The First Knight Shaman, Book One of the Apocrypha of the Knight Shamans

After the Great Quake of 2040, the forested lands and the lives of those in the Pacific Northwest are shaken. With both civil and social unrest still prevailing from the ideas of the 47th president, much of southwestern Oregon has been divided into tribal communities. Rodney Knight, the son of the founder of the Elk Creek Tribe, comes to age and into his own powers during this tumultuous time. At seven, he recognized his first spirits. First, a childhood friend was slain in an attack, and next, a beloved mentor lost during a battle. At seventeen, while on patrol with his unit, Rodney once again encounters a spirit that warns him of an ambush. Knowing that war is inevitable, the Elk Creek Tribe recognizes Rodney as their first Shaman. With advice from his Spirit Guide, Rodney helps lead his community through troubled times and towards the ideals that the founder had envisioned.

The First Knight Shaman is the first book in R. Rodrick Rowe’s Apocrypha of the Knights Shaman. Rowe’s novella is a post-apocalyptic LGBTQ fantasy set in the forested slopes of western Oregon. The catalysts to Rowe’s apocalypse are unique to the genre but are very real. Using both geography and the current political climate, Rowe is able to develop a realistic setting. The social and civil unrest caused by the Orange One’s presidency and the Great Quakes of 2040 brought about unrest and war between neighboring villages and tribes. And after January 20th, 2025, Rowe looks like the shamans he writes about. As post-apocalyptic tales go, Rowe’s scenario is realistic with a plot that hints at the fantastical. Using real places that exist in today’s maps adds to the realism.

Rowe’s protagonists belong to a tribe, but that is where much of the tribalism ends. Rowe employs themes of acceptance while reimagining gender roles and norms. Race, sexual, and gender identity are recognized and promoted. Rowe’s novella combines utopian ideals set in a dystopian backdrop. Rowe also is able to mix dynamic characters with an intriguing plot. And even though this novella ties into many of Rowe’s other writings, The First Knight Shaman can be read as a stand-alone work and the beginning of a new series. Rowe has blended the dystopian ideas of Octavia Butler, the world-building of Terry Brooks, and the coming-of-age writings of David S. Slayton into a fantastical story all his own. Join Rodney Knight as he becomes The First Knight Shaman.