Hello my dear friends,
I hope you’re all well? I have some exciting news today. After being out of print for nearly six years, my novel SAVE GAME is finally being re-released on January 31st 2025!
Not only that, but it has new cover art by the visionary Don Paresi. I have been a huge fan of Don ever since I saw his artwork adorning the cover of David Niall Wilson’s phenomenal collection DEFINING MOMENTS (which I reviewed here). To have Don paint the cover of SAVE GAME is, in my view, a match made in heaven and a profound honour. His style is at once epic, high fantasy but with just enough horror to reflect the dark undertows of the book.
Without further ado, please feast your eyes on the new cover below!
But it gets even better. Not only am I re-releasing this book, but I have also written 3 sequels! The first of these, DEATH GAME, will be coming out later in 2025.
I have long wanted to return to epic gaming worlds - to Levi, Amir, and the crew - but I never had the right story to bring it all back to life. However, the idea came to me last year (2023), and suddenly I could not stop writing. The four-part story now feels right to me. For those who wondered what was going to happen next with SAVE GAME’S ambiguous ending, fear not—for there is much more story to come.
If you are new to SAVE GAME, welcome! Here is a blurb of the book and some lovely praise from its first release that hopefully entices you. I am grateful to everyone who bough the book back in 2019 and who has supported the re-release. I must pay particular homage to my amazing Dragon Readers, who advised me on the book, the cover, the sequels, and more besides. They are the best of the best, and this goes out to them!
SAVE GAME
Ready Player One meets Dark Souls in this game-changing GameLit novel…
In the digital realm, Levi Jensen is a force to be reckoned with—a virtuoso gamer. But in the real world, he’s a loser who dropped out of college and will never make it beyond his job working at the chippy. Faced with familial tragedy and financial despair, Levi's only chance at salvation lies within the labyrinthine depths of the dark-fantasy RPG, Fate of Ellaria.
As Levi's father succumbs to a rare illness, the coveted million-dollar prize promised to Fate of Ellaria’s winner proves the last hope to save him. But in the cutthroat world of gaming, Levi quickly realises he's not the only player with everything on the line.
Save Game is a gripping tale of resilience and redemption, where pulse-pounding LitRPG action meets the raw emotion of real-world struggle. Save Game explores the indomitable courage of those who dare brave the darkest of dungeons in order to re-write their destiny.
Praise for Save Game:
“Save Game is triumph, one of the most richly written pieces of fantasy that I've ever read. Sale's mastery of the genre in Save Game is startling, his characters are fresh and unique, his plot sharply woven, intuitive and beguiling, all of these things make Save Game an earth-shattering experience.” -Ross Jeffery, Bram Stoker Award Nominated author of Juniper and Tome
“An estus flask for the soul.” -Samuel Parr, author and winner of the Ron L. Hubbard Writers of the Future Award
“In Save Game, Joseph Sale has immersed us fully in the dangerous, dark, and beautiful world of Fate of Ellaria. We are just as swept away by the adventure as Levi and by the mysterious characters he meets on his quest. The reader becomes a player in the game, watching as Levi and those he encounters forge alliances and make rivalries. When avatars mask the truth of the humans behind the pixels, no one knows exactly the right path or who to trust.” -Christa Wojciechowski, author of Oblivion Black
“Save Game is heavily fantasy but absolutely has horror elements. It gave me the feeling of Elden Ring with a mix of Skyrim and a touch of Cyberpunk. If you are a gamer and you enjoy a good dark fantasy story I think you will also devour this one.” -Kylie Trombley, Goodreads review
You can pre-order SAVE GAME here: