Aching God (Iconoclasts #1) by Mike Shel
Some of you probably know that Mark Lawrence had kicked off the SPFBO [Self Published Fantasy Book Standoff ] vying to unearth some of the best self-published books that begs for a much wider audience and readership and greater acclaim.
Aching God by Mike Shel came to my attention through the SPFBO. Was one of the 2018 finalist novels and came highly praised by fellow bloggers. An epic fantasy novel styled as a classic D&D quest by way of spine-chilling horror? Definitely sounds like my cup of tea. So I picked up the audio book version, which again came highly recommended, narrated by Simon Vance. (More about this at the end of this review, he's phenomenal!)
Aching God is the first part of this series Iconoclasts set in a medieval European/ Anglo setting and mainly features a semi-retired adventurer named Auric Manteo and his band of adventurers on a quest within abandoned crypts and temples of a lost civilization. It has been termed as LitRPG by many but after having read the book, while I can appreciate the parallels to a game-based narrative around a quest, I really think Aching God spreads it's wings across multiple genres. Giving us this huge sprawling world with so much potential - an extensively researched, well written fantasy foray with dashes of skin crawling horror in the guise of a heroic quest.
The narrative follows third party POV of mainly, Auric Manteo who has been recalled by the very League he quit ages back, to repel the advances of a dreaded pestilence that has laid low pretty much everyone capable within the League who have come in contact. Those invalidated also includes Auric's daughter Agnes, his only living relation left alive in this world. Reversing the disease can be achieved only by replacing this artifact that was brought out of a forbidden abandoned temple a few decades ago by some foolhardy agents, most of whom aren't alive now. Auric accepts the mission, gathers a rag-tag team [an arrogant but talented swordsman, a brilliant sorcerer, a skilled herbologist, a compassionate priest skilled with healing powers and an ageing soldier with a heart of gold] to set out for the dreaded Barrow Lands: A land of stinging desert winds and strange creatures, littered with abandoned sites of this lost civilization. treasures guarded by roaming horrors straight out of a dark nightmare. This is where most of the Djao temples have been found, including the one to which they have to return this wretched artifact.
Auric had taken an early retirement from the League to get some solace from the nightmarish horrors that have plagued him, the last one having gone spectacularly wrong that led to him losing some of his best friends in the League. The ancient Djao were known to worship blood thirsty demons or Gods and had left enough of their magic stored as instruments of death, either hidden within the walls of such structures, serving as protection wards or booby-traps against the uninitiated or souls encased within magical weapons. Frankly, the first quarter of the book was heavy going for me. Just to get used to the new terms that colored this world and even getting to like the protagonist, Auric reeling under the onslaught of his own personal demons of guilt and horror. In a short span, there were just too many new characters flitting in and out of the pages as Auric made his way back to the Citadel of his League and then sets out on this mad, almost impossible quest.
The story picks up pace after Auric and his team leave for the Barrow Lands across the seas. The first order of things is to get the Royal blessings for the mission, for which they head to the courts of Queen Guinevere of Hanifax. [Mike paints up a really creepy picture of the nobility, the Queen who's obviously sold her soul to the devil or something similar in return for immortality! hoping to see more of her in the second book] They also get the Royal Navy vessel commissioned for this trip under the captainship of an orthodox conventional naval captain who abhors sorcery and is bit of a prick. But really after they enter the Barrow Lands is when the action and tension ratchets up to level eleven and beyond. As the team goes up against horrific flesh eating monsters commanded by an impossible quarry.
The world is very well fleshed out, retaining a traditional fantasy setting - of clerics, sorcerers, a band of heroes, an impossible quest and a creeptastic villain. The best part about the book I felt was the only atmosphere of doom that seemed to pervade through. Right from the start of the mission where Auric encounters his former League agents who have no hope of surviving this strange pestilence, to the strange encounters on the way to the Barrow Land - be it meetings with the Queen who's flashes of senility takes dangerous turns or the blind monk with his prophecies of danger or the strange Duke who's lost his mind to grief - Right down to the final encounters within the underground warren of the Djao temple with the lovecraftian horrors or the army of the Aching God and the namesake, himself. That's what makes us want to get to the end of this mission - will this crew make it back alive or not? How are they going to depose this "Aching God"?
