King of Shards: Book One of The Worldmender Trilogy

Daniel Fisher doesn't know he's one of the Hidden Thirty Six, magical humans who keep the Earth and the myriad Shards alive. But Ashmedai, King of Demons, knows. On Daniel's wedding day, Ashmedai abducts Daniel and ferries him down to the hell Shard of Gehinnom, a shattered world where humans and demons dwell in misery. There they meet Rana, a mason girl who can build things far greater than cities. And Marul Menacha, a mysterious old witch who survived a trip to the Heavenly Orchard and returned with a dangerous secret.

Ashmedai warns of a dark plot by Mashit, Queen of Demons, to murder the Hidden Thirty Six and destroy the Earth and the myriad Shards. Spurned by Mashit, vengeful and obsessed, Ashmedai begs Daniel to help him gather all the demonic and human forces on Gehinnom for the ultimate confrontation with Mashit and her demon Legion of soldiers before the Earth and the myriad Shards are lost. Daniel will have to learn that trusting a demon is never without consequences, and to save the Earth he may have to lose everything.

Praise for King of Shards

"With surprising twists and a deep and detailed universe, King of Shards, the first in a trilogy, is likely to be remembered."
–Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog

"A surreal and exotic adventure in a unique mythological setting. Scary, exhilarating fun!"
– N.K. Jemisin, multiple Hugo Award-winning author of The Broken Earth trilogy"

"In this prismatic tale of demons, righteous warriors, and multiple universes, Kressel plumbs the depths of Kabbalistic lore to create a unique fantasy cosmos... [An] engaging new epic fantasy."
–The Huffington Post

"A radical reinvention of faith and folklore, not to mention the portal fantasy...majestic, resonant, reality-twisting madness."
–NPR Books

"An imaginative, intelligent, and soaring debut...A hell of lot of fun." -
–Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World

"A robustly imagined fantasy world... pleasingly unpredictable. His skill at extrapolating traditional religious lore into the stuff of fantasy bodes well for future books in the series."
–Publishers Weekly

"With King of Shards, Kressel threads portal adventure through ancient mythos. His demons and demi-gods and his very human (or mostly human) characters have to work their way through the terrifying, violent, and often beautiful alternate planes he's built using his incredible imagination and traditional and Apocryphal knowledge as a tableau. You will emerge transformed."
— Fran Wilde, author of Updraft

"[A] fascinating first novel...King of Shards is the first entry of the Worldmender Trilogy, and its use of Hebrew culture and legend to build a complex, dynamic setting serves to imbue every page with an epic mythos. Kressel presents a compelling alternate reality that readers can escape to while also pondering the nature of what is real."
–Shelf Awareness

"Kressel's rich landscapes sing with ancient resonance by the light of modern flair. He weaves compelling tradition with innovative high Fantasy; culture and creativity become foundations for new myths featuring heroes built to shine."
–Leanna Renee Hieber, award-winning author of the Strangely Beautiful saga

"A gripping trek across a unique desert world rich with Kabbalah-inspired magic and vivid demons builds to a whirlwind climax."
–Scott H. Andrews, Hugo and World Fantasy Award-nominated editor of Beneath Ceaseless Skies Magazine

"This novel shakes the foundations of everyday reality, and the ensuing chaos is pure pleasure.”
–Christopher Barzak, author of One for Sorrow and Wonders of the Invisible World

Matthew Kressel is a multiple Nebula and World Fantasy Award nominated author and coder. His many works of short fiction have appeared in Analog, Asimov's, Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, Tor.com/Reactor, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and many other publications and anthologies, including multiple Year's Bests. Eighteen of his stories will be included in his debut collection, Histories Within Us, coming from Senses Five Press in February. His far-future novel Space Trucker Jess is coming in 2025 from Fairwood Press. And his Mars-based novella The Rainseekers is forthcoming from Tordotcom in early 2026. Alongside Ellen Datlow, he runs the Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series in Manhattan. And he is the creator of the Moksha submissions system, used by many of the largest fiction publishers today.