Synopsis:
When Gods Become Men
Nayi, dragon god of water, darkness, and cold is stripped of his immortality and banished to the mortal realm. After nurturing the nascent human race, he retires deep into the mountains to cultivate in an attempt to reclaim his place in heaven. However, as thousands of years pass, Nayi’s body and power only deteriorate with age.
Then, a young dragon shows up on Nayi’s doorstep claiming to be his son and begging for help against vicious phoenix raiders. Nayi is thrust into a new role as a first-time father and teacher.
And he has no idea what he’s doing.
Inspired by the xianxia genre, Once Immortal is a whimsical, fable-style eastern fantasy novel which doubles as a comedic mediation on mortality, mentorship, and parenthood. Witness the birth of a realm of dragons and phoenixes, the Land of Sea and Flame. Enter Nayi’s mountain school for dragons, and join his class as they train to become great martial artists.
Review:
Well, I decided to take a tangential shift in my reading to explore the indie, self-published world beyond my usual tastes. What better place for my shift than a spot of cosy (ish) meets cultivation progressive eastern-influenced fantasy? That’s a mouthful to say, and a long way from my darker-edged sci-fi and fantasy reading.
But I’m glad I took the chance.
Once Immortal took me to places I haven’t been in a long time, and the writing style is comedic and whimsical, yet filled with an earnest emotional depth as we explore themes of parenthood, dealing with unwanted/unexpected demands, and personal growth. In fact, the author refers in their endnotes to their experiences under various teachers and how they inspired parts of the story. It is, in many ways, a homage to teaching and learning, to be not only shown the path but led down it by a teacher with the desire to do the best they can for their students. Here, also, the teacher is learning the expectations of the role alongside the pupils.
And in another twist, the story juxtaposes the students against the god/master in another way, for as they progress (cultivate their abilities) their teacher regresses from godhood to master to, eventually, mortality before a heartfelt ending.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Once Immortal. There are issues around some of the time skips, but due to being a god, I suppose thousands of years will feel like a blink of an eye. But they do step you out of the book initially, though they settle down later. The plot is in many ways secondary, and all in the book description.
As an ex-teacher, in many ways this story touched me where it may not others. So be aware that if you’re seeking an all-action, LitRPG-style bash ‘em up when I mention progression fantasy, well, you may need to look elsewhere. However, as an exploration of a god understanding mortality, kinship and love, this may well be up your street.
Leave a Reply