The Isles of the Gods

What an absolutely stunning tale of murder intrigue, gods and magic.  It is set in a mystical and fantasy world, where the gods once did battle against each other; but five hundred years ago, one god was defeated and the rest of the gods retreated to the home of the gods, leaving their human followers to worship from afar.  Now, the defeated god Macean is gaining new followers and if re-awakened he could start conflict all over again.  Selly, the heroine in this tale is trying to run away from the ship she is serving on, in order to travel north in search of her father.  Instead, she finds herself on board the vessel along with part of the crew, a bookish student and a prince with an appointment on the Isle of the gods.  Unfortunately, the opposition will stop at absolutely nothing in order to prevent this, including killing everyone who gets in their way.

This book takes you on a roller coaster of a ride as the followers of the sleeping god, Macean, continue on their trail of destruction; there is Jude, who will do anything in order to help his sick mother and there is Laskia, who leads the enterprise and is trying to live up to her sister’s expectations.  The story is told from the perspective of each of the main characters and we get an awareness of the conflicting issues that they are facing; whilst this means that we tend to support Selly and her compatriots, it is also possible to feel a lingering sense of empathy with Jude, as he finds himself caught in an impossible situation.  The story is full of so many different complex emotions and what we really understand is that every action has a consequence and we need to understand the way that this can affect society as a whole, not just individuals.  I can’t wait for the next story in this sequence, so that we can follow the incredible journey that the characters find themselves on.