The primary ever English translation of Alain Damasio’s Horde of the Counterwind (or, to provide the e-book its unique identify La Horde du Contrevent) is occurring sale later this 12 months. The novel, a cult traditional that’s cited as one of many driving inspirations behind the acclaimed and best-selling Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, will likely be accessible in hardback on thirteenth October, 2026 through Abrams Books within the US. The UK date appears to be listed as twelfth November on Amazon; we now have contacted the writer for clarification.
“Observe a horde of hardened expeditioners as they climb endlessly towards the wind that plagues their desolate homeland,” reads a blurb for the e-book. “Their solely objective: to make it to the Higher Reaches and establish the wind’s mysterious supply. Over the course of eight hundred years, thirty-three hordes earlier than them have tried and failed.”
Equally to the sport, the 2004 e-book focuses on loss, grief, and endless perseverance within the face of just about inconceivable odds. Awarded the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2006 within the class “Francophone novel”, it rapidly turned a cult hit amongst French-language audio system, and is taken into account a contemporary traditional in sci-fi immediately.
The e-book has lengthy been thought-about inconceivable to translate because of the intricacies and uniqueness of its prose, however poet, novelist, translator and literary scholar Alexander Dickow is giving it a rattling good go for the sake of English audiences. He is bought some fairly good credit, too: so far, Dickow has translated The Central Laboratory by Max Jacob, The Neverending Quest for the Different Shore by Sylvie Kandé, Showers and Shiny Spells: Chosen Poems 2009–2019 by Henri Droguet, and Air of Solitude and Requiem by Gustave Roud (the final two had been co-translated with Sean T. Reynolds, however I believe that oeuvre greater than paints an image of Dickow’s tastes and skills).
Earlier than Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launched in 2025, Sandfall Interactive co-founder and chief expertise officer Tom Guillermin informed Unreal that Damasio’s e-book was one of many inspirations for the sport: “On the story aspect, there may be additionally a French novel known as ‘La Horde du Contrevent’, which is a fantasy novel a couple of group of explorers travelling the world, which our sport additionally took some inspiration from as we made a narrative about individuals venturing into the unknown on a harmful journey,” he informed the weblog.
The novel is cited as a serious inspiration for the hit RPG alongside the Belle Époque period of European historical past, an unnamed portray that struck one thing inside sport director Guillaume Broche, and video video games like Persona, Closing Fantasy, and Misplaced Odyssey. “All these influences (and lots of extra) helped form our unique imaginative and prescient for the sport and develop one thing that feels utterly distinctive for gamers,” Guillermin concluded.
This e-book has been on my StoryGraph ‘to learn’ column for some time now, so I am happy we lastly get an opportunity to learn it in English later this 12 months. I will be checking it out when it launches, and – having accomplished Expedition 33 twice, now – I plan to jot down up what I be taught in regards to the sport’s narrative inspirations after I’m carried out. I hope you are all as excited as I’m about this e-book lastly making its solution to our shores. Tomorrow comes.