Where to start

Harman Smith Books has eight finished novels. They are not one endless series you have to read in order. Most of them stand alone. This page is here so a new reader can pick a first book on purpose instead of buying at random.

All of them are adult fiction. They include violence and dark subject matter. They are not written for children, and they are not softened for a classroom. If that is what you want, keep going. If it is not, this catalog is the wrong shelf.

Path 1: the flagship

Read American Evil first. It is the longest book in the catalog at 445 pages, priced at $2.99 on Kindle, and it is the novel the rest of the site treats as the introduction to Battle Fantasy.

The story is set in a small town in southern Indiana controlled by a cult that worships the Archfiend Ignis. A young witch, Sinistra, burns thousands of people as an offering. One boy is spared. Years later he comes back for revenge. It is horror and large-scale fantasy in the same book, and it ends. You do not need The Eye of the Dragon or any other title before it.

Choose this path if you want the full Harman Smith novel: long, violent, and finished. Choose something else if you want dragons specifically, or if 445 pages is more than you want to risk on a new author.

Path 2: dragon war

Read The Eye of the Dragon, then Jaw of the Dragon. This is the only pair in the catalog that is a numbered series: Order of the Dragon, book 1 and book 2.

Book 1 introduces Lucille Langley and the knights who take dragon form to defend humanity. She finds a young man who can transform and brings him into the Order while an enemy in the East moves against them. It is 334 pages of training, war, and escalating stakes. Book 2 continues that war. It is a second novel, not a recap, so the first book is worth reading before the second.

Choose this path if you want battle manga energy in a fantasy war: powers, armies, and a sequel that assumes you saw the first fight. It is still part of the wider Golden Age chronicle, but you can read the two Order books without American Evil.

Path 3: a shorter commitment

The Dream Warrior is 118 pages. A boy with no name is abused and neglected, and the only comfort he has is a figure from his dreams. When he decides to fight back, the world around him tries to keep him meek. It is Battle Fantasy at a smaller scale: personal, raw, and over in one sitting compared with the flagship.

Playing Dirty is the lowest price in the catalog at $0.99. It is a fast Battle Fantasy novel meant as a sample of the voice, not as a replacement for the longer books. If you finish it and want more, go to American Evil or The Eye of the Dragon.

If you do not want fantasy

Three books sit outside the war stories:

• Rabbit Hole is an urban crime thriller. Will Wei pulls a girl out of a moving van and finds a kidnapping that is part of a larger conspiracy. 329 pages. No dragons required.
• Cruel and Beautiful is gothic vampire fiction. Amaris Yew is an immortal trying to take Europe, and falling for an ordinary human is the last thing she intends. 311 pages.
• Lauren Frey is a character-driven standalone. It is the quietest book in the catalog: people, not armies.

These are still Harman Smith novels. They are still adult fiction. They are simply not the Golden Age battlefield.

What Battle Fantasy means here

Battle Fantasy, on this site, means fantasy built around conflict that costs something. Fights are not decoration. Cults, dragon-war, and personal vendettas are the plot, not a pause between court scenes. The books take their pace from battle manga such as Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, One Punch Man, Attack on Titan, Berserk, and Naruto: distinct casts, hard hits, and a larger story that shows up across separate novels.

Each published novel is written to finish. A sequel exists when there is a second book, as with Order of the Dragon. It is not a promise that every title will run forever. The about page covers the author. This page is only about which book to open.

After the first book

The full catalog lists every title with a synopsis. New books are announced on the blog and the email list on the homepage. Patreon subscribers vote on which unpublished project gets written next. None of that is required to read the novels that are already done.