(Ruadán Books, 2025)

The Red Empress is the only home Erzelle has known since the day her family was lured aboard and murdered, victims of a grisly ritual meant to make the elite immortal. Erzelle plays her harp for the diners inside this ghoul-infested riverboat, knowing her own death looms, escaping through the music that’s all she has left of her parents.

Her nightmare’s upended in the space of a day by the arrival of Olyssa, a fellow musician, but so much more.

Erzelle is swept up in Olyssa’s quest to find her ensorcelled sister Lilla, a journey across a mutated landscape that leads them to an enemy responsible for the deaths of millions. To stop the slaughter of countless more, the pair has no choice but to draw on the deadly magic that reshaped the world … a power that’s as dangerous to its wielders as it is to its foes, one that’s killing Erzelle even as she fights to control it.

“A true departure from Mike Allen – Two unusual female heroes, a deceptively musical quest, and some very black magic indeed, should make this a prize for the multitude of fans who relish strong Grand Guignol with their sword and sorcery.” — Tanith Lee

“This isn’t your Disney-lite zombie apocalypse. The Black Fire Concerto takes horror to Lovecraftian levels, accompanied by spectral harps of burning nightmare fire and sniper-rifle flutes. You really don’t want to interrupt this concert.” — A.E. Marling

“A dark, luscious feast of a book … Allen has created a fantastic world of fantasy and horror like a Bosch painting, like a Shostakovitch symphony — something out of a beautiful nightmare.” — R.S. Belcher

“Exploding with magic, music, and violence, this short novel has the magical feel of an old school suspenseful fantasy adventure as filtered through the eyes of H.R. Giger.”
— Little Red Reviewer

“The magical apocalypse envisioned in The Black Fire Concerto is unlike anything I’ve ever read. … Mike Allen’s imagery is incredible. He creates great machines fueled by rotting corpses, the friendly fox-like Vulpines, and villains that will give you nightmares and make you feel sympathetic at the same time. A blend of fantasy and horror, The Black Fire Concerto will leave you begging for more.”
— Books Without Any Pictures

Forthcoming form Ruadán Books