Keepers of the Lost Cities

Have you ever read the Keeper of the Lost Cities? Shannon Messenger, the author, is known for writing the KEEPER series as well as The Sky Fall Series. So far she has written 9 full books in the KOTLC series, (Keeper of the Lost Cities, Exile, Everblaze, Neverseen, Lodestar, Nightfall, Flashback, Legacy, and Stellarlune), and the two bonus books - Unlocked (book 8.5) and Unraveled (book 9.5). She announced on October 13, 2021 that there would be a 10th and final book in the series, which she is currently writing. However, on her Stellarlune tour, Messenger said that an 11th book could be a possibility and that she is still figuring out if it would be necessary. On June 30, 2025, she disclosed that the paperback copies of Unraveled would include a sneak peek into the 10th novel. On November 3, 2025, she revealed that the official title to this book will be Elysian.

Here are some predictions about Elysian, from varying sources. (*Warning, if you have not read Stellarlune, I suggest you skip this paragraph to avoid spoilers.*) Messenger has already revealed Sophie’s biological mother (Councillor Oralie), so it’s possible that her biological father will appear. Also, we now know the real identities of some of the members of the Black Swan’s Collective (Mr. Forkle’s, Granite’s, and Squall’s), so maybe Blur and Wraith’s secret identities will be uncovered. Lastly, on November 8, 2025, Shannon Messenger had posted the first line in Elysian on Facebook, along with some comentary: "'What does that mean?' Pretty sure the character speaking (I won’t say who) is echoing the same thought all of you had, when you read the last line of STELLARLUNE—and we dive right back into that intense moment in ELYSIAN to get some answers … ~xoxo Shannon".

Now, here is some Q&A with Shannon Messenger (Click Here for more!).

Q: How did you come up with the idea for the KOTLC series?

SM: The series is basically "Lord of the Rings meets X-Men" since a lot of the elements originated there. But all the details of the world, plot, and characters came from the two years I spent brainstorming the series :)

Q: What is your favorite character in the KEEPER series?

SM: It's so hard for me to pick favorites because I love all my characters equally, which is why I pick a different character every time I answer this question. This time I’m choosing Fitz, because he was actually the first character I ‘met’. (So that probably means we can give Fitz credit for the existence of the KEEPER series. :)

Q: My friends and I are OBSESSED with your book series. Is a KOTLC movie being made?

SM: Sadly, the author doesn’t “make” their book into a movie, because movies cost hundreds of millions of dollars. So that would be up to Hollywood. I truly hope that they decide to make a KEEPER movie, but it’s up to them.

If you’re looking for something to read, whether you’ve already read it or not, try Keeper of the Lost Cities!