Gudnak Means War is a multi-author collaborative fiction anthology featuring stories in the game world of Gudnak, where the sun is dying and nobody is handling it particularly well.
The ambigram above says “Gudnak,” and Gudnak means “WAR.”
At least, we think it does.
It’s an Orcish word—and also what people call this world.
It might also be a curse word. It depends on who you ask.
Welcome to Gudnak: a fantasy world with one small issue—Solara, the sun, is dying. Many denizens of Gudnak think this is a problem. Most believe it’s someone else’s fault.
Luckily, crystalline shards fell from the sky long ago. These shards offer a warm, pink, and magical sun alternative that (bonus!) can be deployed in combat to devastating effect. Seems useful. The denizens of Gudnak are keen to get their hands on these shards. Good luck, denizens!!
This is Gudnak. And Gudnak Means War.
Gudnak Means War is a 256-page multi-author collaborative anthology featuring some of the coolest people who have ever written words. The book explores tales of romance, faith, adventure and, of course, WAR with a refreshing irreverence.
But don't be fooled into thinking this is a tome of mere jokes. The inhibitants of Gudnak take themselves very seriously. The stakes are very high. There are some jokes though. Maybe three? We didn't count.
The Deluxe Edition of Gudnak means war will be printed in beautiful gold foil hardcover and lined with over a dozen full page art spreads by Gudnak artist Vittoria Pompolani.
Listen to a sample story The Pupil by Jerry Holkins (and read by Eric Summerer) below!
The sun is dying. Nobody is handling is particularly well.
The people of Gudnak might not know why the sun is dying, but they definitely know things are changing. Each year the sun, a relatively important part of their ecosystem, doesn’t seem to want to emit quite as much light as it used to. According to some Gudnakians, this is because some heathens weren’t saying their daily prayers. According to others, this is the heralded End Time that they’ve been reading about in their ancient demon-scripture. There are probably more opinions than these two, but none of them are correct.
But what they do know is that it’s becoming increasingly crowded in Gudnak because (regardless of why) there isn’t as much light or warmth or (related) food as before.
The Refractory
The Refractory are a fervent faction of faithful fighters devoted to the worship of Solara, the Sun Goddess, and the most organized military and economic power in the world of Gudnak. They perform intricate rituals to summon Solara each morning and blame the sun's current about-to-die situation on the non-believers (aka everyone else).
The Shardsworn Alliance
A diverse cast of fantasy races huddled around “shards” of crystalline magic from a celestial event. The shards grant power and, more importantly, the warmth needed to survive in the ever-shrinking arable lands of Gudnak.
The Gloaming
The Gloaming are a sinister,mysterious and cordial (didn't expect that last one did ya!?) group, ruled by the Everking who made a dark pact to save his reign. His kingdom, located in the frozen north, is now a realm of undead, and he is driven by a relentless quest for vengeance against the descendants of his twin brother. They're not all bad! It's really just bad branding.
The Delguon
The Delguon are a subterranean society of dwarves that have historically kept to themselves for the most part. At some point they dug up some pretty gnarly Demons (they don’t like that word) and formed a cult (they don’t like that word either) around them. Now that the rays of the sun are weaker, the Delguon can rejoin the surface world and vie for control of it as their Dem– uhhh bosses command.
To bring the world of Gudnak to life, we knew it would take a team of talented wordsmiths. Luckily, we found just the right crew, starting with our amazing editors.
Anthology editor Jennifer Brozek teaching Gudnak to authors Marie Bilodeau and Ed Greenwood.
Jennifer Brozek is a multi-talented, award-winning author, editor, and media tie-in writer. She is the author of Never Let Me Sleep and The Last Days of Salton Academy, both of which were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award.
Anthology editor Christopher throwing down Gudnak cards (he probably lost)
Christopher D. Schmitz writes mostly genre fiction, especially Sci-Fi and Fantasy, but also stories that have been called "Stephen King-esque." He also writes some nonfiction, dabbles in game design, and speaks/presents at libraries, comicons, schools, and more. If you met him at a convention, he was definitely wearing a kilt. Wait did you know he also plays the bagpipes?!
Jeri and Ed at CanCon
Jeri "Red" Shepherd is perhaps the most awesome human ever. Writer of over 100+ genre fiction titles with 14 international #1 best sellers. More accomplished than any human has any right to be.
Ed Greenwood// Creator of the Forgotten Realms and inspiration for Elminster. Maybe a real life wizard? Unclear.
Erik playing Gudnak against a real life human opponent. Despite persistent rumors, Erik never plays Gudnak alone until 3am every weeknight.
Erik Scott de Bie isa creator of worlds and author of many Forgotten Realms titles for WotC, including Shadowbane and Depths of Madness.
Author Jerry Holkins with our artist Vittoria Pompolani
Jerry Holkins is the creator of Penny Arcade, PAX and Child's Play. He started the concept of playing Dungeons and Dragons on podcasts as a way to force his friend how to play it. Now it's a whole Thing. Our goal is to make sure absolutely nobody recognizes him from those Things and they instead recognize him from Gudnak Means War.
Marie Bilodeau is an Ottawa-based author, TTRPG game writer, and storyteller. Her speculative fiction has won several awards and has been translated into French (Les Éditions Alire) and Chinese (SF World).
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