You’ve heard the story before: an orphaned boy, raised by a wise old man, comes to a fuller knowledge of his magic and uses it to fight the great evil threatening his world.
But what if that hero were destined to become the new dark lord?
Master of Sorrows is the first in The Silent Gods series by Justin T. Call. This grim, coming of age fantasy will keep you absolutely intrigued with all its twists and turns, deaths, and betrayals. The story begins with Annev de Breth, a reluctant, anti-hero destined for greatness, though it isn’t certain whether that greatness will be achieved through good or through evil.
“It is wise to fear what we do not understand.”
In the beginning, Annev doesn’t realize he is being sought out by wicked gods who only want to use him for his unbelievable magic abilities. As a baby, Annev was orphaned by the academy’s hands and eventually taken in by his pseudo father and mentor Sodar, where he attends that very same academy, Chaenbalu. Here, he is brought up to believe that all magic and its users are inherently evil. Chaenbalu trains its students to detect and retrieve very dangerous magic artifacts and at whatever cost necessary. In his training to become an Avatar of Judgement, Annev is pitted against the other students along with his friends in hopes of being able to leave the academy. If he fails, he will never leave Chaenbalu again and never be able to marry the one he loves, Myjun.
Throughout the entirety of the book, through Annev’s training and testing to the inescapable, profound end Call keeps you guessing. Just when you think you’re about to see Annev get his reward or experience a commonly overused magic-school trope, Call turns the tide and surprises you. His world building is beyond elaborate with such creations as feurogs. remarkable magic weapons, and interesting characters that I’m sure are only the beginning of what this author is capable of.
“There are worse ways to die than blood loss and blackthorns.”
The pacing of Master of Sorrows grows from start to finish and becomes incredibly intense as Annev is faced with those who hunt him and the possibilities of his powers. The confrontation and revelations acquiesce and roll into a spectacular ending that will have you clamoring for the next book.
The Academy of Chaenbalu has stood against magic for centuries. Hidden from the world, acting from the shadows, it trains its students to detect and retrieve magic artifacts, which it jealously guards from the misuse of others. Because magic is dangerous: something that heals can also harm, and a power that aids one person may destroy another.
Of the academy’s many students, only the most skilled can become avatars—warrior thieves, capable of infiltrating the most heavily guarded vaults—and only the most determined can be trusted to resist the lure of magic. More than anything, Annev de Breth wants to become one of them.
But Annev carries a secret. Unlike his classmates who were stolen as infants from the capital city, Annev was born in the village of Chaenbalu, was believed to be executed, and then unknowingly raised by his parents’ killers. Seventeen years later, he struggles with the burdens of a forbidden magic, a forgotten heritage, and a secret deformity. When Annev is subsequently caught between the warring ideologies of his priestly mentor and the Academy’s masters, he must finally decide whether to accept the truth of who he really is … or embrace the darker truth of what he may one day become.