The story is mainly told from Auric's POV. He is not the most capable swordsman around nor is he the most intelligent of all. But what he brings to the mission is a palpable sense of calm, a leader who is cautious and brave and above all, wants to right the wrongs in this world. A man who believes in good. He is haunted by the memories of his last mission and this goes on to establish the fact that Auric, despite having succumbed once to his fears and misgivings, is a brave man to attempt to go once again to the very heartland of the place that has scarred him for life. Among the others, Beleech the ex-soldier with a heart of gold and Sira, the young priestess with her extraordinary healing prowess become two of the most authentic and sympathetic characters whom the readers can relate to.
It's quite a long book and most of that time is spent preparing the readers and the mission agents alike, for that final showdown with the villain, the Aching God. The last few chapters are blood soaked, unapologetically violent and thrilling to the core. Mike doesn't pull his punches and we really feel that blood spatter and the tension deep in our marrows, trapped in those underground warren chased by the blood thirsty undead. I do have a couple of grouches that perhaps marred, what is overall a super fun read. One, Mike takes too long a time before he gets to the actual stakes of the game and that was quite a slow burn of a start to this long novel. There are quite a few info-dumps through the novel that slows down the narrative as well. The second biggest complaint I had was on the resolution of the whole showdown. Despite building it up fantastically well to create that dark aura of dread and absolute terror, I thought the end-game was a bit tepid. Nevertheless, it still remains a great unpretentious look at heroic quests in a wonderfully dark dangerous world and is a well written fantasy novel full of action, dread and thrills. Will definitely be picking up the second book, Sin Eater.
Audio book review: Simon Vance, take a friggin' bow ! His narration was absolute magic. It did take some getting used to, as I was mainly listening to the audio book while driving. But the multitude of characters with different accent and inflections, Simon pulls it all off in an absolutely wonderful manner. He is on-board for Sin Eater, so tempted to get the audio version for this one!
Aching God by Mike Shel came to my attention through the SPFBO. Was one of the 2018 finalist novels and came highly praised by fellow bloggers. An epic fantasy novel styled as a classic D&D quest by way of spine-chilling horror? Definitely sounds like my cup of tea. So I picked up the audio book version, which again came highly recommended, narrated by Simon Vance. (More about this at the end of this review, he's phenomenal!)
Aching God is the first part of this series Iconoclasts set in a medieval European/ Anglo setting and mainly features a semi-retired adventurer named Auric Manteo and his band of adventurers on a quest within abandoned crypts and temples of a lost civilization. It has been termed as LitRPG by many but after having read the book, while I can appreciate the parallels to a game-based narrative around a quest, I really think Aching God spreads it's wings across multiple genres. Giving us this huge sprawling world with so much potential - an extensively researched, well written fantasy foray with dashes of skin crawling horror in the guise of a heroic quest.
The narrative follows third party POV of mainly, Auric Manteo who has been recalled by the very League he quit ages back, to repel the advances of a dreaded pestilence that has laid low pretty much everyone capable within the League who have come in contact. Those invalidated also includes Auric's daughter Agnes, his only living relation left alive in this world. Reversing the disease can be achieved only by replacing this artifact that was brought out of a forbidden abandoned temple a few decades ago by some foolhardy agents, most of whom aren't alive now. Auric accepts the mission, gathers a rag-tag team [an arrogant but talented swordsman, a brilliant sorcerer, a skilled herbologist, a compassionate priest skilled with healing powers and an ageing soldier with a heart of gold] to set out for the dreaded Barrow Lands: A land of stinging desert winds and strange creatures, littered with abandoned sites of this lost civilization. treasures guarded by roaming horrors straight out of a dark nightmare. This is where most of the Djao temples have been found, including the one to which they have to return this wretched artifact.
Auric had taken an early retirement from the League to get some solace from the nightmarish horrors that have plagued him, the last one having gone spectacularly wrong that led to him losing some of his best friends in the League. The ancient Djao were known to worship blood thirsty demons or Gods and had left enough of their magic stored as instruments of death, either hidden within the walls of such structures, serving as protection wards or booby-traps against the uninitiated or souls encased within magical weapons. Frankly, the first quarter of the book was heavy going for me. Just to get used to the new terms that colored this world and even getting to like the protagonist, Auric reeling under the onslaught of his own personal demons of guilt and horror. In a short span, there were just too many new characters flitting in and out of the pages as Auric made his way back to the Citadel of his League and then sets out on this mad, almost impossible quest.
