Mortal Enemy
Legends of Grim #1
A Novel and Audio Experience by Nicholas Ryan Howard
About
Mortal Enemy: Legends of Grim #1 is a tale like no other. It is a relentless whirlwind of action and adventure. A saga of conflicted heroes and devious villains. A journey rife with darkness and struggle, yet also wicked humor. It is jam-packed with nightmarish scenarios, fantastical environments, rich mythology, incredible weapons, unique technologies, and characters dripping with personality, with shocking surprises awaiting you at every turn. Come experience Death… if you dare.
Connect
Notoriety
Reviews
“We read to explore, to live tales and build worlds grander than our own. Mortal Enemy does this and much more. Original, complex, and fiendishly twisted.”
Pierce Brown
Author of the Red Rising trilogy and Iron Gold
“Nicholas Ryan Howard’s Mortal Enemy will draw you in immediately with its vivid language and detailed characters, and keep you there with the magnificently built worlds. It all feels so different—yet eerily, so similar—to what we are experiencing today. This is a story that sticks with you. A jolt to the imagination.”
Meagan Adele Lopez
Author of Three Questions
“An epic adventure that rivals the storytelling you would encounter with Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars. Mortal Enemy is relentlessly intriguing while maintaining deep character backgrounds and even deeper plot twists. Absolutely a future household name in dark fantasies and probably a seat in the Comic-Con hall of fame.”
Keegan Allen
Author of life.love.beauty and Hollywood
The Audio Experience
To bring this story to life, The Audio Experience was created, a modern reimagining of dramatic storytelling. This version of the story was created by some of the best talent in the industry, and features an extraordinary cast of performers, multidimensional sound, cinematic-quality effects, and a spectacular orchestral score. It is available to purchase on all major audio platforms, and streams for free on many of them. Enjoy it now in the format of your choice.
Listen Now
The Cast
Eric Christian Olsen
Troian Bellisario
Chris Pine
Keegan Allen
Patrick J. Adams
Reid Scott
Devin Kelly
Sarah Wright Olsen
Brett Dier
Christa B. Allen
Brendan Hines
Adetokumboh M'Cormack
Jamie Harris
Robert Pine
Neal Bledsoe
Robert Baker
Joshua Close
Amanda Walsh
Crispian Belfrage
Justin Felbinger
Edouard Holdener
Michael Dunn
Timothy Dowling
William Rowel
Ian Gotler
Baxley Andresen
The Crew
Nicholas Ryan Howard
Rosa Nadine Xochimilco Sánchez
Deborah Lurie
Babar Peerzada
Tina Guo
Steve Tavaglione
Gretchen Menn
Sean Beavan
Rolando Nadal
Christian Gecosala
Vreny Van Elslande
David Crocco
The Novel
Mortal Enemy is thrilling, chilling, and epic in scale. The novel is available on many major platforms as a downloadable eBook as well as as in illustrated paperback and hardcover editions—including the jaw-dropping illustrated Color Collector's Edition.
Read Now
The Artwork
Mortal Enemy is more than a novel. The Illustrated Editions and Color Collector's Editions feature 42 pieces of original art designed by the author. Created in collaboration with an entire cast and crew, the many compositions were a labor of love that took hundreds of hours. Here’s a sneak peak at a few of the visual pieces found within the book.
Artwork Production Team
Malcolm Guess
Selkie Hom
William Rowel
Ron Hodge
Baxley Andresen
Mark Wildman
Emily Clark
Michael Dunn
Justin Zsebe
Rosa Nadine Xochimilco Sánchez
Nicholas Daly Clark
Kaitlin Weichsel
Emily Mefford
Stephanie Spiegel
Joseph Rubinstein
Emma Howie
Explore
Vant Hu'l is cursed. Dragged to the center of a wasteland by a ruthless malevolence, the legendary warrior discovers a cavern filled with devious riddles and fiendish traps. Upon solving the labyrinth, he is confronted by a hideous creature. A beast with unimaginable abilities. A being of unspeakable evil… Death. Without a shred of clemency, the demigod presents Vant with a choice: do his sinister bidding out in the world, or suffer an eternity of horrifying torment. Thus begins Vant’s quest out of the badlands, through the hostile wilderness, into the clutches of twisted townships, and finally toward conflict with the vile stewards of a corrupted civilization.
But Vant will not go it alone. In the midst of his travels, he develops an unlikely companionship with a clever and venturesome teenage girl, the expert survivalist Skii Tavee. They also form an alliance with two newfound—but questionable—companions: Kram Grammie, the sneaky con man who is as crafty as he is klepto, and an off-kilter eccentric bizarrely known as The World’s Worst Magician. United, they set out to dispatch their foes, rescue the innocents caught in the crossfire, and unite the forces of a world gone astray, all while reconciling with their own haunting pasts.
The Characters
Journey alongside the devious and the devoted, the daring and the damned.
Vant Hu'l
Warrior of legend. Liberator of the oppressed. Defender of rights. His might in battle is matched only by his unrelenting will, but with this ferocity comes an unpredictability… and a destiny sculpted by eras passed teetering on the brink.
