Before the Brittle Sea
About
Two Lives. Two Lies. A World Sliding Toward Disaster.
Before the Brittle Sea is a historical prequel novella set in the years leading up to The Brittle Saga Trilogy.
William Harker believes survival is learned early. In the shipyards of New York, Liverpool, and Belfast, he discovers how ambition is rewarded, how silence is bought, and how easily a man can become useful to those who value profit over people.
In Ukraine, Magda Asparov learns that survival is not granted but claimed. As power tightens its grip, she must decide what she is willing to sacrifice, and what she will not surrender, regardless of the cost.
Told through two parallel lives shaped by corruption, debt, and moral compromise, this novella explores how ordinary choices can echo far beyond their moment.
This book can be read on its own and serves as an entry point to The Brittle Saga Trilogy, which continues in The Brittle Sea.
Publishing 1st January 2026
Praise for this book
5-Stars
“Two Lives. Two Lies. A World Sliding Toward Disaster."This heading really of the second part of the prequel accurately sums up this book. Two young people, born in poverty, trying to better themselves in a world ‘sliding toward disaster’.
I found this an exquisitely written story, that mesmerized me from the beginning. Why? 1: Because it was impossible not to put myself in the shoes of the 2 main characters as their stories unfolded. 2: The situations of each of the 2 characters rang true for the time and place of the stories.
Jack is a young fatherless boy in Hell’s Kitchen, struggling to survive the gangs first as a child, then as a young worker coming face to face with the grift and violence rampant on dockside New York.
In Ukraine, Magda Asparov and her brother Peter are near starvation along with their dying father. A true “robber baron’ has robbed them of their land and livelihood. To escape Magda walks, rides on wagons, purchases the cheapest berth available to her, to reach her goal of England and a woman whose name was given her by an American passing through her village: Mrs. Eleanor Wren. Magda learns English and how to comport herself as a lady of worth, by listening to, watching, and learning to emulate Mrs. Wren.
What ties the stories of Jack and Ursula together? The same man. To Jack, he owns and orders Jack’s world. To Magda, he represents salvation from her destitution, and hope for a future for herself and hopefully for the two boys that represent the only family and friend she has left.
This prequel ends as Magda boards a boat to take her to New York and a new life. We are left to wonder when the two shall meet, as it seems they must. Yes, I am going to read the next book in this series, as I find the writing outstanding.