If Apple Books doesn't open, click the Books app in your Dock. Do you already have iTunes? Click I Have iTunes to open it now. Blood of the Mother Peter Tarkulich. View More by This Author. Description Two centuries have passed since the Ulons had been banished from the face of the world for their crimes against their cousins, the Aiellans. The Good, The Bad, and the Creative.
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Another almost two months until this post appears. But I actually do sort of have an excuse now. But the blog posts take a back seat. I wish I could blame it on being sick twice in as many months, or the holidays, or the craziness of our lives… and I could. But the real blame lies squarely on my unwillingness to make a post for those two months. And the fact is that my stats for this blog are dismal at best.
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Take a look at my intro video for details: Popularity Popularity Featured Price: Low to High Price: High to Low Avg. Available for download now. The two main factions of Gods in this book are exactly like Gilda and Lanta. The Dark Lady and the God of Blood are malicious and enjoy a twisted abusive relationship with their followers, willing or not. Her bastard son, the Fox God or Trickster, remains an enigma. Crys with all his flaws and morals remain one of the best-written protagonists in this book. Crys and Ash have a beautiful little thing going on. Their story brings a breath of relief into the stench of darkness.
Gods who seem to be too happy letting their followers fight it out while they sit on the sidelines and haunt a poor man in his dreams. Rillirin was intriguing in the beginning but I lost interest in her somewhere in the middle. She showed some promise right before the end. I do appreciate her growth throughout the book. Galtas is a cliched pain in the ass. Each of the characters from that tribe has a story I am waiting to find out.
Glossary, I need a glossary. Have to check if the published copy has one. He is an almost hero who could have become an almost antagonist by almost betraying those he was supposed to protect. Or did he, already?
A list of characters would be helpful for the next installment if the POV count remains this sprawling. I had to keep going back and forth to get an idea who was whom as the first few chapters introduced a lot of characters with little information to identify them correctly. Once I got the hang of it, all my confusion disappeared. Anna maintains a shifting suspense throughout the novel. Once you start thinking she is going to give away a secret, the next one starts building up. You are usually right, but the anticipation never ends.
Overall, this was the grimdarkest fantasy I have ever read with some kickass villains. Anna Stephens is here. And she is here to stay. I say so with great hope and belief. And some pride, because you know, ladies and all… I have to read Abercrombie now, just to find out why Godblind is compared to his work. How long have I waited to have these two in my personal collection? Neither the author nor her publishers have tortured anybody or performed any sacrifices to influence this review.
Godblind is the first of a planned trilogy.
Godblind is a story about Gods. Those who are active in meddling with human lives and those who seem docile and reluctant to respond. Of course, as per usual, active Gods demand from their worshipers heinous acts of atrocities as proof of their devotion, while those indifferent Gods choose deafness as reflection of their love for their followers.
And since evil Gods are undoubtedly clear in their intentions which is world dominance and proper way of devotion which is through pain and suffe Godblind is a story about Gods. And since evil Gods are undoubtedly clear in their intentions which is world dominance and proper way of devotion which is through pain and suffering peaceful Gods lead their followers blind and their beliefs are prone to free interpretation.
Which means that evil Gods are wining, of course. As for those down below, dying in the gutter by the thousands, Godblind is a story of family; war-kin. Throughout the book we follow couple of very interesting characters. A slave-girl, deciding enough is enough. A seer, troubled with his visions of future, while hunted by his past. A soldier, fighting through ranks, proving her competence amongst world of men. A priestess, whose true devotion belongs to her power and power alone.
An honor guard, standing resolute to defend what is right. Even though I prefer when author decides to put us right into the commotion from very beginning, at first glance I was taken aback with overall pacing; these really short, and not even two pages long, chapters. Often it seemed to me like a single chapter was simply divided into three parts.
You get pulled out and moved to next chapter, another setting, to paint canvas anew inside of your mind. When I got used to that approach, I certainly did appreciate it. But it definitely left surroundings bleaker and the world poorer. Definitely one of the most promising writers of this genre and I'm looking forward for her next book! View all 9 comments. May 31, Helen rated it really liked it Shelves: This book is grim, brutal and at times difficult to read yet, much to my surprise, it's the best fantasy novel I've read in a long time.
Most of the fantasy books I come across nowadays are seriously lacking in originality or are too predictable, but this book restored my faith in this genre, and proves that it is still possible to come up with a semi-original story in an age when fantasy novels are being churned out by the dozen. I can definitely see this book being a hit among most readers of This book is grim, brutal and at times difficult to read yet, much to my surprise, it's the best fantasy novel I've read in a long time.
I can definitely see this book being a hit among most readers of fantasy, although I can't see its popularity ever extending to the faint-hearted. That scene aside, I thought this book was brilliantly written and well-paced, which is all the more impressive when you consider that this is a debut novel.
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Books like this inevitably provoke comparisons with A Game of Thrones , and whilst most of the time this comparison simply serves as an insult to GRRM's series, for once it's actually pretty fair. Both have a multiple POV structure, dark themes and supposedly 'good' characters who still do morally questionable things. One thing I wasn't a massive fan of was the prominent role given to the gods of this fantasy world. They were clearly real and in my opinion this served to the detriment of the story as some of the characters merely come across as pawns of these mysterious and shadowy gods.
