Ancora, and slaughtering any sympathizers. Jacob learned how deadly the desert could be, yet even that pales under the cloud of the coming battle. While Jacob journeys to Dauschen, Alice stays behind to focus on her training. They defeated one Deadlands warlord, but she knows they have to be ready for what’s coming. Forged in the Deadlands crucible, and armed with the knowledge of their true enemy, Jacob, Alice, and their allies bring the fight back to Ancora. Blood will be spilled. Lives will be lost. In the darkest hour, vengeance will light their path to a new era of hope.

Author

Eric R. Asher
Eric R. Asher
Author · 25 books
Eric is a former bookseller, cellist, and comic seller currently living in Saint Louis, Missouri. A lifelong enthusiast of books, music, toys, and games, he discovered a love for the written word after being dragged to the library by his parents at a young age. When he is not writing, you can usually find him reading, gaming, or buried beneath a small avalanche of Transformers.
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