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Shadows in the Monastery
Rain—son of an ill-tempered farmer and long-suffering mother—has an obscure magical gift. That and a lingering nightmare fuel his desire to join a monastery of occult martial artists. Against his mother’s objection, he convinces his father to help him join the monastery and runs headfirst into a thorny divide between the noble-blooded and lowborn monks. Scraped, bloody, and broken, Rain must endure.
Preceptor Chaya—a wandering monk of royal blood—is impressed by Rain upon his arrival. Chaya begins teaching him shadowcraft in private. Yet shadowcraft is a trustless trade. It leads to sudden exits and bottomless shadows.
As Rain comes of age, he’s faced with the unsettling realization that his magical ability has nothing to do with Shaktar—the monks’ power. Grave choices, daring rescues, and otherworldly visions will both challenge and drive the growth of Rain’s power. And it seems the dark force lingering in his nightmares may be all too real, and much closer than Rain thinks.
Preceptor Chaya—a wandering monk of royal blood—is impressed by Rain upon his arrival. Chaya begins teaching him shadowcraft in private. Yet shadowcraft is a trustless trade. It leads to sudden exits and bottomless shadows.
As Rain comes of age, he’s faced with the unsettling realization that his magical ability has nothing to do with Shaktar—the monks’ power. Grave choices, daring rescues, and otherworldly visions will both challenge and drive the growth of Rain’s power. And it seems the dark force lingering in his nightmares may be all too real, and much closer than Rain thinks.
274 pages, Paperback
Published October 8, 2023
6 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Ryan Masser
1 book7 followersRyan Masser grew up pretending he was a wizard half the time. The other half he pretended he was a knight. Ryan’s been a yoga instructor, an EMT, a copywriter, and an AmeriCorps service member. He currently teaches middle school English in the Bronx, NY. When not writing or teaching, Ryan can be found practicing mixed martial arts, meditating, playing the piano, or pretending he’s a wizard or a knight.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 11, 2025
A Dark Fantasy That Cuts Deep and Stays With You
Shadows in the Monastery is more than a coming-of-age story—it's a plunge into a world where magic is forbidden, class divides cut sharp, and power comes at a cost. Ryan Masser crafts a rich, immersive tale filled with secrets, shadowy arts, and a protagonist you can’t help but root for. Rain’s journey from outsider to occult martial artist is gritty, emotional, and completely gripping. With cinematic intensity and morally gray mentorship, this book delivers high stakes, hidden truths, and a fresh voice in dark fantasy. I’m hooked—and counting down to Book 2.
Shadows in the Monastery is more than a coming-of-age story—it's a plunge into a world where magic is forbidden, class divides cut sharp, and power comes at a cost. Ryan Masser crafts a rich, immersive tale filled with secrets, shadowy arts, and a protagonist you can’t help but root for. Rain’s journey from outsider to occult martial artist is gritty, emotional, and completely gripping. With cinematic intensity and morally gray mentorship, this book delivers high stakes, hidden truths, and a fresh voice in dark fantasy. I’m hooked—and counting down to Book 2.
February 22, 2024
I was kindly gifted a copy by the author. Thank you, Ryan! ❤️
✨Coming-of-age story.
✨Epic fight scenes.
✨Martial arts.
✨Friendship.
✨Political.
✨Druid magic.
I was terrified and excited to read this book. I knew from the beginning that this was not my typical high fantasy, and there could be a chance I might end up not loving it. Well, I was pleasantly surprised! I ended up enjoying it a lot!
Positives:
+I enjoyed following our MC from his early childhood to his teenage years. I'm excited to see how he will end up as an adult. Most likely morally grey, hehe.
+The friendship between our MC and another boy in the monastery was fantastic! It was so much fun to see how boys end up being friends, when they fall out, and how they forgive each other. It warmed my heart.
+Overall, I think Ryan did a really good job with the characters.
+Epic fight scenes!! We have some cool fight scenes while the children are just training, and later on, when we get the first actual fight scene in the book, it was so good! 👌🏻I have no knowledge when it comes to martial arts, but after reading this book, I have learned more about it!
+Even though this book was short, it felt like I was reading a longer book. In a good way!! This could be a bad thing for some people, but for me, it was a good thing.
