Child of a Mad God
A Tale of the Coven
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4.3 • 43 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A thrilling and dark new epic fantasy adventure begins, perfect for fans of Glen Cook and Joe Abercrombie.
When Aoleyn loses her parents, she is left to fend for herself among a tribe of vicious barbarians. Bound by rigid traditions, she dreams of escaping to the world beyond her mountain home.
The only hope for achieving the kind of freedom she searches for is to learn how to wield the mysterious power used by the tribe’s coven known as the Song of Usgar. Thankfully, Aoleyn may be the strongest witch to have ever lived, but magic comes at price. Not only has her abilities caught the eye of the brutish warlord that leads the tribe, but the demon of the mountain hunts all who wield the Coven’s power, and Aoleyn’s talent has made her a beacon in the night.
Child of a Mad God is the first book in bestselling author R. A. Salvatore's The Coven series.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lackluster worldbuilding, characters, and prose are major minuses in the first volume of Salvatore's latest fantasy series set in the DemonWars Saga universe. No knowledge of prior books is necessary to follow the story, but only readers who already have some emotional investment in the world of Corona are likely to care about yet another magical character's coming-of-age. The lead is Aoleyn, an orphan who is first introduced as a three-year-old and gradually learns that she has special powers, including levitation. This leads to a predictable confrontation with a powerful force of evil. There is no real depth to her development, and Salvatore's attempt to amp things up with gore and sexual violence is gratuitous. Excessive use of exclamation points and odd name choices are also distractions. There's nothing here that hasn't been done better elsewhere.
Customer Reviews
Can't put it down!
This is the first book of his I've read and i cant recommend it enough. Beautiful world and character building. The The lore of magic is really beautiful and there's some great commentary on civilization vs the wilds. Dehumanization, misogyny, and what that means for people living in those societies. All of the themes he explores in this novel are done extremely well, and the philosophy of it really makes you think.
There is some graphic violence, so its not for the very squeamish, but it makes sense in the context of who/what the story is about (a tribe of ruthless warriors emboldened by magic.) It does contain r*pe and slavery scenes and mentions throughout the novel. Nothing extremely graphic on that end, they dont linger for very long, but they plainly tell you its happening, and its a realistic depiction. It is depicted as evil/bad/savage so it does not glorify it at all.
That being said i think this is a great novel, im having a great time reading it and learning about this world and i cant wait to read more of his novels. I hope there will be more to come for this and it becomes a series!!
Meh. Not up to par with his usual work
I’ve read many many of RA’s work and this book just moved very slow. All the action came in the last chapter of the book.