Tales of Aolas: All series and books coming to the Legend of Tal universe
A reader recently asked me what the heck was going on with Legend of Tal. He'd heard there was a prequel series and a sequel series in the works and wanted to know if he'd read that right.
I'm pleased to say that yes, Michael, that's exactly right!
I've been pretty coy about my plans to this point, dropping hints here and there about forthcoming series, but it's past time I clarified things.
That's what you'll get in this post: everything coming to the world of Legend of Tal in the coming years… that I have planned so far, at least!
To start, this universe of stories is now called Tales of Aolas. Think of it as my version of Dragonlance or the Cosmere, but centered around the Legend of Tal series and the continent where events take place—namely, Aolas.
Seeing as Legend of Tal started it all, that can be seen as the cornerstone series. Everything else pivots around that one, though each series will be written so that newcomers to the world can start wherever they fancy.
One just-released book that is not written for newcomers is A Battle Between Blood. It’s a novella set five years after the events of Legend of Tal—though before the epilogue in A God's Plea—that follows the end of the civil war in Gladelyl. I wrote it partly as a way to bridge the gap between Legend of Tal and the sequel series, which is…
Legend of Leras! (At least, that's what I've been calling it—always subject the change.) Legend of Leras primarily follows a character introduced at the end of Legend of Tal as well as shown a bit more in A Battle Between Blood. I won't say more to avoid spoilers for those still reading those books on who that is, though!
What I will say about Legend of Leras is that I'm currently in the throes of writing the first book, and it's set to be quite the tome. Presently, it's at over 160,000 words—or some 600 odd pages—with no end in sight.
Legend of Leras introduces another epic-scale arc to the world of Aolas, and in time, it'll be a pillar series right along Legend of Tal.
The prequel series is a little different in scope and intent. Called Tal Tales, it will follow Tal Harrenfel, the titular protagonist of Legend of Tal, throughout the events of his aggrandized early life. Those wondering still about the truth behind the legend will, at long last, finally be able to read it for themselves.
…At least, they'll view Tal’s version of events. But that's as good as you're going to get!
I'm not exactly sure what form Tal Tales will take yet. The first part I've written, which follows his time as part of the Avendoran army as a youth, is the length of a long novella or a short novel, depending on your point of view, and is still mired in edits.
I may release the whole series as novellas, which would likely mean about seven or eight of them in total. It's also possible I would rope these together more as complete novels. I'll be honest, I have still yet to decide!
But that's everything I have so far. To summarize, the story universe of Tales of Aolas entails the following series:
Legend of Tal (with A Battle Between Blood appended to it) - the original cornerstone series
Legend of Leras - the forthcoming sequel series
Tal Tales - the forthcoming prequel series
I hope you're as excited for it all as I am! Now, I'd better get back to writing it all…
Happy Reading!
Josiah