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The Tree That Grew Through Iron: Book One in the Panagea Tales
The world’s end was his beginning.
Whole chunks of earth are withering away from the mainland, and falling into the sea.
Natural disasters are claiming thousands of lives.
Prayers are no longer answered by gods.
Prayers are answered by machines, and the Time Fathers of Panagea.
Nicholai Addihein, one of the eight ruling Time Fathers, struggles to find a way to save the lives of his people. After a single moment of misunderstood treason, he must also find a way to save his own.
While running from the wrath of Panagea’s other Time Fathers, Nicholai lands in peculiar company. Can a fabled immortal, a crew of societal rejects, and a silver-haired woman with a mysterious past, breathe life back into a world on the brink of death?
With all of existence at stake, Nicholai and the others prepare to fight until their last breath to change the fate of Panagea. Who would ever guess that success might be just as fatal as failure?
The Gods Who Harvested Men: Book Two in the Panagea TalesThe efforts of Nicholai, Umbriel, Kazuaki, and the crew welcome the purifying breath of nature back into a depleted, metal world.
It isn’t all they invited back.
The Serpent That Swallowed Its Tail: Book Three in the Panagea TalesShattered glass leaves the deepest cuts.
Nicholai and the crew find that after the devastating events in Seacaster last year, their lives have fragmented from one another entirely.
Some are out for redemption.
Others are out for revenge.
One hunts for a missing piece.
Another searches for inner peace.
Not unlike the crew, Panagea has become a land divided. The continent severs into two landscapes: the territory of the lesser-gods, and the land of the people who managed to survive their onslaught. Invisible lines run between both borders and brains, as disparities collide all around. Soon, all must ask themselves, “Who is the bigger monster? Gods, or men?”
Plagued by resistance, betrayal, greed, and doubt, will Nicholai and the crew survive to taste victory over their burdens? Or is everyone just running on borrowed time?
When the serpent swallows its tail, eventually, everything comes full circle.
Question: What age is appropriate for this book?
Answer: I find the answer to this question is often a difficult one to nail down. Instead of giving a specific age range, I’ll say what can be encountered upon reading it:
Book one (The Tree That Grew Through Iron) does have some violent battle scenes, including, but not limited to, description evisceration, stab wounds, bullet wounds, and severing of the skull from the spinal cord.
There is some cursing (your occasional “shit” and “damn”. The ‘f’ word has been replaced with a similar counterpart. When characters feel compelled to use that word, they say ‘feck’ instead.
Sexual content includes kissing and a scene where a character is naked (but not having sex). Merely sun-bathing.
There are some heavier philosophical musings that a younger audience may not grasp, but that’s individual to the reader.
While book one is as it is, book two in the series (The Gods Who Harvested Men) does get a little more explicit.
The battle scenes are as equally descriptive as book one.
The cursing is the same level as book one.
There is more kissing and implied sex scenes in book two (nothing more descriptive than groping… more of a “fade to black” kind of deal.)
There is also the introduction of a male character’s relationship with another male. Nothing explicit that you wouldn’t also find in the male/female couple relationships touched on in the series, but given some peoples’ touchiness on the subject, it seemed worth mentioning.
If you have any other questions you’d like to ask or have me add to the FAQ, please don’t hesitate to ask. Thank you!
Books by McKenzie Austin 