The Beginning of the End
In Gravel: Rose, Maks Hand introduces a world soaked in despair, where monsters hide behind familiar faces and vengeance drives a broken man to the edge of madness. This action-packed dark fantasy novella pulls no punches—it opens its doors to chaos and never lets readers look away.
The story follows a man whose life is torn apart by a horrific event, one that leaves his mind fractured and his soul scorched. The trauma doesn’t just haunt him—it defines him. His grief transforms into obsession, his pain into fuel. Every step he takes is toward the ones who destroyed him, and every breath is a reminder of the price of survival.
But his enemies aren’t just cruel—they’re inhuman. Hidden among the living, these entities walk unnoticed, wearing faces that lie. They’re devils in disguise, moving through the world as if they belong. Maks Hand’s writing captures this sinister reality with vivid precision, making readers question how much of the world around them might be illusion.
The result? A story that feels both fantastical and frighteningly real. One man against the unseen horrors of existence. One broken soul chasing ghosts in a world that refuses to heal.
Inside the World of “Gravel”
The Gravel series doesn’t pretend to be a fairy tale. It’s grim, relentless, and unflinchingly human. Maks Hand builds a universe where pain shapes destiny, and survival demands sacrifice. In this world, people are bruised by life and burdened by secrets—but even in their brokenness, they fight.
“Inhumane entities roam the population,” the story reminds us. They look like us, talk like us, yet carry something twisted within. The terrifying brilliance of Gravel lies in its balance of the supernatural and the deeply personal. Evil doesn’t exist in a vacuum—it seeps into ordinary lives, turning people into both victims and fighters.
Book 1, Gravel: Rose, focuses on the internal war—the raw, emotional unraveling of its central character. His revenge becomes a symbol for anyone who’s ever stood face-to-face with loss and refused to surrender. Book 2, Gravel: Jay, widens the horizon, exploring new perspectives within the same unforgiving world. Together, they form a mosaic of humanity’s struggle to hold on—to hope, to sanity, to meaning.
The series asks a haunting question: when everything good in the world breaks, what’s left to save? The answer, Gravel suggests, might lie in the smallest acts of resistance—the quiet moments where people choose to fight, even when there’s no promise of victory.
The Author Who Builds Worlds with Fire
Maks Hand, or Maksymilian Handkiewicz, writes with the kind of authenticity that only comes from experience. Born in Poland and raised in Ireland, he blends cultures, emotions, and grit into his storytelling. He’s not a full-time writer in an ivory tower—he’s a welder, a craftsman who spends his days surrounded by sparks and steel. That reality gives his stories their raw edge.
His approach to writing mirrors his trade. Precision. Patience. Power. Each word feels forged, hammered into shape by hand. You can sense the sweat behind his sentences, the labor of someone who’s lived through long nights of thought and creation.
The Gravel universe was born in 2019, when the idea began circling in his mind. It took time—years of shaping, reimagining, and perfecting—before it finally came to life. Now, it’s a living, expanding world with dark roots and human hearts. Maks doesn’t just tell stories; he builds them, layer by layer, welding together horror, fantasy, and emotion until the pieces fuse seamlessly.
There’s something honest in how he talks about his process. No pretense, no detachment—just a craftsman excited about his work. “The world has become so much clearer in my head,” he’s said. That clarity shines through every line, every haunted scene, every tragic whisper in Gravel: Rose.
A Tale That Cuts Deep
Readers who enter Gravel: Rose aren’t just picking up a book—they’re stepping into a psychological labyrinth. Maks Hand’s storytelling is sharp, deliberate, and brutally immersive. There’s no wasted space here. Every word adds to the tension, every silence amplifies the dread.
This isn’t a story of grand heroes or destined victories. It’s a reflection of real endurance—the kind that comes from breaking and still choosing to move forward. The protagonist’s pain is palpable, his anger human, his vengeance a twisted form of love for what he’s lost. Maks Hand doesn’t offer comfort; he offers truth, painted in shadow.
What makes Gravel: Rose unforgettable is its rhythm. The narrative pulses like a heartbeat—steady, then wild, then gone. One moment, it’s quiet, contemplative. The next, it explodes into chaos. Readers will feel the tension build, break, and rebuild again, mirroring the relentless struggle within its pages.
For fans of dark fantasy and supernatural thrillers, this book delivers exactly what it promises—grit, emotion, and a haunting look at the cost of vengeance. It’s fierce, fearless, and deeply human.
Available now on Amazon, Gravel: Rose marks the beginning of an unforgettable journey through shadows and sorrow. Maks Hand has carved out his place in the genre with precision—and his world, grim as it may be, burns bright with purpose.
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!