But what makes the quest impossible, you ask? Well, for starters - Most of the original team of the Syraeic League who had brought this cursed artifact into the mortal realm, are dead killed horrifically during this mission. Of the two who escaped, one is blind and lives his last days as a monk, in an off-the-coast island and the second has disappeared from the face of the earth, into obscurity. There is a heavy broody sense of atmosphere that hangs over the entire narrative, like you are aware of the futility of this mission as a reader yourself and you bear that heavy cross along with Auric, the de-facto leader of this current mission, saddled with a crop of youngsters who have never been inside a Djao temple or even undertaken such a mission before. And a Djao expedition is never to be taken lightly, fraught as it is with dangers unimaginable.
The story picks up pace after Auric and his team leave for the Barrow Lands across the seas. The first order of things is to get the Royal blessings for the mission, for which they head to the courts of Queen Guinevere of Hanifax. [Mike paints up a really creepy picture of the nobility, the Queen who's obviously sold her soul to the devil or something similar in return for immortality! hoping to see more of her in the second book] They also get the Royal Navy vessel commissioned for this trip under the captainship of an orthodox conventional naval captain who abhors sorcery and is bit of a prick. But really after they enter the Barrow Lands is when the action and tension ratchets up to level eleven and beyond. As the team goes up against horrific flesh eating monsters commanded by an impossible quarry.
The world is very well fleshed out, retaining a traditional fantasy setting - of clerics, sorcerers, a band of heroes, an impossible quest and a creeptastic villain. The best part about the book I felt was the only atmosphere of doom that seemed to pervade through. Right from the start of the mission where Auric encounters his former League agents who have no hope of surviving this strange pestilence, to the strange encounters on the way to the Barrow Land - be it meetings with the Queen who's flashes of senility takes dangerous turns or the blind monk with his prophecies of danger or the strange Duke who's lost his mind to grief - Right down to the final encounters within the underground warren of the Djao temple with the lovecraftian horrors or the army of the Aching God and the namesake, himself. That's what makes us want to get to the end of this mission - will this crew make it back alive or not? How are they going to depose this "Aching God"?
The story is mainly told from Auric's POV. He is not the most capable swordsman around nor is he the most intelligent of all. But what he brings to the mission is a palpable sense of calm, a leader who is cautious and brave and above all, wants to right the wrongs in this world. A man who believes in good. He is haunted by the memories of his last mission and this goes on to establish the fact that Auric, despite having succumbed once to his fears and misgivings, is a brave man to attempt to go once again to the very heartland of the place that has scarred him for life. Among the others, Beleech the ex-soldier with a heart of gold and Sira, the young priestess with her extraordinary healing prowess become two of the most authentic and sympathetic characters whom the readers can relate to.
It's quite a long book and most of that time is spent preparing the readers and the mission agents alike, for that final showdown with the villain, the Aching God. The last few chapters are blood soaked, unapologetically violent and thrilling to the core. Mike doesn't pull his punches and we really feel that blood spatter and the tension deep in our marrows, trapped in those underground warren chased by the blood thirsty undead. I do have a couple of grouches that perhaps marred, what is overall a super fun read. One, Mike takes too long a time before he gets to the actual stakes of the game and that was quite a slow burn of a start to this long novel. There are quite a few info-dumps through the novel that slows down the narrative as well. The second biggest complaint I had was on the resolution of the whole showdown. Despite building it up fantastically well to create that dark aura of dread and absolute terror, I thought the end-game was a bit tepid. Nevertheless, it still remains a great unpretentious look at heroic quests in a wonderfully dark dangerous world and is a well written fantasy novel full of action, dread and thrills. Will definitely be picking up the second book, Sin Eater.
Audio book review: Simon Vance, take a friggin' bow ! His narration was absolute magic. It did take some getting used to, as I was mainly listening to the audio book while driving. But the multitude of characters with different accent and inflections, Simon pulls it all off in an absolutely wonderful manner. He is on-board for Sin Eater, so tempted to get the audio version for this one!
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