In James Meadows’ fantasy novel Chronomancer and the Time God: Death of a Paradise, the first in a series that portrays a vast world of kings, princesses, gods, and sorcerers, the suspicious King Aldon sends out his spies, who intercept the following letter by the mysterious figure called the Chronomancer and learn of a dangerous conspiracy:

We’ve never had the pleasure of meeting but I’m aware of the long-standing conflict between yourself and your relatives for control of Lamoria. I’ve taken an interest in seeing the war draw to a close. To this end, I offer you a deal. Over many years of research, I’ve discovered the location of powerful magical artifacts possessing might beyond anything the world has ever seen. These artifacts are the four pieces of the ancient god Rael. While they’re powerful enough to be of great value to you, they’re of even greater value to me. You see, I know the ancient ritual to unite them and restore Rael to power. If you collect these pieces and bring them to me, I can offer you not only magic capable of crushing your family but also the support of a god, who seeks an army to conquer the world in his name. To prove my sincerity, I’ve included proof of my power. Inside is a map composed of magic unlike anything the great sorcerers of Mystas have ever encountered. It’ll guide you to the location of the four parts of Rael. While you are under no obligation to accept this offer, I encourage you to do so. You see, I’ve sent copies of this letter to the three wealthiest families in Moravia, not to mention your brothers, Lord Chantel and Lord Levilus, and your sister, Lady Sandlin. One of them is bound to accept. I don’t recommend coming in second in this race. 

Though the Chronomancer is believed by most to be nothing more than a myth, the attached map leading to the artifacts is certainly real, and if anyone accepts the Chronomancer’s offer, the world will be plunged into war. And so a band of misfits from various kingdoms must join together to find the artifacts and destroy them before anyone can restore Rael to power in this intricate fantasy novel by Meadows, a professor of cybersecurity at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Kirkus Reviews calls Chronomancer and the Time God a “jovial, action-oriented tale that has much to say about modern life in the United States,” but for Meadows, it all started as a Dungeons Dragons campaign in college. 

The novel is set in a highly detailed fantasy world that Meadows has been piecing together ever since he was the Dungeon Master for his friends’ DD group in college. While building the world for DD, he’d take pieces of inspiration from stories he admired or sometimes from his own dreams, slowly forming enough of a skeleton that once he decided to write a novel, all he needed to do was flesh that world out.

In Zarathea, the different kingdoms are separated by the Shimmering. Each one has a very specific culture and religious tradition, and, of course, the adventurers from these nations often clash over their opposing ideas. Meadows is a former Army linguist who has traveled all over the world, and his experiences reinforced for him the value of diverse groups of people working together for a greater good, using their differences to build each other up.

If that sounds like an apt metaphor for American politics, that’s Meadows’ intention. “You can have people with different views [from yours], and you can be accepting of their views without rejecting your own,” says Meadows. “The ability to be comfortable with other people and the idea that their views can be just as right as your own even if they’re different [are what] the world in general and the United States really need right now.” Meadows believes in storytelling as a way to drive people to question their own beliefs and examine areas where they might need to grow. The Facebook page he runs for the Chronomancer and the Time God series is full of encouragement and inspiration for self-development and philosophical thinking.

But Meadows’ writing is far from didactic. His background in DD and his love of gaming shine through in this adventure fantasy story. Meadows’ storytelling is inspired by the likes of C.S. Lewis and Terry Brooks and books like the Harry Potter series, all works with highly detailed characters and ensemble casts. “The people I had participating in [my college DD group] were quite an ensemble of characters themselves,” says Meadows, referring to the humor inspired by the fun he had with his friends that comes up between the fictional characters in his book. He also took inspiration from his father, who was a minister and would say that in order to write a good sermon—or, in Meadows’ case, a good story—“you have to make them laugh once, make them cry once, and make them think once.” All those supposedly opposing forces work together, complementing each other to make an engrossing story that sticks with you long after you finish it. What else do you need for a great read?

Chronomancer and the Time God is the first book of a trilogy, with all books available now and audiobook versions soon to follow. After a number of his readers asked him for more books set in the Chronomancerworld, Meadows is considering writing prequels or sequels as well. For now, he’s working on Harbingers of the New Age, a book for young adults about a group of friends working together to save their friend from a vicious cyberbully.

Chelsea Ennen is a writer living in Brooklyn.