This sort of impinges on the individual agency main characters should have in any good story. Control of the plot was largely passed over instead to mysterious god-like figures, whose motivations a reader can only guess at. These were more minor issues I had though, and they might not even bother other people, it's just that I personally think gods work best when they stay in the sky where they belong as passive observers.
Overall, Godblind was a really enjoyable read and as a first novel in a series indeed, the first published by this author I can only imagine how strong her future publications will be. I can't wait to find out. Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy to review. Apr 07, Peter McLean rated it really liked it Shelves: This is a hefty tome of a book, weighing in at nearly pages in a large trade paperback-sized ARC. Ten of them, in fact, with the last not being introduced until about page I found this made the story a bit of a struggle to get into initially, but once it finds its feet and the pace picks up… wow!
The growing sense of despair as the story progresses and everything goes from bad to worse to much worse to oh-dear-gods-no is almost stifling in its intensity. Stephens has as keen an eye for violence and battles as she has for political manoeuvring, and I found myself enjoying both kinds of conflict equally.
Oh, and remember that hammer? Gentlemen, there is one scene in here that I guarantee will have you keeping your legs crossed for the rest of the day. In summary, a particularly dark and bleak debut that in my opinion could perhaps have done with being a couple of POV characters and fifty pages lighter, but is impressive none the less.
- Blood of the Mother.
- The Sighting.
- Blood oath book;
- The Blood of Olympus - Wikipedia?
- Godblind (Godblind #1) by Anna Stephens.
I received an advance copy from Harper Voyager. This book is brutal, bloody and completely awesome!!! Will write a short review later on Well that didn't end on a positive note at all. I need the next book to find out what the fuck happened to everyone. Jun 01, SJ Reads rated it liked it Shelves: It had dark vibes in the line of Game of Thrones with a war brewing. There were a few scenes that were over the top gruesome but besides that I really enjoyed this book.
So please be warned about that. Jun 11, Rebecca rated it really liked it. I was initially drawn in by the cover art for Godblind, but quickly found myself interested for many more reasons than that. The synopsis was intriguing and the prospect of a brand new female author publishing some serious grimdark work had me sold! Now the real question is whether or not it was as awesome as hoped….
Well it was pretty great. Let me go ahead and warn you that Godblind is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. Even now as I recall it I find that I am perturbed. The violence was not gratuitous and changed the course of the story as it had been progressing up to that point, but wow, I wish I would have skipped that scene.
Godblind is a dark, gritty fantasy where hope is lost and society is at a tipping point- primed to crumble only to be rebuilt in a crueler, colder fashion with blood as its mortar. Anna Stephens introduces a truly impressive cast of characters from the very beginning with each POV having only enough pages to draw you in. I was impressed to find that I could actually remember who the characters were after about two POV chapters each, which is a testament to her writing skills in my opinion. Rillirin was a particular favorite of mine- she was a slave of the Mireces but escaped when she knifed their king and left him in a puddle of blood.
I liked her personality and her story arc, which took her from fearful slave to persistent warrior in training. There was a surprising amount of betrayal this book and I was often second guessing motives and doubting allegiances. If bloody, dark, and brutal fantasy is your thing then you should probably give this book a go! Apr 10, Charlotte Crisp rated it it was amazing.
Like Game of Thrones but much more brutal. Contains everything you could want in a fantasy novel; evil Gods, epic battles and a world on the brink of destruction. This is not a book you want to miss out on. Don't be put off by the multi-character narrative either although it does take a bit of getting used to.
Brilliantly written and thoroughly gripping. I struggled to put it down. Yes this is my book. I know I'm biased. I'm giving the audio version 5 stars because the narrator was incredible and brought the story to life in ways I hadn't thought possible. I hope Maggie Ollerenshaw does my other books too. Oct 06, Alicia Wanstall-Burke rated it it was amazing. I really enjoyed the pacing of this book. No fluffing around - straight into the action and kept it up for the whole narrative. Really refreshing and well done! Apr 24, Rob Hayes rated it liked it.
Godblind is a grimdark-ish tale about the Red Gods trying to tear open the veil that separates their world from the human world. It mostly takes place in the nation of Rilporrin, which is a monarchistic kingdom who worship the gods of light. And the western borders with the Mireces, who worship the gods of blood. There's a bit of prophecy, some people who may or may not be gods in mortal form, and some brutal battles. I found it to be a bit of an odd book to be honest.
On the surface it's everyth Godblind is a grimdark-ish tale about the Red Gods trying to tear open the veil that separates their world from the human world. On the surface it's everything I should love. Straight talking characters, no child protagonist, plenty of action with fights that give a good depiction of the chaos of battle, a few twists, plenty of turns, and questions everywhere you look.
And I did like the book. I just didn't love it. One of the books greatest strengths is also one of its weakness as far as I'm concerned. The chapters are short. Rarely does a chapter span more than 3 or 4 pages. In some ways this makes the book very readable and difficult to put down, because I was always thinking "I've got time for one more chapter. Just as we're starting to get into a character's head, we switched to another.
