Kel Kade Books in Order

Kel Kade is an American fantasy author best known for King’s Dark Tidings, a seven-book epic that began as a self-published Kindle release in 2015 and grew into one of the most-read independent fantasy series of its era. Free of the expectations of a traditional publishing schedule, Kade built the early audience for the series book by book on Amazon and Audible — Free the Darkness, Reign of Madness, and Legends of Ahn arrived in fast succession between late 2015 and 2017 — before the series moved to her own imprint, Dark Rover Publishing, for the longer-form later books.

Her work centers on Rezkin, a near-supernaturally trained warrior raised in isolation who is thrust into an outside world he was never prepared to understand socially or politically. The series leans into the sort of large- ensemble, expanding-cast structure that rewards long-term readers, with subplots, cultures, and magic systems that compound across volumes. Kade has also written Mage of No Renown, the first novel in Tales of Terralor, a companion series set in the same world that follows Journeyman Wesson — a fan-favorite secondary character from the main series — through his earlier training years.

The audiobook editions, narrated by Nick Podehl for Podium Publishing, are widely credited with broadening the series’ reach beyond its initial self-published audience.