Synopsis:
Not even the Church of the Invincible Sun is invincible – and somebody has to do its dirty work. Enter Sister Svangerd and her accompanying priest, both accomplished practitioners. Their mission is simple: to make a meddlesome princess disappear (permanently).
To get to her, they must attend the legendary Ecumenical Council, the once-in-a-century convening of the greatest spiritual minds the world has to offer. But when they arrive, they find instead a den of villainy that would make the most hardened criminal blush.
To complicate matters further, it appears that some people long considered dead might not be after all. What began as a simple murder is about to escalate into a theological debate of terrifying complexity.
From World Fantasy Award-winning author K. J. Parker comes a devilishly clever tale of murder, intrigue, and existential crisis.
Review
This isn’t a simple murder. This is a world full of intrigue and chaos. A world full of chaotic stumbling, bureaucratic mishaps, and church orders galore. It’s like a mix of Warhammer 40k mixed with poison and intrigue in an unfriendly world that is desperate to wring the soul out of you. That is how this novel is ‘Not Quite Dead.’
Honestly, RJ Parker knows how to build a world. The author pulls you into a trance, writing a believable, outstanding main character whose first-person prose is exhilarating enough to keep you entranced in the world. Every single time I was not pulling my eyes off the page. It was that good. There are believable characters, there are evil characters, there are moral characters, and there are characters in-between. This, if continued, could be the start of an outstanding fantasy world that I REALLY want to be more involved in.
Already you can judge from my review how well-written this story is. This story feels more like the opening to the Lion Graphic Bible for one, and it feels like an amazing book. Also, kudos to the cover designer who did a brilliant job interpreting this world. It’s like Orbit Books and Little Brown always choose the best cover designers that really understand the craft.
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