We are delighted to announce the exciting new novella by Andrew Knighton, for Luna Novella 2026! After his high fantasy novella, the SCKA Finalist 2024 Ashes of the Ancestors, Andrew returns with a science fiction story set off world, All That is in the Earth.
Andrew on the novella:
All That is in the Earth started as a series of conversations twenty years ago, when my friend Dan and I were dreaming up an idea for a live roleplay game. All the elements of the setting were themed around disease, from parasitic corporations to a gerontocracy obsessed with its leaders’ health. The game never happened but it was the first time I’d done such a consistent piece of thematic world building and I was pleased with the results. Every few years, I’d stumble across the notes and think that I should do something with it.
In 2023, that something finally happened. I was grappling with the fear of death – both my own and those of the people around me. I started thinking about the different ways people respond to that fear: denial, surrender, inner peace, frantically seeking immortality through life-preserving activity. Struggling to find my own answer to the unknown, to hold back the dread of nothingness, I decided to explore those reactions through a story, hoping that would get it out of my system. The subject matter was a perfect fit for a quarantined planet where everyone’s as good as dead, so I dug out my old notes and set to work.
All That is in the Earth isn’t the first published story in this universe. That was The Sound of War, a military sf short story published in Bullet Points which follows a pair of soldiers looking for dead bodies in a war zone. That one’s about the long-term damage war does to the health of soldiers, damage that sometimes goes unseen, and though it follows different characters on a different planet there are links to All That is in the Earth. Hopefully, I’ll write more in this setting one day. It might have taken me twenty years, but I’ve finally found a way to make use of all those old ideas.
About Andrew:
Andrew Knighton is an author of short stories, comics, novellas, and the novels The Executioner’s Blade (Northodox, November 2024) and Forged for Destiny (Orbit, March 2025). As a freelance writer, he’s ghostwritten over forty novels in other people’s names, as well as articles, history books, and video scripts. He lives in Yorkshire with an academic and a cat, growing vegetables and dreaming about a brighter future. You can find more of his work and social media links at andrewknighton.com .
Praise for Ashes of the Ancestors:
"What Knighton achieves most superbly is a meticulous sense of place in the heart of death/afterdeath, pyres and ashes. Sound echoes in footsteps across stairwells and hallways, as colossal chapels with naves stretch away to centuries of eternity.The story’s uniqueness carries it through to a staggering and convincing climax. Perfect for the avid reader interested in cross-cultural stories that deviate from expectations of genre, language and form." Aurealis 159
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All That is in the Earth will be out in Winter 2026, with a launch party at Eastercon. Follow the progress in our newsletter!
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