In the works: The Shattered Gods (book II in the Ur Noir series)

I'm thrilled to share an update on the next book in the Ur Noir series, The Shattered Gods, coming soon!

If you enjoyed cynical scribe Enlil-Bani and pragmatic priestess Nin-Gal solving the last crisis (on "Dead Gods Tell No Tales"), prepare for the stakes to go from a city-wide conspiracy to a cosmic existential threat.

Six months after the Sacred Calendar theft, the city of Ur is back to normal - or so it seems. Our investigators are pulled into a new, more dangerous case when a charismatic Chaldean merchant named Avram arrives, preaching a revolutionary new idea: monotheism.

Avram’s message - that Ur’s pantheon of greedy, competitive gods are nothing more than false idols - isn’t just heresy; it’s a direct threat to cosmic order. Because in this world, gods get their power from belief, and as doubt spreads among the citizens, the divine powers literally begin to wane.

• The Conflict: Enlil-Bani and Nin-Gal must solve a problem that can't be arrested. How do you investigate an ideology? How do you restore order when the gods themselves are losing their minds from lack of worship?

• The Stakes: A crucial political marriage for King Shulgi's daughter hangs in the balance. If the gods can't protect the city, the alliance will collapse, and Ur will be vulnerable.

The Shattered Gods takes the "noir" genre to a terrifying new level:

• For Enlil-Bani: His cynicism will be tested by a faith that appears genuinely incorruptible. He’ll be forced to confront the idea that a god can be real but still not deserve worship.

• For Nin-Gal: She watches her connection to her patron god, Nanna, literally fade. Her crisis of faith forces her to apply her professional, detective-like logic to the divine chaos, using her organizational framework as the only anchor against cosmic madness. She literally uses detective methodology to perform divine brain surgery.

The climax isn't a battle of strength, but a bureaucratic negotiation - a desperate "divine plea agreement" to save the cosmos from total collapse.

I’m currently writing the intense sequence where Nin-Gal attempts her consciousness merger with Nanna, applying her logical mind to a fractured divine entity.

Stay tuned for more updates.

The Shattered Gods book cover concept