The Bad Apothecary is currently looking for early readers or —
Advanced Review Copy (ARC) readers.
This means you get to read the book before anyone else does. It’s free, but you’re asked to leave an honest review (on Goodreads, Amazon and/or RoyalRoad), once you’ve finished reading it.
Feedback is welcome but optional.
About the book
Title: The Bad Apothecary
Series: Book 1 of the Ninth Path series
Genre summary: Character driven grimdark fantasy with cultivation magic
Tagline: A wound no one can heal. A legacy that isn’t what it seems. And survival that isn’t mercy. It’s someone’s strategy.
Wordcount: 145k
Details:
Blurb:
Ninth Path, the Bad Apothecary
Diwu stumbles into the capital half-dead—wounded by something no healer can cure. Nestled in her flesh is a strange pathogen carrying corruption, the antithesis of the Natural Order.
Desperate, she trades freedom for survival and falls into the grip of the Hierarchy—a ruthless organization that keeps power in check by any means necessary. Their offer: treatment in exchange for loyalty. Service. Obedience.
Her first assignment entangles her with Nex Teres, a battle-hardened cultivator with no interest in playing agent. But the Hierarchy doesn’t ask—it coerces. Bound by duty and circumstance, they’re sent to a lawless outpost where Diwu was first infected—and where whispers swirl around a long-dead legend: the Bad Apothecary.
As bodies drop and corruption spreads, the two find themselves caught between mad cultists, power-hungry extraordinaries, and beings who’ve transcended their humanity—or lost it. A blade whispers. Old enemies stir. And Diwu must navigate forces she barely understands… before they decide what she’s meant to become.
Triggers:
Violence, swearing, gore
Tropes:
Yes:
⚔️ Grimdark fantasy
🌌 Cultivation magic
🔥 Underdog female MC
⚙️ Magi-tech & modern social structures
🩸 Slow burn, character-driven arcs
🌏 Intricate worldbuilding
🕸️ Power plays, coercion & moral ambiguity
💀 Earned magic with consequences
🧠 Inspired by Asian cultures, Gödel, Jung & physics
No:
❌ LitRPG / power fantasy
❌ Non-human races
❌ Overpowered MC
❌ Sandboxing MC while they power up
❌ Romantasy
❌ Easy answers
❌ Spoon-feeding readers
❌ Trope-autopilot
Still undecided?
Check out some writing samples here: sample chapters.
Or contact me directly via social media or email (look in the footer).