Skii Tavee
A survivalist gifted well beyond her years with unmatched prowess in tracking, stealth, and hunting. Yet, her fierce independence has made her an outcast, a transient without a purpose.
Kram Grammie
A crafty companion, with fingers as loose as his tongue. He’ll just as easy steal a heart as he will a wallet. And with a flexible moral code comes questionable fidelity—just where do his loyalties lay?
Death
A being of mercy. A merciless being. Cruelty is a means to an end for the demigod of darkness.
The World's Worst Magician
Dingleborfs aplenty, in the land of Chiggy Chooboo. How can cherry dreams make rascal stallions? One can only imagine! So do!
Dawnrier
She never forgets her manners. A true hostess, Dawnrier will divine to fulfill your every whim. But under the mask, is there a smile, or a scowl?
The Mayor
He keeps the peace where peace can’t be kept. But is this a duty, to him, or a game?
Redemption
An enigmatic being at one with the shadows. His tech is as impressive as it is terrifying.
Clodd and Blauth
Garbage men with noses for sniffing out treasure. Even though they have no noses.
The World
Explore a land that is equal parts perilous, unpredictable, and awe-inspiring.
The Stronghold of Shadow
Labyrinth of Black | Torturous Tunnel | Cavern of Contracting Spikes | Death’s Palace
Deep below the scorching wasteland lies a realm of infinite darkness.
A series of devious traps protect an ethereal hidden lair. Travelers who dare to enter this forsaken place are met with a hallway carved with mutilated life-sucking faces, a cavern of razor-sharp contracting spikes, a maze of black so thick one can feel it on their skin, and golems of bone tasked with protection at all costs. And, beyond the skull-shaped entrance dwells the most horrifying inhabitant of all: Death himself, the cruelest, most soulless, and most sadistic of all demigods.
Land Escape
City of the Free, and the Last Dogmatic-Free Township
A haven of peace for those who long for a simple life.
After a massive worldly shift, cities and towns turned insular, each with their own beliefs. Those within the walls of a dogmatic township banded together to pursue the mysteries of life itself and shield themselves from all other beliefs. The last dogmatic-free township, Land Escape, is a haven for those who wish for a peaceful existence. Massive fortress walls circle a spectacular city to offer protection from the dangers of the dogmatic, and the threats of the wild. It embodies the modern, with an economy built upon Corpo’s power and sustenance solutions.
The Outskirts
Desert Wastes | Nomad Territory | Townships of the Habitable Zones
An expansive landscape filled with equal measures of beauty and danger.
A rugged and wild terrain stretches the land, filled with perils. From the desert wastes that conceal Death’s lair, to the territory claimed by nomads who reject dependence on Corpo and rarely take prisoners, to the dogmatic townships that have dedicated their existences to discovering the keys to life extension—at any cost—safe havens are few and far between.
Crash Town
Gambling Houses | Corridor of Addicts | The Mayor’s Mansion | Giant Roach-Infested Sewers
A citadel that the devil himself would deem a fixer-upper.
A last-ditch destination for the disenfranchised, Cash Town—long since known by the locals as Crash Town—is the ultimate sanctuary of sin. The prevalent dogmatic belief is that pleasure is the key to life, and all those who step inside find seduction that never lets go. Think you can get past the junkies at the gates? Or can you survive a grapple with the Peace-Keepers? Fancy a tangle with the nomads outside the city walls? Or maybe exit through the Corpo-Bot access on the roof? The holographic ceiling does more than just look pretty; it's deadly. The House always wins.
Sanctuary of The Immortals
Liquid Waterways of the Captors | The Aquatic Prisons of the Captured
Hidden in plain sight, a glimmering fortress houses a dogmatic township of the devious and corrupt
Ostentatious signage promises everlasting life while the sophistication of the structure backs up the claims—the whole package is too tantalizing to resist to wayward travelers. The fortress is designed to lure in anyone who might pass by—to suck in strays. And when that body count becomes too low, the self-proclaimed“Immortals,” beings who live in an aquatic sanctuary of life-extending fluids, branch out with their armies of liquid-filled exo-suits to capture and imprison those needed to shore up their numbers.
Merch
Shop for keepsakes, mementos, gifts and collectables.
Classic T-Shirt
Denim Jacket
Backpack
Hoodie
Hoodie Dress
Beanie
Feminine Style T-Shirt
Snapback Hat
Embroidered Patch
Candle
Tote Bag
Mug
iPhone Case
Sticker
Poster
Socks
Chibi Pins
Trading Cards
About the Author
Nicholas Ryan Howard is an author, philosopher, and expert in the field of creativity. He was educated at the University of Southern California in Communications and trained as a master facilitator in Spiritual Psychology at the University of Santa Monica, where he later served as a director. As a media producer and content creator he has worked on such properties as The Bourne Identity, Harry Potter, and Star Wars, and in the technology sector he has overseen projects for corporations such as Mattel, Sony, and Panasonic. He is the visionary behind the epic Legends of Grim saga, the best-selling poetry collection Mercenary at Midnight, and the acclaimed podcast Of Tears and Blood. Currently he spends his time dreaming up new worlds, counseling individuals on their expansion of consciousness, consulting with organizations, and speaking around the globe.
