Sep 8, 2016

My third recommendation for the week draws once more from the wellspring that is Geek and Sundry’s fantasy competition. 

"Fantasy" being as broad a genre as it is, this contest has brought in more prospective authors than any other Inkshares contest to date, and, predictably, many of the entrants are lackluster. Fantasy is one of those genres where many people are prone to the pitfall of thinking their stories are more original or interesting than they really are, resulting in a wash of samey, uninspired Tolkein/Lewis/Martin clones. In spite of this, however, there are some stories that manage to truly stand out in the crowd for their brilliant premises, artful world-building, and complex characterization. The Living God is a paragon example of these crucial features.

Kaytalin Platt has crafted a brilliantly multifaceted fantasy in The Living God. This is a story that effortlessly blends the best of high fantasy, urban fantasy, and dystopian science fiction into a seamlessly cohesive whole. Three worlds: one a medieval fantasy setting, one a modern Earth setting, and one an Orwellian future setting. Each world is locked away from the others, traverseable only by mages.

One mage, Saran, is tasked with two overwhelming responsibilities: to supplant her father, the mad king of the realm, and to prevent the love of her life from being consumed from within by a primordial abomination from the dawn of the universe. Also, her magic has been stripped from her.

So much speaks to me in this book, and I simply cannot wait to see more. Please give this story a look!