Malasz

In the battle to defeat King Ruin and protect the Bridge between souls, ex-Arctic marine Ritry Goligh tore his own soul into pieces. Now those pieces, embodied as six rugged marines spread across the tsunami-blasted world, are adrift without Ritry to guide them. Their captain, Me, is addicted to dying in raids against the remnants of King Ruin's army. Ray longs for the love he lost. Far seeks the mythical heart of the Bridge, So is lost to her calculations, while twins Ti and La have split as far apart as possible. They trudge from bunker to bunker blinded by loss, mopping up holdouts from the war. But the war isn't over. It's only just begun. From the ashes of King Ruin's defeat a godlike power rises, one that understands the Bridge better than Ritry ever did, and means to bring a flood so vast it will erase every soul from history. Me's only hope is to ascend to godhood himself, before everyone he loves is washed away forever. If you haven't read the first two...

Standing in the ashes of his final battle with Mr. Ruins, at the edge of the floating slums, ex-Arctic marine Ritry Goligh thinks his long nightmare is finally over. His family are safe, his soul is his own, and at last he can go home. Then comes an explosion that makes no sound, but blows all his thoughts to shreds. In an instant Ritry is prey again, hunted by a power so vast he can’t even comprehend it. This is King Ruin, and before him all Rit can do is run, so far and so fast he starts to forget who and what he is. Soon half his mind is gone, the King is closing in, and the souls of billions are at stake. Because King Ruin wants the Bridge, a direct path into the minds of every living thing, and only the lost and broken Ritry Goligh stands in his way. King Ruin picks up right where Mr. Ruins left off. Ritry doesn't get to savor his victory or even go home to see his family. He's right back in thick of it with a foe that is far stronger than Mr. Ruins. Previous cover Befor...

Today we have the pleasure of interviewing Michael John Grist , the author of Mr. Ruins and the Ruins War trilogy. He's also the author of the Ignifer Cycle, two anthologies, and Into the Ruins, an account of his travels through the modern ruins of Japan. His latest work is The Last, the story of a comic book artist in the zombie apocalypse. New Podler: Thanks for being here with us today, Michael! Michael John Grist: Happy to be here, thanks for having me! NP: I found out about you by accident. I was searching for something, and I was directed to the ruins exploration portion of your website. While there are some photos collected from around the internet, the photos from Japan are all yours. Can you tell us how that came about? MJG: Sure, and it’s sort of by accident too. First off though, I was always into ruins. As a kid I’d explored some of the big abandoned factories near Manchester where I grew up—they were probably cotton mills—as well as taking adventures into w...

Sometimes, for whatever reason, the vision an author has for their book cover fails to connect with the targeted audience. Michael John Grist takes us through the process of the cover creation process for Mr. Ruins. Much like what he did to his protagonist, Grist had to tear down his idea for the book cover and rebuild it. Mr. Ruins originally had a cover I poured all my ideas into, but people thought it looked like a bunch of worms sitting on an eyeball. :(. It wasn’t meant to be that. So now I’m talking about the glorious misadventures I had on the path to make it, what it became, why it didn’t work, and the new design that has replaced it. To read more and see the previous incarnations of the cover, please visit his website .

Ritry Goligh is a former Arctic marine living in a dystopian, tsunami-wrecked future. He works as a graysmith—a specialist capable of diving the minds of others and implanting or erasing memories. Scarred by the events of the Arctic war, he leads a directionless life of alcohol, violence, and sex, until a man calling himself Mr. Ruins offers him a devil’s bargain—gain a future, but forfeit his soul. At the same time, a crew of hardened marines rouse in a unique submarine designed to dive through lava, within a planet’s molten core. They have no memories except their names, ranks, and a burning urge to complete their mission. Yet none of them know what their mission is, or what the cost will be if they fail. Before becoming aware of Mr. Grist's work as an author, I'd known that he'd spent some time in Japan, exploring the ruins of man-made structures long since abandoned and reclaimed by the natural world. I can't explain it, but it's something that's always cap...