So I never really connected with any of the characters. I was never really invested in their plight. The world building felt a bit lackluster as well. The whole story is focused around this single nation of Rilporrin really, but we get very little feel for the world or its history. In truth it left the world feeling a little bit bland and uninteresting. Pacing wise the book is pretty spot on.
It zips along at a marvelous pace and never really slows down. In fact some periods of time are skipped over because It's one more factor that makes the book so incredibly easy to read. There's a few brutal scenes, one in particular, but I never really felt the book was particularly grim or dark. That being said, it certainly has potential to be. I think the sequel might take that factor up a notch or two if the story heads where I think it will.
There's a wonderful claustrophobic feel and a real sense of what the characters are going through.
Blood of the Mother by Peter Tarkulich on Apple Books
It sets up the sequel and the events to come quite nicely, though has one major flaw. It doesn't really end. It just kind of pauses while everything is still up in air. So a bit of a strange book for me. I found it very easy to read. I might pick up the sequel when it drops. May 17, Leonie Byrne rated it it was amazing Shelves: Godblind is the debut novel from Anna Stephens, published by Harper Voyager.
It falls into the genre of Epic Fantasy and epic is the perfect way to describe it. It has been centuries since the Red Gods and there bloodshed were exiled, their people the Mireces have fled into the mountains to worship in mostly silence with the odd raid of outlying villages to capture slaves. Their lives are ruthless, lived in long houses and dependant on the sacrifices demanded by The Blessed One, a priestess with Godblind is the debut novel from Anna Stephens, published by Harper Voyager.
Their lives are ruthless, lived in long houses and dependant on the sacrifices demanded by The Blessed One, a priestess with a direct line to the brutal Dark Lady and her brother Gosfarth. Meanwhile the good guys of the story over in Rilpor worship the two nice gods, The Dancer and her son the Fox God. Crys is a soldier who has befriended a prince, Dom is the Calestar, adopted son of the high priestess of the Dancer and like The Blessed One he is spoken to by his gods.
Rillirin, an escaped slave brings news of an invasion by the Mireces and everyone's lives change forever. The novel is brutal and violent. The Red Gods and their follower's lust for blood and violence creates some unpleasant scenes but if you can cope with Game of Thrones you can cope with this. There's a good mix of betrayal, feistiness, and love thrown in there too though. Oh yeah and a evil, despicable prince in the mix, what more could you ask for?
The novel is well written and interesting, the world building and character building are both done well, readers of my previous reviews will know I find this very important. I found that I felt more like I watched events unfold rather than being immersed in them, but I always feel like that when reading Epic Fantasy so it's not a criticism, I found LoTR and GoT to be the same and I really enjoyed both of those. Overall this is a promising series and I'm looking forward to reading the next instalments!
View all 4 comments. Jun 19, Nathan rated it liked it Shelves: Imagine if you will your favorite surprises or shocking moments from book or film. We don't learn who Soze really is until the film's final scene. Vader drops a parenting line at the end of the second outing. And more than one person got hooked on A Game of Thrones when the person being set up as the series protagonist gets the ax. It actually isn't easy to pull of because for a surprise to be shocking there has to be some emotional involvement.
Some build up is needed and the reader has to have Imagine if you will your favorite surprises or shocking moments from book or film. Some build up is needed and the reader has to have a connection to the characters involved. Without this the 'surprise' will land with a thud. And if the entirety of the story is spun off of this particular plot twist Frankly I was mostly bored.
Godblind had one surprise in an otherwise completely predictable plot. It is obviously supposed to be the Ned Stark moment that turns everything upside down but it hits too early to have that effect. The readers had no chance to know the characters involved and their treachery only went against first impressions, not any sort of long set feel of their personalities. And it is on this dud that the rest of the plot continues.
This is a story about one land The Mireces planning an invasion of another Riplor. They have some help; a few traitors on the inside and some very blood thirsty gods looking to break through back into reality. The 'Red Gods' were very cool, nothing else really stood out. A few armies move around, a lackluster battle or two, and this being the first book of a series, the Red Gods in question quite unsurprisingly break find their way out of exile to rain hell and set up the rest of the series.
The cast has some highlights but their interactions leave a lot to be desired. For example Crys is a grizzled soldier with a lot of promise who early on befriends a prince and is then unwillingly dragged into a traitorous plan. But the reasoning for this unconventional friendship is never made apparent. It seemed like a set up but the payoff never came; in the end it felt like nothing more than forcing two characters together only because they needed to be in the same place. Worse some very lazy tricks are used to show various characters' personalities.
The aforementioned surprise went completely against the early impression given as in told rather than shown of one particular character. But more egregious came from a scene later in the book.
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I do not need a man's evil nature to be shown in an inconsequential scene in which he threatens to rape both a mother and a daughter and assumed to be carried out off page. Without this scene nothing changes, with it a bad character looks a little more evil at the expense of two women. I will however give credit where it is due. Once Gilda and Lanta are in the same place, respective envoys to warring gods, there is genuine opposites attract chemistry going on.