The Dragon of Dread Deep

A Gritty and Dark Pirate Epic Fantasy: A Vorelian Saga Novel

By: C.D. McKenna

Narrated by: Evan Osinchuk

Some of the greatest heroes were once the villain.

A pirate. A heist. A destiny he never wanted . . . And the birth of a Dragon Rider.

Cassian is a thief—one of the best. As a loyal member of the White Horn pirates and a Queens’ Bidder, he knows that only one law matters in the Vore waters: obey the Red Queens or die. But when whispers of rebellion spread among the worshippers of the Red Goddess, Cassian’s world erupts into chaos, and survival becomes his only goal. Damn the rest.

But a mad king’s heist offers the impossible—a dragon egg for the chance at freedom. Cassian and his crew set sail on a mission that will change their destinies forever. A daring plan through the unforgivable Grave of Seas brings trouble. Before Cassian can escape, he’s bonded to a dragon who sees him as the one thing he’s always denied: a hero.

Now, with an empire rising, a war on the horizon, and a past that won’t let go, Cassian must make a choice—stay the rogue he’s always been or become the legend he never wanted to be.

In the world of The Vorelian Saga, pirates and dragons collide in a dark, high-stakes tale of survival, betrayal, and redemption. The sea is no place for the restless . . . but it’s the perfect place for a legend to be born.

©2025 C.D. McKenna (P)2026 C.D. McKenna

Critic reviews

“This is the kind of story you rave about to your friends.” - Micah Campbell, Author of The Singing Blade

“…this was the book I’ve been waiting for.” - Bryan Kamtsios, Author of Soul Sacrifice

“This is masterful world-building at its best.” - AJ Webster, Author of One Good Heart

Fun Story

This is the only book in this series I've listened to. the story kept me interested but I thought it was a stand alone in the Vorelian universe. The story is left open and continues in the rest of the saga. It didn't interest me enough to listen to the rest of the books. The narrator did about half the characters well.

Worth the read of you like pirates and dragons

I received a free copy for an honest review.

I really liked the book. We follow a pirate in his journey to become a great captain and then....everything changes. His old captain is killed, he becomes captain, and he has to figure out what to do. Run from the powerful pirate faction that is sending his ship on a suicide mission and possibly save his crew or do as this pirate faction says. Everything is going to his plan until the dragon egg he was set to find hatches and everything he knows gets turned upside down.

This is a companion book to a larger series, a series I haven't read. While I'm sure I missed some things in the book because of this, overall I found it to be a good story that didn't need prior knowledge of the world.

As for the characters, there are some characters that you will either hate or like, however, regardless of which side you fall on, you will be interested ok what happens next.

After this, I plan on reading the main Vorelian Saga,