01
Book One · The mountain wakes
Overburden
A technically gifted surveyor comes home to map an unstable coal site. The instruments work. The mountain answers. Competence becomes courtship as every measurement reveals a system older than extraction.
Appalachian Gothic · A living mountain
The Reclamation
A surveyor returns to the West Virginia hollow she escaped—and finds the mountain, the town, and something on the old tipple waiting for her.
The short answer
What is The Reclamation?
The Reclamation is K.S. Valentina’s Appalachian Gothic cryptid-romance series about damaged landscapes, extractive systems, and the old intelligences that begin repairing what people broke. Begin with Overburden: read the available serial chapters free on Lantern, or explore the ebook, signed paperback, and immersive editions in the shop.
- Status
- Ongoing
- Start here
- Overburden
- Romance
- Slow-burn cryptid romance
- Setting
- A West Virginia coal hollow
Open the books in order
The Reclamation reading order
Follow the main sequence below. Optional prequels are marked clearly, and every available reading or purchase path is linked from its book.
02
Book Two
Firedamp
Ebook available from Orell Füssli.
After Ivy Sturgill stops the mine’s final seal, the company targets her livelihood. Evidence, her grandmother’s letters, and the widows’ names lead her toward the truth about seventeen miners sealed underground—and the four impossible beings whose protection tests her choices.
03
Book Three
Undercut
Ebook available from Feltrinelli.
With the mountain road gone and fog reaching the houses, Ivy carries the lamp-house key into a search for Russ Tackett and the history of a vanished house. She needs daylight, witnesses, and the truth—and lovers who will stand beside her when she opens the door.
Beyond the covers
The land is not scenery. It is a participant.
The Reclamation turns infrastructure, geology, and repair into a supernatural language. The horror comes from what was taken; the romance begins with what chooses to remain.
The Hollow
A coal-country community built around scarred land, inherited work, and memories that refuse to stay buried.
The Vane
Something old on the abandoned tipple watches the survey lines and understands repair differently than people do.
The Survey
Measurements, maps, water tables, and engineering judgment become the heroine’s way into the impossible.
Reclamation
Not restoration to what was, but a living system deciding what healing will cost—and who belongs in it.
Before you begin
The Reclamation FAQ
What is Lantern, and how do I read Overburden there?
Lantern is the reading platform hosting the Overburden serial. The Start Chapter One link opens the first episode; use the table of contents there to continue through the available chapters.
Do I need to buy an edition to read the serial?
No. The available serial chapters are free to read on Lantern. The Overburden shop offers separate ebook, signed paperback, and immersive editions; choose an edition there to see what it includes.
What is The Reclamation series about?
The Reclamation follows Appalachian landscapes and the people and cryptid intelligences bound to them. It combines romance, folk horror, ecological damage, and practical acts of repair.
Where should I start The Reclamation?
Read Overburden (Book One), then Firedamp (Book Two), then Undercut (Book Three). Overburden introduces the hollow, the damaged mine landscape, and the old presence waiting on the tipple.
Is Overburden available to read now?
Yes. Overburden is available to read on Lantern through K.S. Valentina’s official story page.
Is The Reclamation complete?
No. The Reclamation is an ongoing series, beginning with Overburden.
Is The Reclamation a cryptid romance?
Yes. It is an adult slow-burn cryptid romance with Appalachian Gothic and eco-horror elements.
Where is Overburden set?
Overburden is set in a fictional West Virginia coal hollow shaped by extraction, community memory, and the mountain’s own intelligence.
The door is open
Begin with Overburden.
A surveyor returns to the West Virginia hollow she escaped—and finds the mountain, the town, and something on the old tipple waiting for her.