Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Word for Friend is Death | TBD | Patrick Samphire | N/A |
| 2 | Shadow of a Dead God | 2020 | Patrick Samphire | Buy |
| 3 | Nectar for the God | 2021 | Patrick Samphire | Buy |
| 4 | Strange Cargo | 2022 | Patrick Samphire | Buy |
| 5 | Legacy of a Hated God | 2023 | Patrick Samphire | Buy |
| 6 | The Dead Man | 2025 | Patrick Samphire | Buy |
Mennik Thorn is a mage who can barely pay his rent, living in a city where dead gods leave behind dangerous power and the wrong people are always trying to grab it. Patrick Samphire’s series starts with Shadow of a Dead God (2020), in which Mennik gets framed for a crime involving a god’s corpse and has to clear his name before the authorities or the real criminals get to him first.
The series has grown to six books, each one dropping Mennik into a new mess while building out the city and its power structures. Samphire writes noir fantasy with a dry sense of humor: Mennik narrates his own disasters with the weary resignation of someone who knows things are about to get worse. The magic system is grounded in rules that matter to the plot, and the city feels lived-in and dangerous.
For readers who like the Dresden Files but want something grittier and more secondary-world, or who enjoy Joe Abercrombie’s tone in a more urban setting, Mennik Thorn is worth a look.