Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Fires of Lan-Kern | 1980 | Peter Tremayne | Buy |
| 2 | The Destroyers of Lan-Kern | 1983 | Peter Tremayne | Buy |
| 3 | The Buccaneers of Lan-Kern | 1984 | Peter Tremayne | Buy |
The Lan-Kern trilogy is Peter Tremayne’s contribution to post-apocalyptic fiction, published between 1980 and 1984. Set in a distant future where modern civilization has fallen, the series imagines a new Celtic society that has grown up in what was once Cornwall. The name Lan-Kern comes from the Cornish language, reflecting Tremayne’s real-world academic work on Cornish and other Celtic tongues. His first published book, in fact, was The Cornish Language and its Literature (1974).
The three novels follow adventures in this rebuilt world, where the social structures, beliefs, and conflicts echo those of the historical Celts rather than the typical post-apocalyptic tropes of the era. The Fires of Lan-Kern (1980) introduces the setting, The Destroyers of Lan-Kern (1983) raises the stakes with external threats, and The Buccaneers of Lan-Kern (1984) brings maritime adventure into the mix. While not as widely known as the Sister Fidelma mysteries, the Lan-Kern books show Tremayne’s early interest in blending Celtic culture with genre fiction, a combination that would later define his career.