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A Sea Sought in Song
Welcome to the World of Arlam! Epic Fantasy by Austin Gunderson
Hugh Conrad was a seasoned adventurer and treasure hunter who thought he had seen it all but when he picked up that jangling phone in the mud-strewn lobby of a two-bit Bangalore hotel that rain-soaked night in June of ’51, the last thing he’d expected to hear was the voice of his father who’d vanished off the face of the earth twenty-four years prior.
The second-to-last thing he’d expected to hear was that the old man really had left Earth and ventured far beyond its boundaries.
Hugh considered himself a worldly man, having survived childhood abandonment and the horrors of WWII but no amount of experience, skill, or raw ferocity had prepared him for the mission his father bequeaths him, leading him to the enigmatic realm of Arlam.
Arlam, a realm of wonders and terrors, stretches beyond the wildest imagination—a land of ancient secrets and unforgiving landscapes, now under the oppressive rule of a seemingly invincible foe. In Arlam, accessed through a portal that spans alien centuries for every few months on Earth, resides Ilina Lightkeeper, the last descendant of Hugh's father's royal herald. She is stunning, knowledgeable, and wholly unprepared for the prophesied return of the ancient high king. But her world doesn't need a brash barbarian; it needs a sovereign.
Together, the unready adventurer and the uneasy scholar—the heir and the herald—must rally the remnants of a shattered kingdom, confronting an evil that exceeds the darkest fairy tales. Sacrificing all they hold dear, they serve prophecies they can scarcely comprehend, with the destiny of Arlam hanging in the balance.
But can they set aside their differences long enough to accomplish their daunting task?
Hugh Conrad was a seasoned adventurer and treasure hunter who thought he had seen it all but when he picked up that jangling phone in the mud-strewn lobby of a two-bit Bangalore hotel that rain-soaked night in June of ’51, the last thing he’d expected to hear was the voice of his father who’d vanished off the face of the earth twenty-four years prior.
The second-to-last thing he’d expected to hear was that the old man really had left Earth and ventured far beyond its boundaries.
Hugh considered himself a worldly man, having survived childhood abandonment and the horrors of WWII but no amount of experience, skill, or raw ferocity had prepared him for the mission his father bequeaths him, leading him to the enigmatic realm of Arlam.
Arlam, a realm of wonders and terrors, stretches beyond the wildest imagination—a land of ancient secrets and unforgiving landscapes, now under the oppressive rule of a seemingly invincible foe. In Arlam, accessed through a portal that spans alien centuries for every few months on Earth, resides Ilina Lightkeeper, the last descendant of Hugh's father's royal herald. She is stunning, knowledgeable, and wholly unprepared for the prophesied return of the ancient high king. But her world doesn't need a brash barbarian; it needs a sovereign.
Together, the unready adventurer and the uneasy scholar—the heir and the herald—must rally the remnants of a shattered kingdom, confronting an evil that exceeds the darkest fairy tales. Sacrificing all they hold dear, they serve prophecies they can scarcely comprehend, with the destiny of Arlam hanging in the balance.
But can they set aside their differences long enough to accomplish their daunting task?
401 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 2, 2023
6 people are currently reading
5 people want to read
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September 21, 2025
Ilina is the last of a line of nobles whose purpose, from time immemorial, was to announce the return of a mythical king. But the time of splendour for their house is no more, and she is the last of her line living in a forgotten fortress on a distant island. Betrothed to Lord Rikard, she witnesses the death of her future husband’s father by a strange beast, and begin to sense a shift is about to take place.
In another world, Hugh Conrad, a treasure hunter living in the post-war 1940s, learns that his father has secret portals to the world of Arlam, where he had spent decades ruling as a type of prophet-king. When Hugh left for the Far East, Conrad Sr roped two of Hugh’s friends into returning to the magical realm as his representatives. But one returned changed and deranged, and another disappeared with no word of his fate. Angered, Hugh goes to rescue his friend and becomes embroiled in a budding conflict in a world he is ill-prepared to understand. Ilina, in turn, must weigh her loyalties to the duty of her bloodline with that of her betrothed, as Hugh’s coming is a possible threat to a man she swore loyalty to. Meanwhile, beasts are rising for the depths of the sea and cities fall to chaos.
This series ‘Elevator Pitch’ summary, Indiana Jones gets Isekai’d to Narnia, belies its careful, sparse and classical fantasy world building. Published by a small, independent publishing house, I am kind of frustrated that not more people are talking about this series. I have only read the first book, but it is arguably one of the best-written indie-books I’ve read. The prose is extremely rich and carefully crafted, each word chosen with care. Its plot is presented and laid out in a slow burn manner that, at times, bursts into battles and action-packed set-pieces.
In many ways, it has the grounded fantasy elements of Robin Hobb with a few more fantastical elements found in Sanderson books, but this is very much the type of book that hearkens back to older fantasy titles as well. I also appreciated that this is very much a character driven story, which is something sometimes left at the wayside of ‘chosen one’ narratives.
I feel as if this series should be discussed in the same vein of another popular science fiction series, Christopher Ruocchio’s Sun Eater series (which I’ve only read the first book of as well); though the plots (and even genres) are wildly different, they have a similar feel to them.
In all, I truly enjoyed this book. My only real complaint is that I felt it ended a bit bluntly (in terms of plot at least) as I would have liked a few questions answered, particularly around the character of Forkbeard, a wizard who helps both Hugh and Ilina at certain times.
9/10.
In another world, Hugh Conrad, a treasure hunter living in the post-war 1940s, learns that his father has secret portals to the world of Arlam, where he had spent decades ruling as a type of prophet-king. When Hugh left for the Far East, Conrad Sr roped two of Hugh’s friends into returning to the magical realm as his representatives. But one returned changed and deranged, and another disappeared with no word of his fate. Angered, Hugh goes to rescue his friend and becomes embroiled in a budding conflict in a world he is ill-prepared to understand. Ilina, in turn, must weigh her loyalties to the duty of her bloodline with that of her betrothed, as Hugh’s coming is a possible threat to a man she swore loyalty to. Meanwhile, beasts are rising for the depths of the sea and cities fall to chaos.
This series ‘Elevator Pitch’ summary, Indiana Jones gets Isekai’d to Narnia, belies its careful, sparse and classical fantasy world building. Published by a small, independent publishing house, I am kind of frustrated that not more people are talking about this series. I have only read the first book, but it is arguably one of the best-written indie-books I’ve read. The prose is extremely rich and carefully crafted, each word chosen with care. Its plot is presented and laid out in a slow burn manner that, at times, bursts into battles and action-packed set-pieces.
In many ways, it has the grounded fantasy elements of Robin Hobb with a few more fantastical elements found in Sanderson books, but this is very much the type of book that hearkens back to older fantasy titles as well. I also appreciated that this is very much a character driven story, which is something sometimes left at the wayside of ‘chosen one’ narratives.
I feel as if this series should be discussed in the same vein of another popular science fiction series, Christopher Ruocchio’s Sun Eater series (which I’ve only read the first book of as well); though the plots (and even genres) are wildly different, they have a similar feel to them.
In all, I truly enjoyed this book. My only real complaint is that I felt it ended a bit bluntly (in terms of plot at least) as I would have liked a few questions answered, particularly around the character of Forkbeard, a wizard who helps both Hugh and Ilina at certain times.
9/10.
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