Since January, I’ve been reviewing one book a month selected by a poll on Patreon so this month marks the end of one year of these reviews (all of which can be found here). The December theme is religion—fantasy books with descriptions involving divinities, prophets, priestesses, etc., in some way—and the choices were as follows:
- The Burning Land (Way of Arata #1) by Victoria Strauss
- Heartwood (Trickster’s Game #1) by Barbara Campbell
- Lion of Senet (Second Sons #1) by Jennifer Fallon
- Sign for the Sacred by Storm Constantine
- Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst
The December book is…
Sign for the Sacred by Storm Constantine
In a world dominated by the austere religion Ixmarity, a charismatic prophet arises – Resenence Jeopardy. Once a vibrancer of the Ixmaritian Church, a sacred dancer, Jeopardy has escaped his bonds of faith and is drawing the sons and daughters of the rich families of Gleberune to his heretical movement. The Church moves against him and his followers with increasing zeal and cruelty.
Lucien Earthlight, also a former vibrancer, is obsessed with Jeopardy and travels the land always just behind the man he is compelled to find. His life is unravelling and melting into the surreal, which intensifies when he meets a mysterious boy in the city of Gallimaufry, whose words are far older than his years.
Delilah Latterkin’s life is shattered when Trajan Sacripent, a follower of Jeopardy afflicted by a terrible curse, slaughters her entire community. Young and innocent as she is, she is bound to Sacripent against her will and together they too travel to seek the prophet.
Cleo Sinister, a poisoner’s wife, finds her life touched by the death of a child – a son of Jeopardy brought to her husband for disposal. A mysterious inner call reaches out to her too, and she is driven to seek out the father of the child. Upon the road she meets a forlorn and broken paladin, Dauntless Javelot, who becomes her reluctant protector.
Meeting many strange and mysterious people along the path, as their worlds grow ever more peculiar, these travellers are fated to converge upon one spot: the city of Gallimaufry where, as the Church militia conspire to murder him, Jeopardy will reveal himself for perhaps the last time. But nothing is as it seems and, as their acceptance of reality is challenged continually, none of the company will survive these bizarre days unscathed or unchanged.
I absolutely LOVE Storm Constantine’s Wraeththu books so I am very excited to read this novel!