+The writing style is really good.👌🏻
Negatives:
-There are some pacing issues. Which is not surprising since this book is short but also high fantasy. So we get lots of background information in a really short time, and I'm a goldfish brain who needs some time to learn the lore and everything. When we get to the actual story, things slow down, and that's fantastic, but because of it, the fast parts shine out pretty bright. It definitely gets better the more you read. After 80 pages, it didn't bother me anymore.
4🌟/5
I will be picking up the physical trophy, and I'm excited to see what happens next in the series!
✨Coming-of-age story.
✨Epic fight scenes.
✨Martial arts.
✨Friendship.
✨Political.
✨Druid magic.
I was terrified and excited to read this book. I knew from the beginning that this was not my typical high fantasy, and there could be a chance I might end up not loving it. Well, I was pleasantly surprised! I ended up enjoying it a lot!
Positives:
+I enjoyed following our MC from his early childhood to his teenage years. I'm excited to see how he will end up as an adult. Most likely morally grey, hehe.
+The friendship between our MC and another boy in the monastery was fantastic! It was so much fun to see how boys end up being friends, when they fall out, and how they forgive each other. It warmed my heart.
+Overall, I think Ryan did a really good job with the characters.
+Epic fight scenes!! We have some cool fight scenes while the children are just training, and later on, when we get the first actual fight scene in the book, it was so good! 👌🏻I have no knowledge when it comes to martial arts, but after reading this book, I have learned more about it!
+Even though this book was short, it felt like I was reading a longer book. In a good way!! This could be a bad thing for some people, but for me, it was a good thing.
+The writing style is really good.👌🏻
Negatives:
-There are some pacing issues. Which is not surprising since this book is short but also high fantasy. So we get lots of background information in a really short time, and I'm a goldfish brain who needs some time to learn the lore and everything. When we get to the actual story, things slow down, and that's fantastic, but because of it, the fast parts shine out pretty bright. It definitely gets better the more you read. After 80 pages, it didn't bother me anymore.
4🌟/5
I will be picking up the physical trophy, and I'm excited to see what happens next in the series!
October 19, 2023
This is the kind of story that sparks my mind. From beginning to end, I was invested. Ryan Masser crafts the world meticulously and passionately, making it easy to feel immersed and right there alongside the characters. Shadows in the Monastery leaves no shortage of reasons to keep on reading.
April 9, 2025
Fantasy with Teeth and Soul
This isn’t your typical monastery tale. Shadows in the Monastery delivers gritty class conflict, hidden magic, and a protagonist whose powers don't play by the rules. It’s fast-paced, mysterious, and loaded with just the right amount of tension.
This isn’t your typical monastery tale. Shadows in the Monastery delivers gritty class conflict, hidden magic, and a protagonist whose powers don't play by the rules. It’s fast-paced, mysterious, and loaded with just the right amount of tension.
April 12, 2025
A New Voice in Dark Fantasy
If you love secret arts, underdog stories, and morally gray mentors, this one’s for you. Rain’s haunting visions and raw talent make him a character worth rooting for. I’m already ready for Book 2.
If you love secret arts, underdog stories, and morally gray mentors, this one’s for you. Rain’s haunting visions and raw talent make him a character worth rooting for. I’m already ready for Book 2.
February 28, 2025
A refreshing coming of age fantasy full of laughs, secrets, and wonders. Found myself leaning forward in my seat eager for more.
November 3, 2023
I am impressed with Ryan Masser’s excellent medieval fantasy novel. Set in an alternate world dealing with warring states, Shadows in the Monastery has fascinating world building, warrior monks and plenty of political intrigue. And it has a gorgeous cover.
Narrated by his older self, this is the coming of age story of Rain– a young man who, after a mind altering spiritual experience as a seven year old, insists on being trained at the local monastery, where young men are taught unarmed combat while learning history and philosophy. Many of their monks are orphans, but given that fully trained monks are highly respected political advisors and terrifying warriors, there’s a certain cachet to having one’s sons train there, so Rain has classes with nobles and rich merchant’s sons as well. The monastery also takes in girl orphans, but they’re taught to weave, not fight. There are the usual class and wealth based-prejudices, as well as a certain amount of adolescent pranks, jokes, and trash-talking. Rain has to learn to value true friends, that being seen as cool has a cost and that his actions can have long term consequences.
