Alchemy and ancient spirits come to life in this debut fantasy inspired by African Diasporic folklore and the 1920s World Fair, wherein sixteen-year-old Kellan DuCuivre, an orphan from a reviled class, must compete for a coveted apprenticeship among the nation’s elite in order to save her adopted father from a twisted fate.

THE ANCIENT’S GAME
by Loni Crittenden
HarperTeen, October 2024

In THE ANCIENT’S GAME, readers will find themselves on the edge of their seats as Kellan competes in The Gauntlet, a thrilling test of wits and skill wherein eight apprentices studying in the alchemic art of makecraft must compete for a coveted spot among its Guild of Engineers—only for the tests to take a series of deadly turns.

The love stories centered in THE ANCIENT’S GAME touch upon a range of relationships, from familial love in Kellan’s quest to save her adopted father, the love between friends and found families, and the tender, friendship to romantic relationship that’s cultivated when Kellan encounters Axel Bonne, the illegitimate son of the vicious head of the House Bonne, a family of makers renowned for their runework inventions.

With its 1920s World’s Fair inspired setting and thrilling, death-defying gauntlet competition, THE ANCIENT’S GAME is the perfect read for fans of These Violent Delights, Iron Widow, and Dread Nation.

Loni Crittenden is a writer from Buffalo, New York. She has a BA in creative writing from SUNY Oswego and an MFA in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University. When she’s not glued to her laptop, you can find her nursing various cat-inflicted wounds, planning on painting again someday maybe, and hunting for unusually flavored teas.