Shadow Journey Series

available now

~the Shadow Journey series by Jo Allen Ash~

On a war-torn alien world, a group of determined teens pursue their destiny.

Shadow Journey Book One – The Shadows We Make

A desert warrior, a con-artist, and a promise. Destiny.

Grace Irese, a headstrong, sixteen-year-old desert warrior, has crossed the wrong man. In a world being violently ripped apart by his ambitions, the new Revered dictates everything, including the price Grace will pay for her infraction. Torn from family and home, she is remanded to an off-world juvenile facility called the Emerald. Her sentence? Life.

Duncan Oaks, wise-cracking, teenage con-artist, has done the unthinkable, something which shames him to the core. He, too, has been sentenced with cruel intention by the Revered to life imprisonment on the Emerald. Duncan finds himself facing the mortifying truth of his actions every day, with no hope he can be redeemed.

But Grace is not one to give up. Neither is Duncan. Together, they embark on a hazardous journey no one has ever before attempted. More than their own freedom, they seek to save a young, gifted child from the Revered’s control. Their hope? A promise. Because a warrior’s promise is everything, even to the boy who betrayed her.

Prepare yourself for a seamless, heart-pounding blend of dark fantasy and science fiction as you join Grace, Duncan and their companions on an epic journey guaranteed to test their courage, their resolve, and ultimately their belief in themselves and each other.

“A beautifully crafted SF dystopia, boasting relatable characters and a skillful plot.” BookLife Reviews

“…high stakes adventure…thoughtful worldbuilding…strong emotional themes.” Five Stars – K.C. Finn – Readers Favorite

“Ash captivates the reader throughout…poetic…dramatic… suspenseful…” BookTrib

“Loved it…an amazing read.” Four Stars – Sally Atlass – ReedsyDiscovery

Shadow Journey Book Two – The Thrice-Gifted Child

Troubled. Gifted. Unpredictable. Hunted. 

To save us all, I have led my friends into The Wilds, a place about which little is known for certain and none of it good. However, I need answers and those, at least, are possible here. I could be fooling myself. I know I could be. Yet, my friends trust me. They are counting on me to keep them safe.

Will I be able to live with myself if they’re wrong?

Grace, teenage warrior, Duncan, former Grif-Drif, and their companions-the mystic and the doctor’s thieving son-might easily be described in those terms, but none more so than the recently rescued Resa, Duncan’s sister. Fleeing a tyrannical warlord, Grace leads her friends into The Wilds, a province devastated by long ago violence where the inhabitants are reputed to be fierce and intolerant. Yet, Grace hopes to find much needed answers from the mage descendants who might be residing there. Duncan and the others desire only a place to rest and regroup, safe from the violent man and his soldiers hunting them down. But as grandmother-quoting Duncan likes to say, “out of the frying pan, into the fire,” an adage that will prove more prophetic than any of them expect.

“…a page turner…intricate… gripping…doesn’t allow your attention to waver for a single moment.” Pikasho Deko for Readers Favorite

“…imaginative…suspenseful…memorable…” BookLife Reviews

“…engrossing…wonderful entertainment…even better than the first book.” The Book Commentary

Shadow Journey Book Three – The Sleeping Myth

Brave. Wounded. Determined. Betrayed.

I didn’t know it would be this hard. I didn’t know my heart would break. But in this, I am not alone. We are more than what we were, though. In numbers. In strength. In resolve.

We will face daunting odds as one, stand side by side until the end. Friend and warrior each in our own way, we will head into the unknown to face the Darkness together. I believe in us. But deep inside, he tells me I am wrong.

I fear he speaks the only truth. 

Following their escape from captivity and mayhem, Grace, Duncan, his sister Resa, Mika and Carina head due west through the mountains, “into the setting sun”—the only directions provided to the legendary destination known as the Cavern of Sleeping Myth. With their new companions, they seek the faraway land on a promise they will finally find answers to the prophecy regarding three of them, the warrior, the witch, and the thrice-gifted child. However, nothing comes easy and there is always a price to pay. Injury, heartache, betrayal hound them as surely as do the warriors of their enemies who seek what they are, what they possess, for their own purposes. The Sleeping Myth is not quite what they have been assured, either, and might very well separate the closely bound friends forever as they head into a snowbound realm of old magic and ancient science.

“…plenty of fascinating action, deep character-building moments, and great imaginative plot twists… I highly recommend it…” K.C. Finn, Readers Favorite Five Stars

“…stellar storytelling…The Sleeping Myth is dazzlingly magical, inventive, and thrilling…” Book Commentary Five Stars

Shadow Journey Book Four – In Darkness We Break

Lies. Deception. Darkness. Hope.

Time has run out. I feel it in my bones. In my blood. In my heart.

Darkness is descending. Duncan knew. He thought he’d keep it from me. From me and our companions. Why? Because he sensed the truth behind it? Maybe. Maybe not.

It doesn’t matter. The Darkness is coming for us all. I don’t know which among us will survive. I only know I cannot choose. But I can fight beside them, for them. Right unto the very end.

.

Grace, Duncan, and their companions have survived their passage through The Sleeping Myth. Not unscathed. Not unchanged. Not without a whole new set of problems. Yet, the time has come for the teens to stop running. To face what is coming. To uncover the last secrets and meet their enemies. Skilled and gifted, they look to each other for strength, stand together in a bond like no other, but will that be enough?

In Darkness We Break, book four in the young adult Shadow Journey series, combines science fiction and fantasy in a mesmerizing finale to entrance mature readers of any age.

“…a startling and action-packed conclusion to an exciting series…Ash’s character development is exceptional…” K.C. Finn, Readers Favorite Five Stars