Year of the Black Rainbow

Part of Amory Wars

By Claudio Sanchez and Peter David

The brutal beginning of The Amory Wars—where gods are questioned, heroes are forged, and the fate of the universe first fractures.

Set generations before the rise of Coheed and Cambria, Year of the Black Rainbow opens the cosmic saga at its most volatile moment. Across the seventy-eight planets of Heaven’s Fence, the Keywork-the mysterious energy binding all life-begins to fail. As political power hardens into tyranny and belief collides with ambition, a catastrophic struggle ignites that will reshape the universe forever.

When elite operatives Coheed and Cambria Kilgannon uncover a secret operation siphoning energy from the Keywork itself, they are drawn into a violent confrontation with forces determined to control creation at any cost. Their discovery sets off a chain reaction of betrayals, revelations, and annihilation-awakening ancient powers, exposing the true nature of the Mage hierarchy, and signaling the rise of Wilhelm Ryan, the architect of Heaven’s Fence’s darkest future.

Co-written by Claudio Sanchez, creator of The Amory Wars, and legendary storyteller Peter David, Year of the Black Rainbow is a fierce blend of epic science fiction, mythic tragedy, and relentless action. It is the foundation upon which the entire saga stands-an origin story steeped in cosmic horror, moral ambiguity, and the terrible cost of power.

Rare Bird Books (August 25, 2026) |  336 pages  |  9781644285787