# Eden's Rise > Eden's Rise is an epic fantasy novel by O.E. Bruening, set in a dwarven underground empire where humans are second-class citizens. Published by Ironthale Press LLC, releasing Oct 24th, 2026. This site serves readers, press, educators, and anyone curious about the book. Last updated: 2026-06-06 > Note: only pages with existing HTML files are listed here. --- ## The Book - [Home](https://edensrise.com/) — Overview of Eden's Rise: plot summary, book cover, world illustrations, collaborators, and newsletter signup. The primary landing page. - [AI Disclaimer](https://edensrise.com/no-ai.html) — What AI was and wasn't used for in making Eden's Rise. No AI was used to write the novel or create the illustrations. AI was used for spell checking, grammar, thesaurus, self-publishing logistics, and building the website. - [Newsletter Signup](https://edensrise.com/signup.html) — Dedicated signup page for the Eden's Rise mailing list. Release news and exclusive content, one or two emails per year maximum. - [Privacy Policy](https://edensrise.com/privacy.html) — Privacy policy for the Eden's Rise newsletter signup: what is collected (email, phone, postal address), how it is used, which processors are involved (Brevo, Tally, Cloudflare Turnstile, Google Analytics, GitHub Pages), retention, and user rights. - [Author](https://edensrise.com/author.html) — Biography of O.E. Bruening: born in East Germany, MIT graduate, co-founder and CTO of Peek.com, now based in Cleveland, Ohio. Contact email: info@ironthale.com. - [Reviews & Press](https://edensrise.com/reviews.html) — Press coverage and reviews of Eden's Rise. Blurbs and media responses from critics and publications, with links to full reviews. - [Eden's Rise — The Book](https://edensrise.com/edens-rise/) — Dedicated book page with synopsis, cover, illustrations, and details about Eden's Rise: The Empire Under the Mountains. - [Expanded Chronology](https://edensrise.com/edens-rise/chronology.html) — Timeline of the dwarven empire in Eden's Rise, from the birth of Casovan through the fall of Second City. Key events spanning over 160 years. - [Illustrations](https://edensrise.com/edens-rise/illustrations/) — Gallery of original illustrations from Eden's Rise by Roberto F. Castro, Greg Rutkowski, Pascal Wijnberg, and Audrey Rouvin. - [Deleted Scenes](https://edensrise.com/edens-rise/deleted-scenes/) — Bonus chapters cut from the final novel, restored for readers. Five scenes exploring the Magical Council, the university, and more. - [Playlist](https://edensrise.com/edens-rise/playlist.html) — Curated playlists on Apple Music and Tidal that feel related to the themes of Eden's Rise. ## Blog - [Blog](https://edensrise.com/blog/) — Behind-the-scenes posts from O.E. Bruening on worldbuilding, illustrations, and the craft of writing Eden's Rise. - [Artists](https://edensrise.com/blog/artists.html) — Blog posts about the illustrators and artists behind Eden's Rise, with spotlights on the concept artists, painters, and illustrators who brought the world to life. - [Writing](https://edensrise.com/blog/writing.html) — Blog posts about the craft, process, and long road of writing Eden's Rise. - [Going Indie: Why I Chose to Self-Publish](https://edensrise.com/blog/entries/16n0-why-i-chose-to-self-publish.html) — O.E. Bruening on choosing to self-publish Eden's Rise: the invisible gatekeeping of agents and publishers, creative control over illustrations, cover, audiobook, and story, the marketing reality for debut authors, and getting to choose his own editor, plus what he's come to appreciate about traditional publishing. - [Certified Human](https://edensrise.com/blog/entries/1660-certified-human.html) — O.E. Bruening on having Eden's Rise certified as human-created by the Human Intelligence Institute. Reflections on AI's upsides and downsides, the democratization of expertise, and why art remains fundamentally human. - [800 Hours and Six Drafts — Part 1](https://edensrise.com/blog/entries/1310-800-hours-and-six-drafts.html) — O.E. Bruening on writing Eden's Rise: 800 hours across six drafts and three and a half years. What each draft taught him, the wall after draft three, and how prose improves through consistency rather than marathon sessions. - [800 Hours and Six Drafts — Part 2](https://edensrise.com/blog/entries/12s0-800-hours-and-six-drafts-part-2.html) — O.E. Bruening's month-by-month writing diary for Eden's Rise, from the first NaNoWriMo sprint in 2022 through final line edits in 2026. Every beat, doubt, and breakthrough across the six drafts. - [Narrator Spotlight: Michael Kramer & Kate Reading](https://edensrise.com/blog/entries/13e0-narrator-spotlight-michael-kramer-kate-reading.html) — Legendary Wheel of Time narrators Michael Kramer and Kate Reading voice the Eden's Rise audiobook. Michael narrates the main Eden timeline; Kate narrates the Aleena timeline and Anya's POV chapters. - [Illustrator Spotlight: Roberto F. Castro](https://edensrise.com/blog/entries/13f3-illustrator-spotlight-roberto-f-castro.html) — Spanish concept artist (Marvel, Rings of Power) who created 14 illustrations for Eden's Rise, focusing on underground spaces as architectural subjects. Highlights the three friends approaching Empire City. - [Illustrator Spotlight: Greg Rutkowski](https://edensrise.com/blog/entries/13f2-illustrator-spotlight-greg-rutkowski.html) — Polish fantasy painter who created a full-scale physical painting of the Battle of Dyiundur — dwarves vs. dragons — featuring General Teanna. Inspired by Renaissance battle paintings. - [Illustrator Spotlight: Pascal Wijnberg](https://edensrise.com/blog/entries/13f1-illustrator-spotlight-pascal-wijnberg.html) — Dutch-born designer and illustrator based in Perth who created naturalistic ink drawings of two creatures from the novel: the Purl Fox and the Skitterback. - [Illustrator Spotlight: Audrey Rouvin](https://edensrise.com/blog/entries/13f0-illustrator-spotlight-audrey-rouvin.html) — French illustrator based in Bretagne who drew Master Halin's study, a cozy dwarven interior with a hidden QR code and small details from the novel for readers to discover. - [Cover Designer Spotlight: Spiridon Giannakis](https://edensrise.com/blog/entries/13f4-cover-designer-spotlight-spiridon-giannakis.html) — German art-book designer (Editions Caurette; Kim Jung Gi, Abigail Larson, Björn Hurri, Even Mehl Amundsen) who designed the Eden's Rise cover in three colors with a bold, movie-poster feel. Recommended by Greg Rutkowski. --- ## Key Facts - **Title:** Eden's Rise: The Empire Under the Mountains - **Author:** O.E. Bruening - **Publisher:** Ironthale Press LLC - **ISBN:** 979-8-9933029-0-4 - **Genre:** Epic Fantasy (Middle Grade to Adult) - **Release:** Oct 24th, 2026 - **Setting:** A dwarven underground empire where humans are second-class — tolerated, exploited, forgotten - **Premise:** Two human boys discover that belonging and justice are not the same thing - **Illustrators:** Roberto F. Castro, Greg Rutkowski, Pascal Wijnberg, Audrey Rouvin - **Narrators (audiobook):** Michael Kramer & Kate Reading - **Social:** [@oebruening on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/oebruening/)