“Ring bells and throw confetti from the rooftops! Gregory Frost’s Rhymer is a wonder and a delight and easily the best thing I’ve read in years. I recommend it to literally everyone in the world. It’s just that good.” —Michael Swanwick, Hugo-Award-winning author of Chasing the Phoenix
Introducing “Thomas the Rhymer,” a character out of Scottish balladry, a prognosticator, a mercenary, an eternal champion…in a way you have not seen him before.
Welcome to Scotland in the 12th century, where a damaged “idiot” son of a wealthy family becomes an object of interest to Nicnevin, the queen of the sempiternal elven, who call themselves the Yvag (the People); where a young apprentice mason may become a master bowman and a soldier; and where the immortal elves of legend might just be planning to remake our world to their own specifications. “Don’t draw the attention of the gods” is good advice. For Thomas, it’s a bit too late.
Rhymer: A hot blend of dark fantasy, horror, adventure, and science fiction.
But don’t just take our word for it.
“I love this book! RHYMER is flawless. The plot is compelling, the action is riveting and the prose is perfect. True Tom is a hero for the ages–and one you can believe in. Gregory Frost has taken Celtic fantasy and made it new. No, better than new. He has made it exciting again. You will not encounter a finer fantasy novel this year.”
—Michael Swanwick, award-winning author of The Iron Dragon’s Mother
“Gregory Frost brings real magic to RHYMER! The novel is a mystical blend of ancient folklore, new ideas, dynamic action, and real surprises. Very highly recommended!”
-Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of KAGEN THE DAMNED
A Baen Books Original
ISBN: 978-1-9821-9266-2
Available at your favorite Indie bookstore, or from Amazon.com.
Volume two is RHYMER: HOODE
A century has passed since Thomas Rimor last battled Yvag knights. In that time his wife and daughter have grown 
old and died, while he has aged not at all. The elven world believes him long dead, and with good cause: In his grief, he has retreated to the depths of Sherwood and Barnsdale forests and become a mad hermit, lost in his memories, his grief.
So when a dying outlaw lands on his doorstep with items stolen from an Yvag skinwalker, it sets in motion events that thrust Thomas back into the world and force him into combat with Queen Nicnevin’s warriors again; only, this time that includes his late sister’s changeling daughter and the Queen’s own grotesque offspring, Bragrender.
As Thomas takes on not one but two sheriffs of Nottingham and a horde of Yvag raiders, he enlists the aid of other outlaws, including one called Little John and another named Will Scathelocke, as well as the Keeper of Sherwood, Isabella Birkin, who sets him on a path back to humanity. To keep his identity hidden from the Yvags, he creates an alter-ego named Robyn Hoode, whose exploits are about to become the stuff of legend.
“An entertaining variant of the Robin Hood story, mixing the familiar elements with original twists arising from the Elven invasion. The plot concludes satisfactorily—not always the case for the middle book of a trilogy—while leaving the reader curious as to what lies in store for Thomas in the third installment. A rich fantasy world, with more than the usual degree of imaginative invention. Recommended—though if you missed the first installment, you’ll want to read it before taking this one on.”
—Peter Heck, “On Books,” Asimov’s Science Fiction, Jan.-Feb. 2025
“Intricately plotted and peopled with fantastic characters both real and imagined, Gregory Frost’s RHYMER: HOODE occupies a fresh space in the legend of Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest. Book Two of the Rhymer Trilogy, Hoode takes aim at blending real history with science fiction, and hits the bullseye as the grieving immortal, Thomas Rimor, assumes the persona of local Sherwood outlaw Robyn Hoode, and with the help of Will Scathelocke and Little John does battle with the evil Queen Nicnevin’s soldiers, some Yvag raiders and even the sheriffs of Nottingham. HOODE is a perfect sequel to RHYMER, standing on its own even as it sets up the third book in the trilogy. Very highly recommended.”
–Rick Wilber, author of Alien Morning and Alien Day
A Baen Books Original
ISBN: 978-1-9821-9349-2
Available at your favorite Indie bookstore, or from Amazon.com
And now comes the third volume: RHYMER: HEL
A wild chase through Elizabethan England.
Thomas the Rhymer, immortal, shape-changing foe of the diabolical Elf Queen and her merciless Yvag knights, continues his one-man war into the reign of England’s “Faerie Queen”—Elizabeth I. When he learns of an assassination plot against Elizabeth, the Rhymer intervenes, only to find himself the object of the special attention of the Queen’s spymaster, Francis Walsingham.
Walsingham blackmails the Rhymer into joining his intelligence network. Allied with Walsingham’s minions and a mysterious shape-changing stage actress, Thomas finds he must deal with Mary, Queen of Scots, scheming Jesuits, and Italian bankers as well as further Yvag attempts against Elizabeth. He moves in the circles of William Shakespeare, John Dee, Giordano Bruno, and Christopher Marlowe, desperately defeating one conspiracy after another in defense of the throne, leading him to an inevitable final confrontation with the Elf Queen, in which to survive he must destroy the source of her power . . . and to do that, he must enter the mouth of Hel itself.
After all the sacrifice, will the Rhymer find peace? And, perhaps, even love?
A Baen Books Original
ISBN: 978-1-6680-7260-8
Available at your favorite Indie bookstore (mine is Main Point Books), or from Amazon.com.