Blurb:

When an ancient prophecy comes to pass, the splintered kingdoms of Hekalis are in grave danger. Torish, God of the Below, was warned not to dally with the dead. Now, he is gone, killed by the sons he sired with fallen souls, and nine demon-gods are free to wreak havoc upon the world. Monsters emerge from the sea. The dead rise to wage war on the living. A growing evil spreads across the land.

Hope lies in the blood of Eziliath, God of all things, who is trapped in a deep slumber. There may be salvation if nine secret daughters, caught in fate’s tapestry, can rise against the demons’ threat. But with powers untested and stakes high, who will triumph? Will the world of Hekalis be saved, or forever plunged into darkness?

Review:

The Blood Of Eziliath has been on my radar for a while.m, but I chose to read it for my September reading challenge because it’s fantasy and short stories: two genres to which I am still new. Unlike many short story collections I have read before, each of the stories in this collection contributes to a much larger story arc which spans through the whole book, ending in an epilogue which ties all the individual stories together. I loved this creative approach as it allowed me to gain a stronger sense of the world in which the stories are set and the characters who inhabit it. 

Each writer is responsible for one story in this collection, which is one section of the overall arc. They are all incredibly talented and although it did take me a while to get fully to grips with how the world operated, and the relationships between the characters, this did become clearer for me as I read more. I found all the stories engaging and I particularly enjoyed the stories that featured battles as they were full of action and adrenaline that made me want to keep reading. 

The construction of characters is also really strong and there were so many characters I was able to warm to quickly and root for as their story developed. Once again, this was especially noticeable further into the book as the story arc began to take shape. 

I would definitely check out the work these authors have done individually in future! 

The Blood Of Eziliath is available from Amazon.