First, Become Ashes

By: K.M. Szpara

A riveting, page-turning, accessible fantasy on American themes: self-discovery, romance, road trips, and abusive cults.

The Fellowship raised Lark to kill monsters.
His partner betrayed them to the Feds.
But Lark knows his magic is real, and he’ll do anything to complete his quest.

K. M. Szpara follows Docile, one of the most anticipated science fiction novels of 2020, with First, Become Ashes, a fantastic standalone adventure that blends pain and pleasure and will make readers question what is real and what is magical.

Lark spent the first twenty-four years of his life training for a righteous quest: to rid the world of monsters. Alongside his partner Kane, he wore the cage and endured the scourge in order to develop his innate magic. He never thought that when Kane left, he'd next see him in the company of FBI agents and a SWAT team. He never dreamed that the leader of the Fellowship would be brought up on charges of abuse and assault.

He never expected the government would tell him that the monsters aren't real—that there is no magic, that all his pain was for nothing.

Lark is determined to fulfill his quest, to defeat the monsters he was promised. Along the way he will grapple with the past, confront love, and discover his long-buried truth.

First, Become Ashes contains explicit sadomasochism and sexual content, as well as abuse and consent violations, including rape.