A Fractured Man in a Broken World
“Gravel: Rose” by Maks Hand plunges readers into a world where humanity’s cracks reveal what lurks beneath—something monstrous, something inhuman. It’s an action-driven, dark fantasy novella laced with supernatural terror and emotional devastation. The story begins with a man who’s been through something so horrific, so utterly scarring, that his mind has split under the weight of it. Every thought he has now pulses with a single desire—revenge.
This isn’t just a story about payback. It’s a study in survival when pain becomes the only anchor left. Maks Hand crafts a world that mirrors the protagonist’s fractured psyche: grim, violent, and crawling with entities that wear human skin yet belong to no human world. These creatures—demons, devils, monsters—move among people unnoticed. Their cruelty runs deep, and their disguise is terrifyingly perfect. Through chilling scenes and heart-wrenching reflections, readers can feel the desperation of a man who’s lost everything but his will to fight.
Every page feels like a heartbeat in the dark—steady, tense, and uncertain of what’s coming next. There’s blood, sorrow, and fury, but also a strange kind of beauty in the ruin.
The World of “Gravel” — Grit, Shadows, and Fleeting Hope
The Gravel series builds a universe soaked in darkness yet tinged with flickers of light. Maks Hand doesn’t sugarcoat anything here. The people in this world are broken—damaged by trauma, loss, or their own haunting choices. Still, they keep moving, because what else is there to do when evil walks beside you?
These aren’t heroes born out of destiny or divine guidance. They’re ordinary people shoved into impossible circumstances. They bleed, they fail, they rage—but they try. That’s what makes Gravel resonate. Amid the filth and despair, there’s resilience. A stubborn kind of hope that refuses to die.
“Broken people in a broken world,” as the series tagline says, captures the essence perfectly. In this universe, monsters hide in plain sight. Some wear fangs, others wear smiles. Maks Hand doesn’t paint evil as grand or distant—it’s intimate, creeping through everyday lives. Yet, even in that grim reality, there’s a whisper of something redemptive. Maybe, just maybe, standing up—no matter how small the act—matters.
Book 1, Gravel: Rose, sets the stage. It’s visceral and personal, focusing on one man’s descent into vengeance. Book 2, Gravel: Jay, expands the horizon, pushing deeper into the chaos of this cruel world. Together, they form a raw, unsettling mosaic of human pain and supernatural terror.
A Story Forged in Real-World Grit
Maks Hand, born in Poland and raised in Ireland, brings a real-world edge to his dark imagination. He’s not a full-time novelist in a cozy office surrounded by notes and coffee mugs. He’s a full-time welder—a craftsman who works with fire, metal, and precision. That grounding seeps into his writing. His sentences hit hard, like sparks from a torch—brief, bright, and searing.
Writing wasn’t a quick passion for him. Gravel had been stirring in his mind since 2019, slowly forming, waiting for the right moment to break free. When he finally began writing seriously two years ago, the world he’d been carrying inside him came to life. Now it’s growing, evolving, taking shape with every new installment.
There’s something refreshingly honest about Maks’s approach. He doesn’t present himself as a literary prodigy or a lifelong scholar of fiction. He’s a worker—a builder—and his stories reflect that raw work ethic. He constructs worlds from the ground up, welding together emotion, terror, and a haunting sense of humanity.
His voice is authentic, his imagination relentless. The result? A universe that feels real enough to scare you and tragic enough to make you care.
Why Readers Are Hooked
Fans of dark fantasy, horror, and supernatural fiction are finding something rare in Gravel: Rose. It’s not just another monster story—it’s a deep dive into the human soul when it’s stripped bare. The prose flows like a fever dream, merging brutality with vulnerability. Readers come for the suspense, but they stay for the emotional gravity.
What makes Gravel unforgettable is how it balances chaos with quiet moments. There’s action, yes—heart-pounding chases, bone-crunching fights—but between those scenes lie shards of reflection. The protagonist’s grief feels heavy, his rage feels earned, and his determination cuts through every shadow.
By the final page, readers don’t walk away unshaken. They carry something—a chill, a thought, maybe even a bit of that relentless will to fight. And when they do, the realization hits: this world Maks Hand created isn’t so far from our own.
Gravel: Rose is available now on Amazon. It’s a short read with a long aftertaste, a story that lingers like smoke long after the fire’s gone. Maks Hand’s world is brutal, yes—but it’s alive. And somewhere within its grim corners, there’s still that stubborn spark of hope… waiting to burn again.
We had the privilege of interviewing Maks Hand. Here are excerpts from the interview:
Hi, thank you so much for joining us today! Please introduce yourself and tell us what you do.
Hello, my name is Maks Hand. I’m a full-time welder and have approached writing seriously in the last two years.
Please tell us about your book series.
For years, Gravel was a spawned concept, stirring in my head since 2019. Now it’s an ongoing dark contemporary fantasy, horror series with several entries into its world. The world has become so much clearer in my head. I’m excited to continue it.
What are the strategies that helped you become successful in your journey?
In a way, I can say that I don’t know what I’m doing. I sit down and try to consider every aspect of something. I’m a big fan of storytelling. I enjoy the idea of creating characters and seeing where their stories go. I make lots of notes at the beginning and in the middle of a story. Foreshadowing, dropping hints, golden nuggets, I live for that type of storytelling.
Any message for our readers?
I hope people will consider exploring and experiencing this gritty world with me. There’s plenty that I want to do with it still, and I’m genuinely curious about what people think.
Thank you so much, Maks, for giving us your precious time! We wish you all the best for your journey ahead!
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