2011;
350 pages. Book 1 of the Shattered Messiah series. New Author? : No. Genre : Fantasy. Overall Rating : 8*/10.
The Kirshal, the long-awaited messiah that
will free the world’s gods from their present imprisonment, has been
found! At least, that’s what the
scavenger Marek claims. And despite his
dubious reputation, he says he has her, albeit in a glass coffin, unconscious
but breathing.
So
when Marek offers to sell her to Nathan Rook, a merchant, trader, and most
often, “information broker”, it may be Rook’s opportunity for quick and
substantial financial gain. However, a
close inspection of “the goods” by Rook and his partners raises some doubts
Still,
it can’t be proven that what Marek has for sale isn’t the Kirshal. And if it turns out she’s the real deal,
whoever has possession of her would stand to make a lot of money. Or be a target of a lot of assassination
attempts.
Come to think of it, the same would be true even if she’s a clever fake.
What’s To Like...
The Last Goddess is
a fantasy tale, in the “Musket and Magic” subgenre, which I like a lot. We tag along with Nate and his bodyguards -
Van, Rynne, and Tiel – as they try to figure out what to do with the purported
messiah. The central question throughout
the book is whether she really is the Kirshal, but that can also be applied to
whether the Six Gods are real.
Both are eventually answered.
The action starts immediately, and continues unabated. The only pauses are for
conversations that flesh out the various characters, which I liked as well. Besides the main storyline given above, we
also follow three other ones: an exiled prince plotting his return, his
princess sister trying to avoid an arranged marriage, and a battle-hardened
general also seeking to avenge his exile.
This may sound like it’s confusing, but C.E. Stalbaum’s storytelling is
up to the task.
The
world-building is complex and interesting.
The weapons are flintlock pistols, crossbows, and of course, the always
useful vial of poison. There are three
levels of magic-users: the magi (skilled), the krata (less skilled), and the
torbos (no magic abilities at all). And
the use of magic by anyone, no matter how adept, comes at a life-force
cost. I liked that idea.
I was pleasantly amused by the “sending
stones”, a handy little communications system.
I was especially impressed by the handling of the religious systems. Each deity has its devoted followers, and
they all believe theirs is the one true path.
Our own spiritual zealots can learn some lessons here.
The storyline has a (for me) unexpected twist at about 73%, and everything builds to a
nice, if somewhat straightforward, ending.
This is a standalone story, as well as Book 1 in a series.
Kewlest New Word. . .
Screlling (adj.)
: The pejorative interjection/adjective equivalent of our own word: “F*cking”
(a made-up word
from the author and I kinda like it. It's a nice way to deal with readers who don’t like cursing in their stories)
Excerpts...
“So then I’m just
a fool who can’t remember her own name,” she murmured. “Fantastic.”
“You’re a victim,
not a fool.”
“That isn’t much
better.”
Rook smiled. “Sure it is.
Victims can find justice; fools are doomed for life.” (loc. 6238 )
Lepton swallowed
heavily and continued to shake his head in bewilderment. Rather than continue to explain, Tryss
reached out and embraced him again. He
was, in any tangible sense, the closest thing to a father she’d ever had in her
life – maybe even the closest thing to a real parent. He wasn’t blood; he was something even more
important.
He was family. (loc. 8512)
Kindle Details...
ANAICT,
The Last Goddess is always free
at Amazon. The other two books in the
series, The Last Empress and The Last Sacrifice, sell for $4.99 and $5.99,
respectively. C.E. Stalbaum offers a
number of other e-books ranging in price from free to $5.99. These are all of the Fantasy genre, and some
are written under a separate pen name, Jennifer
Vale.
“Naivety. (…) It’s almost cute when it doesn’t get you
killed.” (loc. 3671)
The quibbles are minor and are mostly about the
structure of the book, not the writing itself.
There’s a map at the beginning of the e-book, but it has an annoying
tendency to always be turned 90 degrees clockwise. There's a very useful Appendix that explains a
lot about the world C.E. Stalbaum has created , but it’s at the end of the book. It really needs to be placed at the
front. Lastly, the Table of Contents
formatting is non-existent. Want to go
back to Chapter 10 via it? Sorry, no can do.
One
small note about the story itself.
Although this is a fantasy story due to the prominent role of magic,
there aren’t any fantasy creatures. Only
humans, with the possibility of gods and messiahs. If you’re in the mood for dragons and hobbits,
you'll be in for a bit of a letdown.
But I pick at nits. For me, this
was a satisfying tale, without any need for otherworldly critters. I had high expectations from reading another
of C.E. Stalbaum’s books (reviewed here), and I wasn’t disappointed.
8 Stars.
If you like Musket & Magic fantasy
series, Book 1 of another
one I enjoyed is reviewed here..
