Thralls of a Tyrant God (The God Engine #1), by Mars G. Everson
The Book
Synopsis:
A Dark Fantasy Epic, The God Engine trilogy is the start of a unique and exciting universe, perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere and Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen.
What would you sacrifice to be free?
For Senn, former slave turned rebel leader and now the powerful Herald of the Lord of Greed, the answer was everything. He thought he had left hope behind forever. But when a ghostly child with sparkling blue eyes appears to him, Senn's loyalty is tested. His own God and army turn against him, forcing him to flee into the harsh desert wasteland alone and powerless.
But as he searches for revenge and a new source of power, he must confront his past, including the woman he left behind at the mercy of the Forever King and his Chainkeepers. A new path that may lead him to Hope, even if he's not yet ready to embrace it.
Will Senn find redemption and a new purpose, or will he fall to the forces that seek to destroy him and turn all of humanity into thralls?
My Review
Thralls of a Tyrant God is the initial book on the epic grimdark series The God Engine, written by Mars G. Everson. A story set in a bleak world, where we will be following the journey of Senn, the Herald of the Lord of Greed, to discover a new idea to believe in, while introducing interesting concepts that sets up all for a sequel.
Starting with the moment Senn is betrayed by the Lord of Greed, being cast out and having to look for a way to survive, starting a journey where his faith will be shaken up; from the idea of a physical god that appeared to him in his past, to a more loose concept that it is explored together with new ideas.
With no other options than accepting this new path if he wants to avoid becoming a Thrall for the Forever King, Senn will cross his path with mysterious characters that will help him in unexpected ways to find the truth about the world.
And this is precisely one of the angular themes of Thralls of a Tyrant God; in a really clever way, avoiding info dumps, Everson slowly introduces and unveils us the reality behind the god concept and how these powers work. We have a hard magic system, with rules that are there but not clearly explained, but which are consistent during the whole narration.
The world is quite dark, perfect for those that look for a grimdark novel, with gods fighting in order to gain devotion and power, while the humanity are enslaved (mostly); power hunger is the wheel that moves the world.
Combining two timelines, it makes the start in media res to make more impactful, while balacing the pacing to make it faster than what we would have expected from reading just Senn's journey. Other characters appear in this book, but they have nowhere as much impact as the mentioned previously, or at least they don't feel as relevant, filling more supporting roles that makes this particular story possible.
Thralls of a Tyrant God is a promising debut, excellent grimdark novel for those that are looking for a world of Sandersonesque scope; I'm really hyped to see how the series will continue.
The Author/s
Mars G. Everson
Mars G. Everson writes Sci-fi, Fantasy, and especially likes mixing both. His favorite authors in those realms are Ursula K. Le Guin, Arthur C. Clarke, J.R.R. Tolkien and Brandon Sanderson. He became a writer mainly so he could put his name in the same paragraph as those writers. Mission Accomplished!
He would like to live in a time where technology is indistinguishable from magic. Luckily, reality is turning that way really fast. The bad part: reality is turning that way really fast.