The Ancient’s Game

By: Loni Crittenden

Narrated by: Angel Pean

The Ancient’s Game is a thrilling new fantasy where one young woman must compete against the nation’s elite for a coveted apprenticeship.

Sixteen-year-old Kellan DuCuivre is the descendant of traitors. She never knew her family or which one of them betrayed the isle of Nanseau. Like all people of her class orphaned after the war, Kellan is forbidden from carving magic into metal, a trade known as makecraft. But Kellan has a secret. In the wake of a tragic miscarve, she’s been helping her adoptive father, Edgar, run his celebrated makeshop.

With Edgar’s condition worsening, his shop is on the brink of ruin. To save them both, Kellan strikes a dangerous deal: she must compete against the nation’s elite for a coveted spot as a maker’s apprentice.

But danger lurks at every turn. As Kellan grows closer to the illegitimate son of one of Nanseau’s most revered families, something sinister begins targeting the competitors.

Amid a crumbling city and a ticking clock, winning won’t just be a test of survival – it will mean uncovering the shrouded legacies of Nanseau itself.

©2024 Loni Crittenden (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

'Brilliantly inventive. The Ancient’s Game is the perfect combination of a transfixing world and the beguiling intrigue within'

Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights

'The Ancient's Game is a gorgeously written adventure about one girl's determination to carve her place in the world and protect her family—and the love she finds along the way. Kellan's fractured world is fresh and unforgettable, and her gang of humans and automatons are poised to be your new favorite found family'

Kamilah Cole, indie bestselling author of So Let Them Burn