Andrew LiVecchi (Author of Son of the Thunder Goddess)

Andrew LiVecchi liked Bryan Harper's review of Son of the Thunder Goddess: An Epic Fantasy Novella (The Lays of Athewain Book 1): "I felt compelled to write a review for this book because it pulled me out of a reading slump that many more popular books could not. Before finding Son of the Thunder Goddess, I attempted to read both The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell, and A Knigh" Read more of this review »
Apr 16, 2026 06:32AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Son of the Thunder Goddess by Andrew LiVecchi. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Son of the Thunder Goddess by Andrew LiVecchi <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Andrew LiVecchi and 4 other people liked Millie Abecassis's review of The Seventh Sister: "I'm back with another horrific retelling! This time I blended Snow White and Bluebeard in a fantastical second world filled with magic and deceptive astral deities. Read this story at home while enjoying hot chocolate. Bonus points if it's snowing ou" Read more of this review »
Mar 10, 2026 07:57PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Seventh Sister by Millie Abecassis. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Seventh Sister by Millie Abecassis <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Andrew LiVecchi rated a book liked it A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-18 by Joseph Loconte	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 10, 2026 06:48PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War by Joseph Loconte. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War by Joseph Loconte <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Andrew LiVecchi liked Frank Nemeth's review of Rage of the Raven Queen: Book Two of The Lays of Athewain: "Wow! “Rage of the Raven Queen’ is an action -packed follow-up to ‘Son of the Thunder Goddess’ that doesn’t let up from start to finish! LiVecchi’s talented prose gives a distinct flavour to this heroic tale of men versus gods (vs more gods!) that make" Read more of this review »
Mar 03, 2026 12:00PM · see review
Andrew LiVecchi rated a book it was amazing Godric by Frederick Buechner	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 27, 2026 08:00PM · like
Andrew LiVecchi rated a book it was amazing Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
For several years now, I’ve begun each January by reading a Guy Gavriel Kay novel. This year it was Children of Earth and Sky, first published in 2016. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, Kay writes highly literary, deeply researched epic fantasy base ...more
Feb 27, 2026 08:43AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Andrew LiVecchi rated a book it was amazing Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is one of those iconic history books I’ve been meaning to read for a long time. I found it absolutely fascinating and thought-provoking. As many have already pointed out, Diamond oversimplifies and generalizes many things, but that is to be expe ...more
Feb 27, 2026 08:34AM · like · see review
Feb 27, 2026 08:32AM · like
Andrew LiVecchi and 1 other person liked Millie Abecassis's review of Rage of the Raven Queen: Book Two of The Lays of Athewain: "A sequel as good as the first installment of the series! Rage of the Raven Queen continues shortly after book 1 ends and explores the consequences of Athewain's victory against Saorlach, angering the demigod's mother, the goddess Gaillag, who allies h" Read more of this review »
Nov 27, 2025 11:03AM · see review
Andrew LiVecchi rated a book liked it Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 27, 2025 04:47PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Save the Cat by Blake Snyder <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

Andrew LiVecchi liked Bryan Harper's review of Son of the Thunder Goddess: An Epic Fantasy Novella (The Lays of Athewain Book 1):

Son of the Thunder Goddess by Andrew LiVecchi

"I felt compelled to write a review for this book because it pulled me out of a reading slump that many more popular books could not. Before finding Son of the Thunder Goddess, I attempted to read both The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell, and A Knigh" Read more of this review »

Andrew LiVecchi and 4 other people liked Millie Abecassis's review of The Seventh Sister:

"I'm back with another horrific retelling! This time I blended Snow White and Bluebeard in a fantastical second world filled with magic and deceptive astral deities. Read this story at home while enjoying hot chocolate. Bonus points if it's snowing ou" Read more of this review »

Andrew LiVecchi rated a book liked it

A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War by Joseph Loconte

A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-18
by Joseph Loconte

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Andrew LiVecchi liked Frank Nemeth's review of Rage of the Raven Queen: Book Two of The Lays of Athewain:

Rage of the Raven Queen by Andrew LiVecchi

"Wow! “Rage of the Raven Queen’ is an action -packed follow-up to ‘Son of the Thunder Goddess’ that doesn’t let up from start to finish!

