Parallels of Power, Book One
The Forbidden Parallel
Novel + Music
the forbidden parallel
Novel Overview
Genre(s) + Audience
Genre(s): Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Science Fiction
Audience: New Adult, Adult
Style: Multi-POV
Tropes: Quest-based action, prophecies, revenge plots, overcoming oppressive regimes
For Fans Of
Books: Dune, Red Rising, City of Last Chances, Game of Thrones, Beowulf
Authors: Frank Herbert, George R.R. Martin, Ursula K. Le Guin, Adrian Tchaikovsky
TV/Film: Foundation, Andor, Beowulf (2007), The Expanse, V for Vendetta
Synopsis
In the mountain kingdom of Kulloh-Sor, every citizen is born into a caste they can never escape.
Jah’ri was born a Nail, the lowest of the low. Now he’s fought his way into becoming a Hammer in the king’s army. His final test will take him beyond the mountain and into the jaws of something ancient, and earn him the right to serve the king in The Forbidden Parallel.
But Jah’ri isn’t fighting for the king. He’s fighting for revenge.
As unrest spreads from the sea to the Court, others begin to feel the cracks. A shoreline girl fights to protect her home. A noble-born child uncovers a dangerous secret. A politician tries to stop a war she didn’t choose. A prophecy whispers of Solin, He Who Climbs the Sun.
In a kingdom built to break you, survival isn’t enough. And when the mountain cracks, the question isn’t who will survive. It’s who will rise.
A new voice in dark fantasy.
Kevin Carver’s storytelling is deeply inspired by his obsession with old vinyl records, too much coffee, and the stern timelessness of John Steinbeck and Denis Johnson. A graduate of the University of Rochester’s creative writing program and Gonzaga University’s communications and leadership graduate program, his career spans digital marketing and advertising, award-winning one-act plays, writing and performing music with forgotten indie bands, and publishing in Reflections Literary Journal, 585 Magazine, The Inlander, CITY News, FlowerSong Press, The NightWriter Review, and more.
In 2025, Provender Press published his debut novel, The Forbidden Parallel, which is the first entry in a planned trilogy. His new band, Kevin Carver & the Parallels, released a corresponding novel soundtrack that is now available on streaming and vinyl.
When he’s not weaving tales or crafting immersive soundtracks to accompany his writing, you can find him chasing the sunset with his family on the California coast.
KEVIN CARVER
/ Author, Musician
the forbidden parallel
Soundtrack Overview
A MULTI-MEDIA ADVENTURE ACROSS WORDS AND SOUND
Why a soundtrack for the novel? It’s a good question, and one I’m not yet sure I can fully answer. Some songs were composed just before I began the novel in earnest. After finishing the first draft, I returned to the music and was surprised to see just how my brain had been preparing me for this journey. Some of the lyrics fed right into the story.
All in all, the music saved this project, for whenever I felt lost in the writing of the novel (or simply overwhelmed), I turned to the soundtrack. Inversely, when I felt lost in the music, I returned to the novel. They are strange bedfellows, but one could simply not exist without the other.
Overview
12 tracks (~45 minutes)
1. The Speaker of the Spirit-Share (Intro)
2. The Holster (featuring Annie Johnson)
3. Jah’ri’s Theme
4. Naor listened.
5. Layala in the tide
6. “Nothing comes easy, nothing comes free”
7. Whispers
8. The Swim (featuring John Miller)
9. Shyloc’s Domain
10. Sor-Song of the Muted Realm
11. The Forbidden Parallel (featuring Aaron Boyd)
12. The Speaker of the Spirit-Share (Outro)
For Fans Of
Genre(s): Indie-Alternative, Progressive Rock, Instrumental, Post-Punk
Bands: Nada Surf, Thrice, Pink Floyd, Mars Volta, mewithoutYou
Liner Notes
Artist Name: Kevin Carver & The Parallels
All songs composed by: Kevin Carver
Featuring: Kevin Carver (guitar, synth, vocals), Robbie Frazer (percussion), John Miller (bass and guest vocals), Aaron Boyd (guest vocals), and Annie Johnson (guest vocals)
Mixed and Mastered by: Gloom Audio, Los Angeles, California
Produced by: Kevin Carver and John Miller
Recorded: Various locations throughout USA from 2022 – 2024
PROMOTIONAL VIDEOS
