About

Shadow of a Dead God is the first book in the Mennik Thorn series written by Patrick Samphire.

Shadow of a Dead God book cover

Blurb

If Mennik Thorn had known the morning would end with him being framed for murder, he would have stayed trapped in the cupboard.

It was only supposed to be one little job – a simple curse-breaking for Mennik to pay back a favor to his oldest friend. But then it all blew up in his face. Now he is wanted for murder by the mage-killing Ash Guard, his best friend is about to be executed, and something monstrous is killing all the witnesses.

So how is a down-on-his-luck mage, broke, traumatized, and with a habit of annoying the wrong people, supposed to prove his innocence when everyone believes he’s guilty?

Review

This was a fast paced fantasy mystery, something keeps happening to move the plot forward right from the first chapter. The whole story took place in about three to four days.

The main character wasn't the noblest of heroes, but it was easy to root for him. Told from Mennik's POV, we get to know he's a mage who knows how to get the best out of his power level (which was much below compared to those who held authority positions). His best friend and adapted family was a thief and his eleven year old daughter (who was outlandishly good with knives and would do anything for her dad).

The magic system was based on drawing the power of gods. Couldn't say if it was a hard magic system, but there were a lot of cool details and I liked some of the ways it was applied. There was even magic to nullify every other magic, which led to the formation of Ash Guard to keep mages in check.

The main mystery revolved around a new type of powerful magic wrecking havoc. As mentioned in the blurb, Mennik gets falsely framed and has to go overboard trying to save himself and those he cares. This led to Mennik getting injured just about every chapter though, I would've likely dropped the book if not for everything else that I enjoyed.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟☆

What others are saying

From Emma's review on goodreads:

Shadow of a Dead God is a fun filled read with humour and heart. The fast paced, high energy plot is strengthened by a punchy writing style, helping to build the tension as the various strands twist tighter. Even in the big action scenes, there’s always time for a quick comment or quip on the fly.

From Martin Owton's review on goodreads:

Really nicely done fantasy/noir detective crossover with taut pacing and an ultra twisty plot. The main characters are well-drawn, the society is well-realised and believable, and the system of magic is neat with a couple of unique features. I would make comparisons to "The Lies of Locke Lamora" and "The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids".

Bingo

/r/Fantasy/ 2022 bingo categories:

  • Book Club OR Readalong Book
  • Self-Published OR Indie Publisher
  • Award Finalist, But Not Won (HM)
    • SPFBO6 and BBNYA finalists
  • Family Matters