The Books of Ascension
My fantasy trilogy,The Books of Ascension, has been published in various editions in English and German. The most recent paperback and hardcover editions have a set of great covers by Australia's top fantasy cover artist, Les Petersen. The German edition covers will probably confuse you if you've read any of the books. They have absolutely nothing to do with the story. I deliberately had no horses in the world of Zenith. It's a giant mountain, for Pete's sake. Horses aren't generally the beast of choice on giant mountains. The German title "Die Windreiter" translates as "The Windriders", which is an accurate title, but these people ride the wind, not bloody horses. The bizarre winged man-creature on the cover of the third German book also doesn't exist in my series. The windriders use hang glider-like contraptions to ride the constant updraughts of the Mountain. Boy, I'm glad I finally got that off my chest.
Zenith - The First BookZenith has some stunning reviews. People either rave about it or (inexplicably to me) find it ho-hum. You can't please most of the people all the time (or however that saying goes - I never seem to get it right). Anyway, here's where you can find out more about Zenith, including some of the things that people have said about it, which I've rather unambiguously titled "Praise for Zenith".
Start reading Zenith Download Zenith |
Equinox - BalanceThey say a middle child often has a difficult time. I've always thought Equinox was a better book than Zenith in a lot of ways. An Equinox occurs when the days and nights are of equal length and light and dark are in perfect balance. This second book was short-listed for an Aurealis Award, but was beaten in a one-two combination by Sara Douglass and Jack Dann.
Start reading Equinox Download Equinox |
Eclipse - The Lost BookIronically, in a trilogy about lost books with mystical powers, the Third Book of Ascension, was not published in English originally. There's a long story behind that fact, mainly non-mystical. By the way, I had the title "Eclipse" long before that other slightly more famous third book in a trilogy about vampires. Here's some more information about Eclipse and why for a long time I had to endure jokes about being the author of a two-book trilogy.
Start reading Eclipse Download Eclipse |
Praise for The Books of Ascension
"The Ascension series is a gold standard for its genre, the epic adventure allegory."
Kindle customer review
“Ascension is... full of insight, provocative in just the right way... There is much, much more than simple adventure going on here, and more of this kind of writing is needed in the world.”
Amazon review
"Strasser’s unique blend of adventure, esotericism, Eastern mysticism, and fantasy makes for compelling reading… Strasser has not just written down a legend, rather, he has crafted one.”
Amazon review
“These books have shown me why I appreciate and love fantasy so much. All of the parts of this trilogy blend so effortlessly… This series is one that fantasy fans will adore and fly through. If you haven't discovered Dirk Strasser's The Books of Ascension series, do yourself a favor and pick them up. You'll not be disappointed.”
Pretty Little Pages
“With great writing, characters who go through such steady development readers can easily follow along on their journey, and an epic, engaging world, Dirk Strasser has weaved an intriguing fantasy series that is a must-read for all fans of epic fantasy.”
I Heart Reading
“When I finished this last book in the trilogy, I was sad to leave Atreu’s world… When a reader becomes that engrossed, that connected to the tale and its people, that is the sign of masterful writing!”
Tome Tender
“Strasser’s descriptive writing style made me feel like I was actually watching this on the big screen... I recommend this series to science-fiction and fantasy lovers. In particular those who like stories centered around epic journeys like The Lord of the Rings.”
Readers and Writers Connect
“This one will set the heart aflutter for the true fantasy reader… and with a dose of spiritualism and action tossed in the mix, it’s bound to attract the attention of several genres.”
For the Love of Books
“Loved getting to know the characters in such depth… I strongly recommend this one to all fantasy readers.”
Amazon review
“I knew from the description that Ascension wasn't going to be the standard fantasy adventure, and that got my attention. I'm always looking for books that venture out from the center of a genre, and this book does so very nicely.”
Kindle customer review
"Meine Lieblingsbücher sind alle 3 Bände der Atreu-Trilogie von Dirk Strasser. Alles sind super Bücher. Nur zu empfehlen."
LieblingsBuch
Kindle customer review
“Ascension is... full of insight, provocative in just the right way... There is much, much more than simple adventure going on here, and more of this kind of writing is needed in the world.”
Amazon review
"Strasser’s unique blend of adventure, esotericism, Eastern mysticism, and fantasy makes for compelling reading… Strasser has not just written down a legend, rather, he has crafted one.”
Amazon review
“These books have shown me why I appreciate and love fantasy so much. All of the parts of this trilogy blend so effortlessly… This series is one that fantasy fans will adore and fly through. If you haven't discovered Dirk Strasser's The Books of Ascension series, do yourself a favor and pick them up. You'll not be disappointed.”
Pretty Little Pages
“With great writing, characters who go through such steady development readers can easily follow along on their journey, and an epic, engaging world, Dirk Strasser has weaved an intriguing fantasy series that is a must-read for all fans of epic fantasy.”
I Heart Reading
“When I finished this last book in the trilogy, I was sad to leave Atreu’s world… When a reader becomes that engrossed, that connected to the tale and its people, that is the sign of masterful writing!”
Tome Tender
“Strasser’s descriptive writing style made me feel like I was actually watching this on the big screen... I recommend this series to science-fiction and fantasy lovers. In particular those who like stories centered around epic journeys like The Lord of the Rings.”
Readers and Writers Connect
“This one will set the heart aflutter for the true fantasy reader… and with a dose of spiritualism and action tossed in the mix, it’s bound to attract the attention of several genres.”
For the Love of Books
“Loved getting to know the characters in such depth… I strongly recommend this one to all fantasy readers.”
Amazon review
“I knew from the description that Ascension wasn't going to be the standard fantasy adventure, and that got my attention. I'm always looking for books that venture out from the center of a genre, and this book does so very nicely.”
Kindle customer review
"Meine Lieblingsbücher sind alle 3 Bände der Atreu-Trilogie von Dirk Strasser. Alles sind super Bücher. Nur zu empfehlen."
LieblingsBuch