Award-winning author Jared Pechaček takes us to a vast salt desert where wars are fought over water, a flaming angel brings judgment, and the only hope for mercy is a feral girl who knows nothing of her destiny.



Once, there were seas. Then the god of fire came. He defeated water, and under his rule the world has burned. The survivors live in the wasteland called the Salt, a vast desert where water is priceless and lives are cheap.

The Mother of Waters promised she’d return to save humanity, reborn into the world she lost generation after generation. She promised to die for us, and bring a flood to quench the world’s thirst. Unfortunately, at the moment of greatest need, the Church lost track of her. The promised child was lost, raised by robotic scavengers, ignorant of her destiny. That feral messiah is now in the hands of a ragtag crew of fugitives with no plan to save anything but themselves.

Tomas is a pyric, blessed with the divine gift of fire and burdened with a stolen airship. At the helm are Three and Four, twin cyborg navigators who escaped the wreckage of their last vessel and now long for freedom from the August Union that created them. On their tail is Violet, chief paladin of the church of water, intent on bringing the messiah to her destiny. And in their cargo hold is the girl who can call lightning and bring rainstorms. Her life could save the rest of humanity.

What is that girl’s life worth in this dried-up world?

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Praise for this book

“A beautifully constructed journey through a world unraveling at the seams. Pechaček expertly spins both a divinely-tinged fantasy and post-apocalyptic science fiction wasteland into a single coherent thread, spooling out a fast-paced story that will leave you feeling as strange as the world he created.” —Isabel J. Kim, Nebula and Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of Sublimation

“The most original, emotionally honest, and gripping novel I have read in years! Massive kudos to Mr. Pechaček!” —Glen Cook, author of The Black Company

“A vivid, engrossing quest with a clever, intricate world and characters I got thoroughly invested in, played out atop an often grim and yet deeply humane story.” —Kate Elliott, New York Times bestselling author of The Nameless Land



Praise for The West Passage

Winner of the Crawford Award!

Shortlisted for the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize!

Shortlisted for the Endeavor Award!

Nominated for the Locus Award!

A Finalist for the Washington State Book Award!

“The West Passage is a dangerous book of secrets. It is the singular agony of a delicious dream half-recalled. Its shadows are colonized with the gorgeous, the grotesque, and the forgotten — and now you are a vital link in their remembrance.” —Travis Baldree, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Legends & Lattes

“A weird and wonderful tale, rich with imagination and utterly unique; Pechaček has crafted a literary gem of a novel.” —Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters

“Emotionally tender, thematically rich, and creatively stunning, The West Passage is a singular achievement in fantasy writing.” —J.T. Greathouse, author of the Pact and Pattern series

“This is one of the finest fantasies of this decade, a sweeping storm of fiercely human creativity to drown the pallid temptations of our era's algorithmic storytelling.” —Indra Das, author of The Devourers

“The West Passage is consistently wondrous; the reader turns each page knowing they will encounter something wholly new....Strange things, lovely things and horrific things all blend together in a fable-like narrative of deceptive simplicity.” —BookPage, starred review

“Vividly depicted, decidedly peculiar...a curious, but curiously charming, allegory of a world in crisis.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Fantastical world building and mind-blowing mythos... The West Passage is a spellbinding debut that cannot be missed.” —Booklist, starred review

“The West Passage is an absorbing tale of political intrigue, touching comings-of-age, and a mind-bending phantasmagoria.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review

“Pechaček is unafraid to mix sweet whimsy with horror, which keeps readers’ tension high as they’re immersed in this fearsomely lovely realm.” —Library Journal, starred review

“The West Passage is one of the most original and enjoyable fantasies I’ve encountered in ages…The world of this book is an astonishing delight.” —Jake Casella Brookins for Locus

“Underneath The West Passage's pretty exterior is an utterly strange and alien landscape that is captivating, capricious, and full of dark places. Endlessly fascinating, beautifully written, and sublimely weird.” —Jenn Lyons, author of the Chorus of Dragons series

“A deep and meditative fantasy that fans of the weird and wild will thoroughly enjoy.” —R.R. Virdi, author of The First Binding




About the AuthorJared Pechaček is an artist and writer based in Seattle, Washington. He is also a host of the Tolkien podcast By-The-Bywater. When he’s not doing any of that, he’s cooking, baking, or sewing something to wear to the opera. Jared’s first novel The West Passage won the Crawford award.
Title: Where Fire Reigns
Author(s): Jared Pechaček
ISBN: 9781250445803
Copyright 2027
Release Date: February 02, 2027
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
Countries: United States, Canada | Learn more about available countries
Language: English
Format: None available | Learn More about our supported formats
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