It’s been too long.

I will be livestreaming the edit of a new novel starting on June 1, 2026. You can visit https://www.youtube.com/zakzyz and like\subscribe\spontaneously combust to be notified when the streams start. (I think 4pm each day NY time until it’s done).

1979. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Big dreams and little soldiers.

Robin Martillo is the unluckiest thirteen-year-old in the world. After his mother dies, he's left with nowhere to go but Albuquerque, a city where he knows no one but his abuela, Una. Before Robin even has a chance to enroll in a new school, he's diagnosed with acute lymphoid leukemia. The treatment is brutal, and even with it, the chance he'll survive to eighteen is only fifty percent. Friendless and too sick to play fútbol or ride a bike, there's nothing left in his life to keep him going.

Then, the magic happens.

Stumbling into Duke Games, Robin is swept into a fantastic world of tiny armies, miniature painting, and huge competition. At once, he's drawn into a rich campaign full of tactics, backstory, evil legions, and defiant heroes. The older boys don't think much of this scrawny newbie, but a reckoning is coming! While the battles play across the tabletop, the inner war rages on. With enough victories, he can earn the game club's respect. With enough friends, he can find the strength to fight on.

All he has to do is win.

Robin the Prodigy is a completed novel of sixty chapters that will be posted daily starting on June 1st. Drawing inspiration from the early days of tabletop wargaming, RtP has been exhaustively researched for historical and medical accuracy, but we still need your help! Readers are welcome to join the daily editing livestream where tomorrow's chapter will be proofread before posting. Spanish speakers, cancer survivors, and anyone who has been through (or is going through) a childhood illness are especially welcome to post their thoughts and suggestions. All comments will be tallied on a leaderboard and all contributors will be thanked in the printed novel.

Robin the Prodigy began its life on Royal Road as part of the Goblins and Grandmothers writing contest. Two years later it's now a full novel!

A portion of proceeds from this book and editing stream will benefit the Leukemia Research Foundation.