Magic, while it is very similar to channeling Shaktar, is illegal in Rain’s home. Which is problematic, because Rain has extra-sensory perceptions his classmates lack, and seems to have innate magical abilities. The world is frustratingly, albeit realistically, patriarchal. Although, the monastery’s rival sect in another kingdom counts women as some of their strongest adepts and the masters in Rain’s monastery are considering starting to teach girls because they’ve been having a hard time finding boys with strong enough innate Shaktar to become adepts. There are also wandering Druids who revere women and are distrusted in Rain’s kingdom because of their magic usage. Rain has a very cool encounter with a band of Druids midway through the book.
While this is Masser’s first novel, he is obviously an experienced writer–the prose, for the most part, is beautifully poetic and highly readable. There are a few clunky bits in the beginning, but then he really hits his stride. Masser has deftly created an array of memorable characters. Rain’s father is an alcoholic with a sketchy temper who’s both proud of and threatened by his son. Rain’s mother is a self-contained artist who obviously feels deeply, and tries to shrug off her husband’s derisive behavior. She also carries a lot of grief because she lost her family in one of the more recent wars. Rain’s family, teachers, fellow students and friends all have distinct personalities. Rain describes one of the classmates he doesn’t like as looking like a toad, which made me want to smack him, but adolescents are often unkind, so this is realistic. Rain himself is handsome, and has some measure of pretty privilege, which he sometimes uses to his advantage, but mostly finds embarrassing.
Rain is briefly a favored pupil of charismatic nobleman monk Chaya, who’s directly or indirectly involved in a lot of political intrigue at court, and only at the monastery sporadically. As the child of an alcoholic with extra-sensory perception he’s had to learn to control, Rain is already preternaturally mature, skilled at deflecting attention and knows lying is sometimes necessary, so he’s an obvious choice. Chaya trains Rain in the “shadowcraft”– useful spying skills like pickpocketing, misdirection and subtle manipulation. Rain’s desires to impress, and to be the best, war with his innate sense of rightness throughout the book, but especially in relation to Chaya, who’s very morally gray.
Masser obviously has a lot of experience in both martial arts and Eastern philosophy–this shows in the excellent fight scenes, philosophical conversations and religious tenets. The monks learn to channel their Shaktar–internal vital energy comparable to shakti, chi, qi or the force, which allows them to perform superhuman feats of endurance, to have phenomenal hand-eye coordination, and to open their minds to a greater reality. One of my favorite scenes is where Rain and his best friend are sparring and both enter a superfluid state where they anticipate each other’s moves and are basically dancing with the universe.
There is a lot of religious warfare and friction in this world, as well as racial tension between humans and dwarves–dwarves are second-class citizens and often enslaved. Masser unflinchingly shows the realities of warfare, including the terrible physical and psychological costs and the massive destruction war leaves in its wake. As a teen, Rain and his best friend rescue the kidnapped daughter of the local count, and she was not treated well. He also has a sweet romance with a local barmaid, and learns her mother’s harrowing experiences as a war refugee, including her need to turn to s e x work to survive. I was impressed with Masser’s sensitivity and compassion in portraying these women’s experiences.
This is the first book in a planned series, so it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but not an unbearable one. I am definitely looking forward to the next installment!
I always try to write up extremely comprehensive content warnings, so please don’t be alarmed by the list below–it’s comparable to an R-rated fantasy movie or any popular fantasy miniseries streaming right now. There is also a fair amount of humor and light-hearted adventure in the book, which balances out the heavier themes.
CW: visionary experiences, combat, sparring, mean teens, trash-talking, political subterfuge, snobbery, racism, sexism, misogynism, religious intolerance, warfare, blood, death of loved ones, grief, violent death, terminal illness, nightmares, prejudice, lying, manipulation, alcoholism, sexual innuendo and bawdy comments, casual nudity, s e x–not explicit, social drinking, drug use, alcoholism, magic, telepathy, past prostitution, inferred domestic violence, kidnapping, past r a pe– not explicit, berserker rage, torture, assassination, betrayal.
Full disclosure: I was hired to write an unbiased review.
Narrated by his older self, this is the coming of age story of Rain– a young man who, after a mind altering spiritual experience as a seven year old, insists on being trained at the local monastery, where young men are taught unarmed combat while learning history and philosophy. Many of their monks are orphans, but given that fully trained monks are highly respected political advisors and terrifying warriors, there’s a certain cachet to having one’s sons train there, so Rain has classes with nobles and rich merchant’s sons as well. The monastery also takes in girl orphans, but they’re taught to weave, not fight. There are the usual class and wealth based-prejudices, as well as a certain amount of adolescent pranks, jokes, and trash-talking. Rain has to learn to value true friends, that being seen as cool has a cost and that his actions can have long term consequences.
