The Godless
Children: Book One
-
- $12.99
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
The Gods are dying. Fifteen thousand years after the end of their war, their bodies can still be found across the world. They kneel in forests, lie beneath mountains, and rest at the bottom of the world's ocean. For thousands of years, men and women have awoken with strange powers that are derived from their bodies. The city Mireea is built against a huge stone wall that stretches across a vast mountain range, following the massive fallen body of the god, Ger. Ayae, a young cartographer's apprentice, is attacked and discovers she cannot be harmed by fire. Her new power makes her a target for an army that is marching on Mireea. With the help of Zaifyr, a strange man adorned with charms, she is taught the awful history of ‘cursed' men and women, coming to grips with her new powers and the enemies they make. Meanwhile, the saboteur Bueralan infiltrates the army that is approaching her home to learn its terrible secret. Split between the three points of view, the narrative of Godless reaches its conclusion during an epic siege, where Ayae, Zaifyr and Bueralan are forced not just into conflict with those invading, but with those inside the city who wish to do them harm.
The first installment in Ben Peek's exciting new epic fantasy series, The Godless is a fast-paced page turner set in an enthralling new world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fifteen thousand years ago, the true gods turned on each other for reasons beyond mortal ken. The outcome of their struggles is a landscape dominated by the corpses of dead and dying divinities. When fire fails to consume shop clerk Ayae, she discovers that she is one of the "cursed," imbued with power by a divine spark. Her newfound abilities set her apart from the rest of the denizens in her beloved city of Mireea. The cursed are not the only legacies of the gods; as an army mysterious in purpose and savage in method advances on Mireea, determined to recover a treasure the Mireeans have forgotten, Ayae joins steadfast mercenaries and would-be deities in defense of her adopted homeland. Peek (Black Sheep) weaves multiple threads of the plot together with considerable skill. Ayae and the story's other protagonists reformed megalomaniac Zaifyr, baron turned professional saboteur Bueralan are well developed, in contrast to the scenery-chewing monsters they oppose. Although this volume serves mainly to introduce the Children series, readers fond of open-ended epic fantasies set in vivid, and occasionally lurid, worlds will find it right up their alley.