I was hoping for another Murderbot Diaries book, but Martha Wells finished this fantasy first so I’m trying it out. I’m usually more of a sci-fi reader but I can get into a decent fantasy so long as the characters and plot are realistic enough.
So far, I’m interested. Kai is a demon from Underearth. In this world, they can inhabit recently dead bodies and the nomadic tribes of the plains have contracted with Kai’s people to take over the bodies of their loved ones, whereupon they are treated like members of the tribe–although much valued since demons are impossible to kill and have other powers to boot. Kai took over the body of a young woman, Enna, who died of a wasting disease, and was living happily when a group of seemingly invincible zealots decided to take over the world and murder anyone in their way.
When the book opens, this war is in the past and Kai awakens in a watery tomb designed to trap and hold his demonic spirit. He must escape his prison, find and free his best friend, then set out to determine what happened to them and where the rest of his adopted family might be. There is a distinct possibility that one of them betrayed them, and that hangs over Kai’s head as he seeks answers to his questions. The Heirarch may have been defeated, but there are still powerful political entities that could overpower them again.
Martha Wells is great at providing conflict after conflict without letting up, so you keep reading way after your bedtime. I’ll post a review on Amazon once I’m through reading, so you can see my ultimate verdict.