Magic, while it is very similar to channeling Shaktar, is illegal in Rain’s home. Which is problematic, because Rain has extra-sensory perceptions his classmates lack, and seems to have innate magical abilities. The world is frustratingly, albeit realistically, patriarchal. Although, the monastery’s rival sect in another kingdom counts women as some of their strongest adepts and the masters in Rain’s monastery are considering starting to teach girls because they’ve been having a hard time finding boys with strong enough innate Shaktar to become adepts. There are also wandering Druids who revere women and are distrusted in Rain’s kingdom because of their magic usage. Rain has a very cool encounter with a band of Druids midway through the book.
While this is Masser’s first novel, he is obviously an experienced writer–the prose, for the most part, is beautifully poetic and highly readable. There are a few clunky bits in the beginning, but then he really hits his stride. Masser has deftly created an array of memorable characters. Rain’s father is an alcoholic with a sketchy temper who’s both proud of and threatened by his son. Rain’s mother is a self-contained artist who obviously feels deeply, and tries to shrug off her husband’s derisive behavior. She also carries a lot of grief because she lost her family in one of the more recent wars. Rain’s family, teachers, fellow students and friends all have distinct personalities. Rain describes one of the classmates he doesn’t like as looking like a toad, which made me want to smack him, but adolescents are often unkind, so this is realistic. Rain himself is handsome, and has some measure of pretty privilege, which he sometimes uses to his advantage, but mostly finds embarrassing.
Rain is briefly a favored pupil of charismatic nobleman monk Chaya, who’s directly or indirectly involved in a lot of political intrigue at court, and only at the monastery sporadically. As the child of an alcoholic with extra-sensory perception he’s had to learn to control, Rain is already preternaturally mature, skilled at deflecting attention and knows lying is sometimes necessary, so he’s an obvious choice. Chaya trains Rain in the “shadowcraft”– useful spying skills like pickpocketing, misdirection and subtle manipulation. Rain’s desires to impress, and to be the best, war with his innate sense of rightness throughout the book, but especially in relation to Chaya, who’s very morally gray.
Masser obviously has a lot of experience in both martial arts and Eastern philosophy–this shows in the excellent fight scenes, philosophical conversations and religious tenets. The monks learn to channel their Shaktar–internal vital energy comparable to shakti, chi, qi or the force, which allows them to perform superhuman feats of endurance, to have phenomenal hand-eye coordination, and to open their minds to a greater reality. One of my favorite scenes is where Rain and his best friend are sparring and both enter a superfluid state where they anticipate each other’s moves and are basically dancing with the universe.
There is a lot of religious warfare and friction in this world, as well as racial tension between humans and dwarves–dwarves are second-class citizens and often enslaved. Masser unflinchingly shows the realities of warfare, including the terrible physical and psychological costs and the massive destruction war leaves in its wake. As a teen, Rain and his best friend rescue the kidnapped daughter of the local count, and she was not treated well. He also has a sweet romance with a local barmaid, and learns her mother’s harrowing experiences as a war refugee, including her need to turn to s e x work to survive. I was impressed with Masser’s sensitivity and compassion in portraying these women’s experiences.
This is the first book in a planned series, so it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but not an unbearable one. I am definitely looking forward to the next installment!
I always try to write up extremely comprehensive content warnings, so please don’t be alarmed by the list below–it’s comparable to an R-rated fantasy movie or any popular fantasy miniseries streaming right now. There is also a fair amount of humor and light-hearted adventure in the book, which balances out the heavier themes.
CW: visionary experiences, combat, sparring, mean teens, trash-talking, political subterfuge, snobbery, racism, sexism, misogynism, religious intolerance, warfare, blood, death of loved ones, grief, violent death, terminal illness, nightmares, prejudice, lying, manipulation, alcoholism, sexual innuendo and bawdy comments, casual nudity, s e x–not explicit, social drinking, drug use, alcoholism, magic, telepathy, past prostitution, inferred domestic violence, kidnapping, past r a pe– not explicit, berserker rage, torture, assassination, betrayal.
Full disclosure: I was hired to write an unbiased review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2025
Absolutely loved Shadows in the Monastery and can’t wait for book 2.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews