The Last Blade Priest
: WINNER of The Kitschies Red Tentacle Award 2023
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4.4 • 5 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
**WINNER of The Kitschies Red Tentacle Award 2023**
An epic fantasy with rich world-building and a wry take on genre conventions from a Betty Trask Award-winning author
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Inar is Master Builder for the Kingdom of Mishig-Tenh. Life is hard after the Kingdom lost the war against the League of Free Cities. Doubly so since his father betrayed the King and paid the ultimate price. And now the King’s terrifying chancellor and torturer in chief has arrived and instructed Inar to go and work for the League. And to spy for him. And any builder knows you don’t put yourself between a rock and a hard place.
Far away Anton, Blade Priest for Craithe, the God Mountain, is about to be caught up in a vicious internal war that will tear his religion apart. Chosen from infancy to conduct human sacrifice, he is secretly relieved that the practice has been abruptly stopped. But an ancient enemy has returned, an occult conspiracy is unfolding, and he will struggle to keep his hands clean in a world engulfed by bloodshed.
In a series of constantly surprising twists and turns that take the reader through a vividly imagined and original world full of familiar tensions and surprising perspectives on old tropes, Inar and Anton find that others in their story may have more influence on their lives, on the future of the League and on their whole world than they, or the reader imagined.
File Under: Fantasy [ Nightmare Crows | Scarred Altars | Broken Stone | Unlikely Elves ]
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wiles (Plume) delivers an impressive epic fantasy that evidences his background writing about architecture; the careful construction of both the plot and the world's physical features make suspending disbelief easy. The story focuses on two very different characters: Inar Astarsso, the chief builder for the Kingdom of Mishig-Tenh, whose life was shattered by accusations that his father betrayed his people; and Anton, blade priest for a decadent religion that worships Craithe, the God Mountain. Two years prior, Mishig-Tenh lost a war to the League of Free Cities because Inar's father disclosed a vulnerability in the walls of the kingdom's capital. Inar survived the retribution that killed his father, but remains at risk of losing his life, and thus has no choice but to accept an assignment to spy on the League. Meanwhile, Anton struggles with the demands of the monstrous creatures guarding Craithe, who require a return to human sacrifice. Wiles takes his time having his protagonists' cross paths, but the payoff is worth the wait. This gripping novel demonstrates the value of thoughtful, well-planned worldbuilding.
Customer Reviews
Avian Demigods.A Magical Mountain. Necromancers. Evil Elves - what's stopping you?!!!
Avian demigods who require human sacrifice. A magical mountain around which an entire religious organization (cult?) is structured. Evil Elves. Necromancy. A kingdom on the brink of religious war and further colonization...
Betty Trask award winning author W.P. Wiles is back with a new epic fantasy multi-POV tale, THE LAST BLADE PRIEST is full of adventure, top notch world building and a few unique twists to some of my favorite tropes.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I did request and receive the advance reader copy from the publisher, Angry Robot Books. Now let me explain why I requested this book. There was a line I saw in the press release that said "Whatever you do, beware the elves..." and that was all it took. So many fantasy tales that I read, the elves are a race that thrives in harmony with nature and are good beings. This one line suggested to me that the elves in this world were evil. Frightening. I had to know! (I was NOT disappointed!)
Let's talk characters and world building. One of the POVs we get this story through is Inar, a Master Builder for the Mishig-Tenh (Mishig denotes the family Inar is a member of, and the Tenh are different tribes that live along the chain of mountains that curve throughout the land). Inar lives with a smudge on his family name, as his brother and father were both branded traitors by the King and paid with their lives. Likely this is why the King's chancellor has chosen Inar to go work with the League and spy for him. Inar is our character who moves around the land and allows us to visualize this world.
Before I mention the second POV, I have to give a brief accolade for my favorite tertiary character, Lott. Lott is an apprentice of Inar the Builder and is drafted to accompany Inar to go with the League on his task. Lott has some of the best lines in the novel in my opinion, probably because he had some great comedic responses. Let's just say he was a genius at excising aggravation taxes on the Leaguers.
The second POV is Anton, a blade priest who serves the Mountain God, Craithe, and its Custodians, large birds that I always pictured as really big crows. Anton was chosen as a young orphan to be a blade priest, one who kept separate from the others and responsible for Giving the Gift, which is performing human sacrifices for the Mountain. A shocking command from the Custodians put a stop to this custom, much to Anton's relief. Anton is a stationary character for the most part, he remains in the fortress outside of Craith. He may not provide world building opportunities, but he does allow us to see all of the schemes and machinations of the various "groups" in his religious order. It was unique, full of mystery and intrigue and I absolutely loved it. I'm sitting here smiling in memory of the many unexpected twists and turns that I discovered in these pages.
So, putting all of this together, just what did I think of THE LAST BLADE PRIEST ? Honestly, I didn't get enough of this world with just the one book. When I read the last page, I turned and looked at my husband and said "If this doesn't get a sequel, I'm going on a rampage."