The Shroud of Darkness is here!

I had originally planned to release The Shroud of Darkness in February 2026 in keeping with my usual 4-months-between-releases schedule, but the editing process was much faster this time around (big thanks to the team at EIP - Professional Editing and Book Design | Enchanted Ink Publishing) and with the excitement of Black Friday upon us, I figured why sit on this for two months?

Time to roll the dice and join the chaos of Black Friday!

The Shroud of Darkness picks right up where Shatterpoint leaves off and takes you into the heart of the war with the GCH on the ropes and Jackson and the crew seriously considering the possibility of using the Light weapons if there's no other choice.

I recently watched a documentary on World War II and it discussed how Harry Truman felt he had no choice but to use the atomic bomb after the brutal battle of Okinawa. The commentary was interesting in that it talked about how many lives - American soldiers, Japanese soldiers, and Japanese civilians - it felt were ultimately saved by the decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, rather than invade mainland Japan. I can only imagine the incredible stress and moral conundrum that Truman must have felt in making the decision to drop the bombs (much like Oppenheimer in creating them), and it was interesting how the historical view from the documentary painted it as the lesser of two evils.

I'd never really thought about it that way before.

I found this interesting in contrast to the decision that Jackson makes at the end of Shatterpoint NOT to use the weapons of mass destruction, despite the fact that they could end the war and potentially save so many humanoid lives. When I wrote that chapter and I put myself in Jackson's shoes, I just didn't know if he (or I) could do it, despite everything that had just happened. I struggled with the morality of it and Jackson's character - who he was and who I wanted him to be. I wanted him to be better. Better than us. I wanted him to find another way... or at least try before possibly sacrificing a piece of his soul - even if it was the lesser of two evils.

History provides us with 20/20 hindsight. A luxury we don't have in the moment when hard decisions need to be made. Jackson makes his choice and has to live with the consequences of his actions... and inactions.

Just something to consider when you read The Shroud of Darkness and decide for yourself if you feel Jackson's decision was the right one after all is said and done. (Sorry if I got a little heavy there) ;)

All the best,

Bradley Elliott

Shatterpoint & Beyond

I've had several people reach out about Shatterpoint with questions and comments over the past few weeks since it came out, so I thought it might be worth a blog post to dive a bit deeper into the book.

What is Shatterpoint about?

Ultimately, it's about being pushed to the limit. Testing the breaking point of both Jackson and the GCH. It's about how people deal with extreme situations and if they hold true to their ideals and their humanity, or if they give in to the worst of their base emotions like anger, fear, and vengeance.

When book two came out, a few people commented that they felt like it was sometimes too easy for Jackson. That he always wins. That he doesn't get pushed enough. I thought it was an interesting comment, and having already written the next four books, I knew that wasn't the case with what was about to come, but I could see how early on it felt that way to some readers.

The plot of the Legacy series as a whole isn't about the war. It's not about the Ancients, or the Ularans, or the GCH. It's ultimately about Jackson and his journey. How he adapts. How he grows. How he's pushed to his limits and what that does to him. It's about his humanity and how, despite being from this time - our time - with all the problems in our world making up his background - he finds his best self, and he perseveres.

As the next few books continue, the profound experience of isolation and despair he felt on the island affects him in many ways. He's not the same man who left Foxblind for the shipyard mission. He came back different. Harder, broken, but also focused and driven.

At the end of Shatterpoint, (spoiler alert) after the devastating attack on Kuteria, he's faced with a choice. A chance to potentially end the war tomorrow, but to possibly lose a part of his soul in the process, or to find another way, even if it means putting his life on the line once more and risking everything.

That's where The Shroud of Darkness picks up. With Jackson ready to do what needs to be done to end this war while still determined not to lose his humanity in the process.

So, for those readers who are waiting for the final battle to end the war, or to get back to the Ancients, the Ularans, Arkamus, Winters, the Phague, or many of the other mysteries that have been peppered throughout the first four books, you'd better buckle up. As the next two books unfold, these topics will dominate the narrative and move forward rapidly, taking Jackson on a dangerous journey across the galaxy, and beyond.

I hope you'll join me for the ride.

All the best,

Bradley Elliott

Legacy Series Update - Book 3!

Hey Everyone,

Book three, Legacy - Shadows of War, is releasing on Tuesday, June 24th, 2025!

Shadows of War picks up right where Awakening ended, with Jackson and Verris heading off with a new commanding officer, Admiral Valentyen, to search for Ancient sites. Lots of major events take place in this new installment, with new planets, enemies, ships, and technologies added to the Legacy universe.

Book four, Legacy - Shatterpoint, is currently in the formatting phase with the amazing team at EIP (Professional Editing and Book Design | Enchanted Ink Publishing) and I'm looking at September/October release date. More on this to come, including the cover (which is in the design phase now) in the next month or so.

The series continues with several more books in the Legacy saga, each coming out about 4-to-5 months apart. Book 7 - Destroyer of Worlds - is currently in my writing queue, after an extended break to get books 3 and 4 ready, and I'll be doing a major push on it this summer. The Last Hunt of the Raagar is another book that I'm currently tinkering with and may release sometime in the next 6 to 12 months, TBD. It's a stand-alone story that takes place in the Legacy universe about a hunter on a plague-ravaged world where an alien spaceship crashes and a deadly predator is set loose.

So much more to come, I hope you'll join me for the ride.

All the best,

Bradley Elliott

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