Official Review: City of the Dead Gods
Posted: 30 Mar 2015, 12:28
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "City of the Dead Gods" by Alexander McKinney.]
4 out of 4 stars
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The City of Dead Gods by Alexander McKinney is a high fantasy novel written for both young adult and adult readers. The book is set in Quaylence, a city between the Deific and Mortal worlds where mortals come on a pilgrimage to meet their dead relatives and friends. However, once a while, a mortal gets elevated to a GodSplinter, when imbued with fragments of either one of the three dead gods; Karnast, Ilben or Elyonon. Apart from eternal life, depending upon which god’s fragment a splinter gets, he or she shall also become gifted with various powers such as eidetic memory or super strength.
The story begins when Lerin, a Splinter of Karnast, wakes up from Slumber in the middle of a battlefield, with another knuckle missing from his left ring finger. Slumber is usually just a period of unconsciousness experienced by the Splinter when his mortal half takes control of the body. However, Lerin has never heard of a Slumber that lasted for a decade. Nor had he ever heard of any other splinter’s mortal half indulging in self-mutilation. Enraged at having lost another piece of his hand, Lerin sets about on a mission to get rid of his mortal half by never having to Slumber again.
I devoured this book in just two days, that’s how enthralled I was by the plot. The book is a thrilling introduction to this bizarre world. I loved that the author never revealed too much information and constantly kept me guessing. I also liked that he did not shy away from violence but kept it in moderation. Though not on the same level as the ‘Game of Thrones’ series, there is still quite a bit of action and unexpected plot twists in the story. Another refreshing aspect of the book was that the story did not revolve around the protagonist's love life. Lerin's attraction towards Lara compliments the storyline from the background and is mostly used just as a motivating factor in his quest.
The best part of the book was the world itself. The story takes us to so many interesting and mysterious places, both within and outside the walls of Quaylence, that sometimes made me want to leave Lerin behind and just learn more about the realm. The city sounds like a distorted version of Venice (for someone who has never been there), with the canals, gondola's, and the ancient history. The author writes such an intricate description every time Lerin takes the readers to a different part of the city. I’d want to see this story on the silver screen just to have a glimpse at the canals, the walls and roads made of statues of the dead, the Ravenguard and Ravenwatch towers, the various coloured Spires, etc.
Despite being a self-published book, the writing here is on par, or even better than books from popular publishing houses. The vocabulary is simple yet rich and appropriate for the setting. The characters are three-dimensional, with each having their own set of quirks and flaws. There were no black or white characters. Even the most horrid character has some redeeming qualities and vice versa, essentially good people like Lerin have certain shades of darkness within them.
I loved every second of the time I spent with this book. Nevertheless, I do have to mention that the story was slightly slow-paced for my taste and there were a few grammatical errors sprinkled here and there. However, this hadn’t affected how much I enjoyed the book, so I'd still rate it as 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to all fantasy lovers. A couple of minor issues were left unresolved and I couldn't find any mention of an upcoming sequel. But, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for another chance to visit this beautiful world.
******
City of the Dead Gods
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The City of Dead Gods by Alexander McKinney is a high fantasy novel written for both young adult and adult readers. The book is set in Quaylence, a city between the Deific and Mortal worlds where mortals come on a pilgrimage to meet their dead relatives and friends. However, once a while, a mortal gets elevated to a GodSplinter, when imbued with fragments of either one of the three dead gods; Karnast, Ilben or Elyonon. Apart from eternal life, depending upon which god’s fragment a splinter gets, he or she shall also become gifted with various powers such as eidetic memory or super strength.
The story begins when Lerin, a Splinter of Karnast, wakes up from Slumber in the middle of a battlefield, with another knuckle missing from his left ring finger. Slumber is usually just a period of unconsciousness experienced by the Splinter when his mortal half takes control of the body. However, Lerin has never heard of a Slumber that lasted for a decade. Nor had he ever heard of any other splinter’s mortal half indulging in self-mutilation. Enraged at having lost another piece of his hand, Lerin sets about on a mission to get rid of his mortal half by never having to Slumber again.
I devoured this book in just two days, that’s how enthralled I was by the plot. The book is a thrilling introduction to this bizarre world. I loved that the author never revealed too much information and constantly kept me guessing. I also liked that he did not shy away from violence but kept it in moderation. Though not on the same level as the ‘Game of Thrones’ series, there is still quite a bit of action and unexpected plot twists in the story. Another refreshing aspect of the book was that the story did not revolve around the protagonist's love life. Lerin's attraction towards Lara compliments the storyline from the background and is mostly used just as a motivating factor in his quest.
The best part of the book was the world itself. The story takes us to so many interesting and mysterious places, both within and outside the walls of Quaylence, that sometimes made me want to leave Lerin behind and just learn more about the realm. The city sounds like a distorted version of Venice (for someone who has never been there), with the canals, gondola's, and the ancient history. The author writes such an intricate description every time Lerin takes the readers to a different part of the city. I’d want to see this story on the silver screen just to have a glimpse at the canals, the walls and roads made of statues of the dead, the Ravenguard and Ravenwatch towers, the various coloured Spires, etc.
Despite being a self-published book, the writing here is on par, or even better than books from popular publishing houses. The vocabulary is simple yet rich and appropriate for the setting. The characters are three-dimensional, with each having their own set of quirks and flaws. There were no black or white characters. Even the most horrid character has some redeeming qualities and vice versa, essentially good people like Lerin have certain shades of darkness within them.
I loved every second of the time I spent with this book. Nevertheless, I do have to mention that the story was slightly slow-paced for my taste and there were a few grammatical errors sprinkled here and there. However, this hadn’t affected how much I enjoyed the book, so I'd still rate it as 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to all fantasy lovers. A couple of minor issues were left unresolved and I couldn't find any mention of an upcoming sequel. But, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for another chance to visit this beautiful world.
******
City of the Dead Gods
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like BookWorm07's review? Post a comment saying so!
