In the Shadow of the Gods

April 4, 2016
Dunne’s gripping epic fantasy debut opens 800 years after Patharro and Metherra, the parent gods, cast their twin offspring, Fratarro and Sororra, down from the heavens for the sin of wanting there to be more to their lives than what their parents decreed. The twin gods have been bound to the well-hidden and powerless land of Fiatera. As the book begins, strange occurrences signal changes that might presage the twins’ restoration. Massed against this threat is a motley group: a heretic priest named Joros and his magic-using slave, Anddyr; Scal, a Northman and former Fiateran prisoner; a pair of sewer-rat siblings pretending they’re not twins; and a visionary priestess. The gods have brought this group together—but which gods, and to what purpose? The interesting concept will keep readers involved as the story gradually unfolds. With at least two sequels planned, this installment is mostly setup, but Dunne’s polished prose and well-rounded characters make it a strong start.

April 15, 2016
Five strangers form a tense alliance to stop the release of two gods bound centuries ago in Dunne's debut novel, a semifinalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel (2014). Long ago, the creator gods hurled their twin children into the bowels of the Earth--justified punishment for ambitious pride, as most of the world believes, or a cruel sentence passed by insecure parents fearful of their own creations, according to the preachers of the Night. Joros, a violent and ruthless priest, has devoted his life to the release of the bound Twins, but resentment drives him to turn against his former colleagues, bringing with him Anddyr, a powerful mage chained to him by drug addiction and emotional abuse. In the bitter north, a boy named Scal grows into a fearsome but lonely warrior--but the creator gods have plans of their own for him, revealed through a scarred, oracular priestess with a temper. As Scal grows, so do Rora and Aro, twins who have survived the odds, and the death sentence leveled against all twins, by hiding in the underworld. Their paths are disparate, but they alone can stop the terrible threat of the gods at war, for these gods are not good or evil but rather demanding and alien forces who would battle without caring about the human cost. If there is goodness to be found here, it is in small, vulnerable moments: sharing a coat against the cold, singing to help another sleep. Dunne takes some time to unite the cast, resulting in a plot that only comes together in the third act (and which relies on a MacGuffin quest). All the same, the gritty mythos and conflicted characters are compelling enough to bring the reader along to the last page...and to the coming sequel. Antiheroes carry the day--and maybe save it--in this dark tale of pragmatism and survival.

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June 1, 2016
In a world where two related religionsthat of the Parents and that of their children, the Twinsbattle for supremacy, one priest in particular has grand plans for domination. This priest, Joros, spends a great deal of effort rising in the ranks of the followers of the Twins, as well as seeking out mortal twins who somehow survived the superstition of the Parents' religion that requires twins to be killed at birth. He gathers allies until matters come to a head in the stronghold of the Twins. There are others involved: the northern fighter Scal, the soothsayer Vatri, and twins Rora and Aro, who have managed to survive in a brutal criminal underworld. The framework of the world is a familiar fantasy sandbox, but it slowly opens up into a much more interesting worldparticularly as the journey of half-blind exiled priest Keiro continues into distant, nigh-legendary lands. This bodes well for subsequent installments to flesh out the world and continue with character arcs that have begun to take shape along with the rise of the Twins, which will lead to an epic war over the fate of the world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)