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The Thirteenth Hour: Book One of The Cruel Gods by Trudie Skies
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 535 Pages
Genre: Fantasy, Gaslamp Fantasy, Steampunk
Age Category: Adult
Date Published: 13 October 2021
Blurb:
When the saints fail, the sinners step up.
Cruel gods rule the steam-powered city of Chime, demanding worship and tribute from their mortal subjects. Kayl lost her faith in them long ago, and now seeks to protect vulnerable and downtrodden mortals from their gods’ whims. But when Kayl discovers powers that she didn’t know she had—and destroys a mortal’s soul by accident—she becomes Chime’s most wanted.
Quen’s job was to pursue sinners, until the visions started. Haunted by foreboding images of his beloved city’s destruction, Quen hunts soul-sucking creatures made of aether who prey on its citizens—and Kayl is his number one target.
To ensure Chime’s future, Kayl and Quen must discover the truth of Kayl’s divine abilities before the gods take matters into their own hands.
For a city that bows to cruel gods, it’ll take godless heathens to save it.
Amazon (Canada) / Amazon (USA) / Amazon (UK) / Goodreads
Trudie Skies is a British indie author who has been living inside fantasy worlds ever since they discovered that reality doesn’t quite live up to the hype. Through the magic of books, they wish to share these worlds of hope and heroes with other weary souls. You can chat with Trudie on Twitter @TrudieSkies, or to find out more about Trudie and her fantasy worlds, visit www.TrudieSkies.com
What a gorgeous cover, don’t you think??
That has been the main reason I really wanted to read this book—Don’t judge a book by its cover who? I’m pleasantly surprised by how well the book itself turned out.
If I had to choose one thing I like about this book to talk about, it would be the world-building. It is truly phenomenal!! I must admit how hard it was to grasp the first couple of pages, but soon things made sense and it was really fascinating to learn all about this new world!
The story mainly takes place in Chime, a place where people from all domains (there are twelve domains in total) can live, away from their original domain—where they’re at the mercy of their god’s every whim.
Our main characters are Kayl and Quen, two completely different personas with different backgrounds. Kayl is a Vesper (a creature who can contort shadows and prefers living in dark places) who lived most of her life in the Undercity. Having witnessed how cruel the Gods can be, she chose to live life godless, never praying for fear of alerting her God of her presence. In fact, it’s the main reason she’s an illegal and part of a secret group who would stop at nothing to expose the injustices of their Gods and their Wardens (who are the gods’ eyes in Chime).
On the other hand, Quen is—as I mentioned previously—the complete opposite. He’s a Diviner warden with unique abilities, such as seeing the death of whoever he touches. His job is to ensure that people from all domains are treated equally.
What do you think would happen when the two team up to solve the mysterious crimes happening right under their nose? Would they succeed, or are they doomed to fail?
This is seriously one of the best books I’ve read this year. The characters are thoroughly described and easily distinguished from each other. The world is really impeccable. And the writing style helps weave the story with such mesmerising clarity.
Highly recommend!!
Have you read it yet? What do you think?!
librorum in sempiternum 