Throughout her whole life, South has given everything to the Holy Empire, her magic, her power, her children, even her beloved Moon. The only thing left to give is her life on top of a Pyramid. When a rockfall kills everyone except her and her guide, South is tossed back into the life that was stolen from her when she was a child – with a family only she can protect.
Torn between grief for Moon and love for her newfound family, South struggles to find a purpose for her life and powers. Just as she settles in, the Priests she escaped wreak new havoc on her family, abducting South’s niece. Rescuing the girl means sneaking back into the Empire, where discovery would result in painful death.
South Breaks is the first book of an epic fantasy series following the fates of eight magic users and their fight against the fanatic Priests of the Holy Empire.
If you enjoy fast-paced adventures, exotic settings, creative use of magic, occasional romantic subplots and the long arc of destiny, South Breaks by Hannah Steenbock is the perfect book to start a new series with.
South Breaks became a semi-finalist in the 2024 SPFBO Fantasy Award Contest.
Warning: There are a few explicit scenes that are necessary for the plot and character development. This does not mean the books are romance or steamy.
Winds of Destiny / Pillars of the Empire Reading Order:
South Breaks
West Flows
East Roars
North Shatters
Earth Splits
Sky Falls
Sun Burns
Hannah Steenbock is a German writer of Speculative Fiction. She uses both her native German and English as languages for her tales, as she loves English and tends to think in that language when plotting Fantasy.
She prefers stories with satisfying endings and generally refrains from slaying her characters. That's why she likes to call her stories “feel-good fantasy”.
After finishing university with a degree in English and Spanish, Hannah lives and works in Kiel, the northernmost state capital of Germany. Her other pastimes include reading on her balcony, strolling along beaches, talking with trees, and devouring as many stories as time allows.
Her book "Sequoia" won two awards in the Turning the Pages Book of the Year Awards, for Best Short Story Book of the Year 2013 and Best Folklore Book of the Year 2013.
Read more on her website: www.hannah-steenbock.de