A YOUNG HERO. A STOLEN THRONE. A WORLD ON THE BRINK.

A panoramic heroic fantasy quest that follows one young man's journey from the edges of a forgotten hamlet to the heart of a kingdom in crisis

Tam grows up in a remote rural village, dreaming of escape across swamps, forests, and mountain passes to reach the famed city of Colonia. When he finally sets out, his adventure yields more than he bargained for: a mysterious golden eye, a treacherous sea serpent, and an encounter with a young woman of royal blood living rough in a mountain hideaway. She is Queen Kristina – determined, dispossessed, and fighting to reclaim a throne seized by a savage tyrant. What begins as an unlikely alliance becomes a dangerous quest to overthrow a ruler who has turned justice into a distant memory — and to fulfill a prophecy neither of them fully understands. 

Tam's Tale sits proudly in the tradition of classic heroic fantasy. Findlay cites C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Agatha Christie among his foundational influences – but the book's true spiritual ancestor may be humbler and more surprising. It was a vintage cover of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, stumbled upon unexpectedly, that set the whole thing in motion.

"Instead of buying the book I printed out that cover illustration and pinned it up by my desk and started to write Tam's Tale," Findlay said.  The result is a story that feels both timeless and alive with discovery.  

“The characters invented themselves, as did the land where the story takes place and  indeed the plot,” Findlay said. “It was a joy to write, and I was often surprised with the twists and turns the story takes." 

About the author

Michael Findlay, a Scotsman who has lived and worked with distinction since the 1960s in the New York contemporary art world, returns to the legends and folktales of the land of his birth to write this compelling and exciting fantasy for children.