Servant of a Dark God

by John Brown

I read this book several years ago and I keep trying to write a review that does the book justice. I heard John Brown speak at the writing conference Life, the Universe, and Everything a couple years ago. His panel on writing a killer story is what really made me interested in his book SERVANT OF A DARK GOD. I do at a caveat that while the main character is a teenager, this book isn't shelved YA. The story is grim and delves into some of the dark sides of human nature. I am sure that there are young adults out there that would have any issue but don't expect it to be like Brandon Mull or James Dashner.

The story follows that of young Talen who is forced to take a good look at what he thinks to be wrong and write. There is a group of people known as soul-eaters and they aren't exactly the people that Talen was led to believe. Not only that, but he learns the truth about the harvesting of souls. There is so much to this story that deals with the magic of souls and the beings who seek to be in charge. . . and that’s where I get stuck. I just can't find a succinct way to explain it, but that is what I love about this story. There is so much going on that it left me breathless at times. How John Brown was ever able to boil it down into a query letter or pitch is beyond me.

This book is fantasy and it reminds me of some of the classics, without being full of tropes. SERVANT OF A DARK GOD paints a beautiful world with vivid characters I came to care about, even if I wasn't supposed to. It is fresh and unique and I look forward to the rest of the series when they come out, though don't let that stop you from reading this book. You will want the time to digest it and possibly reread it a few times because there is so much there.