Kings of Paradise

core novel 2017 Ash and Sand

Record

First published	2017
Original language	EN
Work type	novel
Canon status	core
Reader rating	4.16 (4,438 ratings, collected 2026-08-29)
Page count	608
First-edition ISBN	9781721140084
Internal chronology	1

Synopsis

Kings of Paradise opens the Ash and Sand trilogy by following two young men living on opposite sides of a vast sea, each shaped by very different worlds. Ruka is an outcast among his people in the frozen wasteland of Ascom, marked by wolf-like eyes and an extraordinary, near-perfect memory that sets him apart from everyone around him, and who nurses a growing desire for vengeance against those who wronged his family. Across the water, Kale Alaku is the disappointing youngest son of the Sorcerer King of Sri Kon, overshadowed by his siblings and sent to serve in the navy as a way to prove his worth to a father who expects little of him. As both young men navigate the pressures of their respective societies, an unknown storm approaches from beyond the horizon, its significance not yet clear to either of them.

Where it sits

• Universe: Ash and Sand
• Series: Ash and Sand core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
• Author: Richard Nell

Notes

• From the series record (Ash and Sand): Self-published grimdark epic fantasy trilogy blending Southeast Asian and Nordic-inspired settings (the island nation of Sri Kon/Pyu and the frozen wasteland of Ascom).

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.

• Reading order, within the series Ash and Sand: position 1 of 3: next Kings of Ash (2018)

Sources

• Series reader-rating page
• Grimdark Magazine review
• http://www.richardnell.com/book/kings-paradise-ash-sand-book-1/

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