Casthen Gain
Grimdark Magazine‘s new novella line includes a science fantasy novella revisiting the world of The Graven, taking us to a familiar place but far in the past, with an all new cast. It’s a fun, brutal, cinematic, sensory introduction to the bubble multiverse for new readers, and answers some origin story questions for trilogy fans.
Sentace Ketch is a skilled culinarian whose potential is wasted under a government of oppressive traditionalism on his isolated planet. He finds reprieve from severity and compliance by exploring the wilderness alone, dreaming of experiencing the wider multiverse and cooking things no one else could imagine, let alone make.
When Sentace finally escapes off-world with help, the trust he put in others lands him somewhere worse: captured by the Casthen, a vast and morally vile multiversal faction. He’s dropped on a planet with fourteen murderers, exiles, and adrenaline-seekers in a battle royale race to find an energy “anomaly” somewhere on the planet. Whoever finds it first gets to live and gains the Casthen’s backing—a chance at the creative freedom Sentace craves.
This wilderness of overgrown civilizations and rotting megastructures is riddled with all sizes of bubble-shaped universes. The laws of physics differ within each universe’s space, and materials change as they pass from one to another, often in violent or bizarre ways. Luckily, transuniversal physics is Sentace’s entire culinary specialty. Wildcrafting food and navigating destructive universes is familiar, and he learns how easily his skills can turn deadly when he’s forced to fight for his life.
Sentace may have the tools to survive, but the more he explores, the more he suspects the anomaly doesn’t exist. He needs to get off this planet before the Casthen’s ulterior motive comes to fruition, but the path to the truth is leading somewhere he cannot reach alone. Winning will require something even more difficult than murder: putting trust in others again to make allies of enemies.
You can order the novella HERE in Kindle ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audio!
The Broken Binding has a special edition hardcover — order it here!
If you’re on the fence about whether this story is for you, read the first chapter for free on Grimdark Magazine’s site.
I commissioned the incredible Natalie Dombois to illustrate her take on some of the wildcrafted alien cuisine featured in the novel!
Don’t read this book hungry.
Endorsements
A smorgasbord of science-fictional culinary delights: kinetic action, bizarre aliens, deliciously described worlds, and a heart-pounding story.
A delicious blend of weird physics, high octane action, and mouthwatering dishes.
If you're an Essa Hansen fan (and you should be), Casthen Gain is another excellent story in that great universe that you love. If you've not experienced it, this is the perfect entryway to her wonderful, imaginative world.
Gritty, wonder-filled, and boundlessly imaginative, Essa Hansen's Casthen Gain is a feast for the senses. Featuring a rebel chef who finds himself thrown into a death game, this one will draw you into universes awe-inspiring and unimaginable.
An exciting adventure through the boundaries of overlapping universes in search of a mysterious artifact and a woman who has to die, where enemies become allies and cooking saves the day. Incredible world building, charming characters, and a thrilling read!
Calling it now: Sentace, Chiidi, and Evi are THE characters of 2025. Relationships make or break a story, and some truly great ones lie at the core of this book. Hansen perfectly balances high-octane adventure with rich character work, and this prequel novella’s got one of the most creative worlds I’ve seen in any medium. Perfect for fans of hypercompetent badasses who team up with adorable rays of sunshine, Casthen Gain is an absolute blast.
A crackling, tongue-searing, confectionary thrill ride. Join a chef assassin who stirs bubble universes like pots, a starship pilot who set fire to her home world, and a tiny arsonist who doesn't like getting his fur wet. All set in a multiverse boiling with gorgeous strangeness and heart-stopping wonder. No one does it like Essa Hansen. Blood-soaked joy from start to finish.
Hansen takes us back to her foaming multiverse, but this time with space chefs and rogue pilots in a tightly paced survival story that's half Battle Royale and half Delicious In Dungeon.
Casthen Gain is a cosmic smorgasbord of immersive storytelling, fiercely unique. Not unlike the author’s main character, a trailblazing culinarian, Essa Hansen serves up bold treat after bold treat, marinating all the senses, her evocative prose only matched by her unfettered worldbuilding.
Explosively original, yet deliciously familiar, Casthen Gain is a work of a master storyteller at the peak of her form. Each word is a vivid world of imagination, luring you to faraway escapes. Sentace's voice is a refreshing blend of humor, humility and sarcasm. Hansen's existing fans will delight in this return to the Graven universe, and new readers are in for a multi-sensory treat. Eat this up now if you crave the humanity of Murderbot, the depth of Nnedi Okorafor, and the heart of Expanse.
Casthen Gain bursts with heart, creativity, and every flavor imaginable (and some beyond imagination). It's like a 3-Michelin-Starred menu of alien landscapes, gripping action, and culinary technology so advanced it might as well be magic. You'll be starving for the ending and stuffed with satisfaction.
