The Path Forward is Painted Yellow

...the final arc in the "Barbarians of the Storm" saga lures in the old ones

I had planned to take more time off between Devil Killer Fenrik and the next book, the 9th overall in the Barbarians of the Storm series, as well as the beginning of the third and final story arc for the saga. However, the creative brain’s engine is revving pretty f’n hard and I cannot simply tell it to give it a rest. So, the early prep for the biggest story in the next book has already begun. In fact, I have already come up with the title and designed the book’s cover. This is not something I ever do before actually writing anything, but I guess I am ready to get back to work because I am really excited to finally reach the final entries in this lengthy saga.

Let me share something I tweeted on X and then expand on it:

In Devil Killer Fenrik (and also in The Cosmonaut's Odyssey short story from A Crown of Furious Color) a massive eldritch entity was encountered. In these cases, they were my own creations and amalgamations of several other entities of Lovecraftian lore. However, a widely known eldritch entity that has been crafted over time by many writers makes a significant appearance in the next book. In fact, this character serves as an important messenger and quest giver to Erzulyn (and Vasilia who will join her).

I should also mention that the God of Eyes (the big bad in An Axe to Eat the Gods) was also an original eldritch creation of mine, who was also seen as far back as the short story The Fall of the Black Cathedral, which appeared at the end of the second book, Atomic Beasts and Where to Kill Them. There are a few other eldritch-esque things throughout the Barbarians of the Storm saga, as well.

Anyway, the exploration of larger, darker cosmic horror was something that I always wanted to dive into much more in the saga’s final act. In my heart, I have always been a horror fan, even more so than all the other things in the larger pulp fiction spectrum. Cosmic horror and body horror have always been the most terrifying subgenres to me as well, and it is damn near impossible for me to not include elements of them in my adventure tales.

Now that I am really going to unleash the cosmic horror side, I feel like I am more excited about this final stretch of stories than the two arcs I crafted before them. Building the foundation was a lot of fun and a hell of a challenge. But… I am here now, I am where I always intended to be with this sprawling epic. Each of the 22 tales I wrote up to this point had a purpose. They all tie to the larger narrative, as I built a sturdy platform to present this final act of the serialized saga.

The metaphorical “storm” of Barbarians of the Storm is where we are now at. The storm is a three-way dance between Lucifer and his forces, emerging eldritch entities who started paying attention, and heroes who are becoming gods themselves. There is also the added element of mutinous devils who no longer align with Lucifer and who are now aligning with the mortal world and its heroes. Ultimately, everything in the known and unknown universe is going to clash.

Man, I can’t wait to get these next set of books done and released out into the world. As Pinhead once said, “We (I) have such sights to show you.”