In DUST by Josh Plasse, the epic adventures and ragtag friendships of Guardians of the Galaxy meet the cunning and betrayal of Game of Thrones for the first installment of this action-packed fantasy saga.

The kingdom of Alyonia has long known peace. But when its sovereigns are mysteriously murdered and its young princes are absent, it’s up to the last royal issue Taryn Kaldor to assume the throne in the interim. But Taryn is hiding a dark family secret, one that threatens to pull apart not only Alyonia, but all the kingdoms of Adria and plunge them into a new world swallowed by shadow.

Prince Taaivetti, rightful heir to the throne and commander of the desert fortress at Hann, is torn between his duties: return home to rule Alyonia and stabilize his dying kingdom, or stay to defend Hann against desert terrors like the monstrous Gorsh. In search of answers, Taaivetti discovers the magical dust of legend and the creatures who protect it. Ignoring their warnings, Taaivetti taps into the dust’s power to travel back and forth in time, each trip leading him closer to uncovering the truth of his parents’ deaths, his kingdom’s future — and his own fate.

On the run in the degenerate island of Tourtoufa, Prince Hendrix Kaldor has only his mother’s outlawed book of prophecies, proving strangely accurate of late, to accompany him. With time however, Hendrix grows a band of local misfits and begins deciphering these mysterious prophecies. But as the prophetic puzzles become clear, so too do the horrific shadow gods desperate to hide and destroy them.

Secrets and sibyls, pain and prophecy, alliances made and broken sweep through the lands of Adria as its inhabitants face the evil forces that threaten to submerge them into darkness forever.

But how, exactly, do you fight an enemy made of shadow itself?