Synopsis
On the peak of the Mountain Pass, the Four-Front War takes its final breaths.
The walls are closing in.
The allies are dwindling.
The last front is on its knees.
The Rest to the Gods is a prequel novella in The Song of the Sleepers, an epic fantasy series by Australian fantasy author Joshua Walker.
Review
The Rest to the Gods will keep you restless needing to know what is going to happen next. A fantastic debut to a new epic fantasy world waiting for you to explore.
Genesis
I first became introduced to Josh Walker and his work through…you guessed it, Twitter/X. Josh reached out to me asking if I would be interested in reading his debut fantasy novella. I was not able to check it out right away but I was able to grab a copy of his novella for free through signing up to his authors blog which I will link below at the bottom of this review.
Josh is also apart of #thebreakins writing group that seems to be taking the internet by storm in our little fantasy & sci-fi community. After speaking with Josh a little further, I found out that he is actually the co-founder of the group and helped grow it into what it is today.
So far, I have read three #thebreakins authors and have had a blast in every single book. I am not sure if Josh simply got lucky recruiting all these amazing indie authors or if he did some homework reading up on each author first. All I know is that they all seem to have fantastic stories to tell and I am 100% here for it.
As a heads up, I am meeting with eight or nine #thebreakins authors very soon on 3/2/24. Depending on when this review is published, I will include the link somewhere in here.
Preamble
The Rest to The Gods is a prequel novella in Walker’s The Song of the Sleepers series with the first main entry coming out next year in 2025 called An Exile of Water & Gold. Walker pitched this novella to me as an epic fantasy, telling a character origin story of someone who will appear in the main series.
With this being a novella, it’s only 126 pages long so you will most likely be able to read the entire story in a couple sittings.
Starting with the series name, isn’t “The Song of the Sleepers” just so freaking cool? Other than reading the title of the book and knowing the series name, I really did not know what to expect. I find myself going into a lot of books blind which is completely fine with me as usually I am greeted with a huge surprise that knocks my socks off.
Speaking of what I knew about this book, one good place to start is with the book cover. It’s simple and simply beautiful. Of course we have the title, his name, and the series name on the front cover which is uh…typical for every book ever written but then we have this super mysterious orb thing with what looks like some orange energy circulating around it. It’s great while at the same time making you question, alright what the heck is this orb thing and can I eat it?
So, I dove into The Rest to the Gods with an open mind ready to fill it with a new story. Below, you can see how it turned out.
Aftermath
Starting off in this book, you will be able to quickly tell that we are dealing with two separate timelines as each chapter is titled “NOW” or “THEN”. I am a huge fan of books that interweave multiple timelines into the story especially if it deals with the same character. One example of this that comes to mind is Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire series. In this story, we have exactly that, told from the perspective of our main character Nischia separated by 100 years.
The story starts off very strong in the “NOW” timeline of our main character where Walker quickly sets the tone of this story. Bloody, chaotic, and tiring. You are quickly thrown into the action or should I say the current events in the “NOW” timeline which can be a struggle for some people to follow at first. For me, I love diving into books not knowing what the heck is happening as details slowly come to the forefront.
One example where I verbally spoke out loud saying “wait, what?” came very early on in this story with this quote here. “She needed to Sleep, but first, she needed to sleep.” I was confused but intrigued at the same time which I found happening a lot but these initial questions do get answered. Trust the process my friend, Josh has your back in this story.
In these two alternating timelines, we are presented with two different versions of Nischia which somehow made me think back to Star Wars. “When I left you I was but the learner, but now I am the master,” but for the same character that we get to see grow in the “THEN” timeline as she comes to grips with the magic system in this universe. Then in the “NOW” timeline, we are presented with someone who is duty focused on providing for her people.
Something else that I found unique in this universe was the use of talking animal like beings that appear to be cute on the outside but can be vicious at the same time. I have seen the book series called “Redwall” mentioned a few times when people discuss this book and I can not really comment on that as I haven’t read Redwall but I know there are animals with swords on the covers. We have something similar here with weasel type creatures called Nestler’s that provide a lot of fun moments within the story.
One of my favorite elements in this story is the plethora of magic that we saw in both timelines. We quickly become introduced to several new words that deal with the magic system like orbs, cism, and luminosity. We learn that there are clear limits or rules to using this magic in this world and I really like how this is implemented. It feels a little OP sometimes when a particular character can just throw down unlimited power smashing anything in their way. In this world, there are limits and you have to plan how to effectively use what is available to you. I love how this magic system is expanded on throughout the story leading up to a huge battle that did come very quickly which is what you can expect anyways with it being a novella.
Overall, there is a ton packed into this 126 page book that I really enjoyed. Family dynamics, action, a unique magic system, and alternating timelines are just some of the things you can expect to find within this story. If this is what Walker can write in a short novella, I am looking forward to seeing what comes next in The Song of the Sleepers. Luckily, I don’t have to wait too long as the next book comes out next year. Woot woot!
I rate The Rest to the Gods 8.2 out of 10 and would recommend it to any fantasy fan looking for a short story with a grand scale.
“The question, I think, is who are you?”
To get a free copy of this novella, check out Josh’s site here – https://joshuawalkerauthor.com/
Also, I have a Patreon that is completely open for new members where I will place your name at the bottom of all future reviews and in all future videos. No pressure at all, I can’t thank you enough for simply reading this review and watching my videos. You ROCK!
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