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The Novice of Thanatos: An Epic Dark Fantasy of Horror, Death, and Necromancy

Scott Austin Tirrell

Fiction & poetry

The Novice of Thanatos: An Epic Dark Fantasy of Horror, Death, and Necromancy

By Scott Austin Tirrell, director of administration and finance at the Art, Culture, and Technology Program

Satirrell Publishing · 2025

A fantasy novel that follows 11-year-old Mishal, a gifted yet troubled boy inducted into the secretive Order of Thanatos. Set in the grim and mystic realm of Lucardia, the story is framed as a first-person memoir chronicling Mishal's initiation as a novice psychopomp - one who guides the dead across the Threshold into the afterlife. As Mishal navigates the Order's rigid hierarchy, academic rigor, and spiritual mysteries, he begins to uncover unsettling truths about death, the soul, and the hidden agendas of those in power. Haunted by a spirit he cannot abandon and burdened by a forbidden artifact, Mishal must decide whom to trust and what to believe as his abilities grow - and as the line between duty and damnation begins to blur.

From Summer 2025 recommended reading from MIT (MIT News). Cover image via Google Books.