LiVecchi’s talented prose gives a distinct flavour to this heroic tale of men versus gods (vs more gods!) that make" Read more of this review »

Andrew LiVecchi rated a book it was amazing

Godric
by Frederick Buechner

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Andrew LiVecchi rated a book it was amazing

Children of Earth and Sky
by Guy Gavriel Kay (Goodreads Author)

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For several years now, I’ve begun each January by reading a Guy Gavriel Kay novel. This year it was Children of Earth and Sky, first published in 2016.

If you’re unfamiliar with his work, Kay writes highly literary, deeply researched epic fantasy base For several years now, I’ve begun each January by reading a Guy Gavriel Kay novel. This year it was Children of Earth and Sky, first published in 2016.

If you’re unfamiliar with his work, Kay writes highly literary, deeply researched epic fantasy based on specific periods of medieval history. He prepares for his novels by spending time in the locations where his books are set—or almost set, since they’re fantasy—places like the south of France, Venice, or Istanbul, and reading up on primary and secondary historical sources as if preparing to write historical fiction.

What Kay produces is not historical fiction or alternate history, but what is often called “historical fantasy.” Kay himself has referred to what he does as “history with a twist.” It can, at first glance, seem like a strange genre, awkwardly straddling the line between history and fantasy. But part of what I admire about what Kay does with history is that he is able to provide insight on the values, worldviews, and lived experiences of real historical periods, while also heightening the dramatic tension by placing the events of his books in a “mirror world.”

Children of Earth and Sky offers all these signature elements and marches out of step with the current trends of modern fantasy. It is a slow, meandering book, even less plot-driven than some of his other work (such as Tigana), and delves deeply into the psyches of its many point-of-view characters. The prose is beautiful and poetic, taking its time to weave a rich, character-driven story.

The setting is inspired by Renaissance Europe, focusing on the powers of Seressa, the Osmanli Empire, Senjan, and Dubrava (analogues of Venice, the Ottoman Empire, Senj, and Dubrovnik).

One of the most striking aspects of Kay’s work is its consistent preoccupation with time—the decay of past glories, the pain of nostalgia, the transience of human life. I’ve noticed this in every novel of his I’ve read (seven so far), but it seems especially pronounced here. This is largely because the book is set in the same almost-historical world as many of his other novels, but in a much later period. If you’ve read his previous work set in this world, then the nostalgia of Children of Earth and Sky becomes all the more poignant.

The parallels are especially striking when we compare it to the two novels comprising the Sarantine Mosaic (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors). Inspired by the sixth-century Byzantine Empire, these books revel in the glories of the city of Sarantium (an analogue for Constantinople) with lavish descriptions of chariot racing in the hippodrome, the intrigues of the royal palace, and the beautiful mosaics of the city’s great sanctuary. Art is made the central focus through the novels’ protagonist, Crispin, a master mosaicist charged with decorating the sanctuary dome, who becomes hopelessly entangled in a web of conspiracy and political machination.

In Children of Earth and Sky, a thousand years have passed since then. Sarantium has fallen to the Osmanli Empire. Named Asharias, it is ruled now by the Osmanli Khalif. And everything is marked by change and decay.

There are several major point-of-view characters in this novel. Danica, a Senjani pirate who hungers for revenge on the Osmanlis who raided her village. Neven, her brother, who was captured by the Osmanli army as a child and raised as an elite warrior among the djanni. Marin, the talented but restless son of a wealthy Dubravae merchant. Pero, a Seressan artist tasked with painting a portrait of the powerful Khalif of Asharias. And Leonara, a disgraced nobleman’s daughter turned Seressan spy. These characters, and the many other minor figures that populate the novel, intersect in interesting and surprising ways and move through a world haunted by a long, troubled history.

In Children of Earth and Sky, we revisit many of the most iconic locations from The Sarantine Mosaic, now ruined and ravaged by time. A wayside chapel—whose dome’s depiction of the deity Jad literally flattens Crispin on his back—is now falling apart, serving as a hideout for displaced Sarantine soldiers. Sarantium’s hippodrome, with its chariot races and roaring crowds, is an abandoned wreck. Marin and Pero wander through this vast ruin, forced to imagine its former glories, piecing together fragments of text that allude to the events that we as readers once witnessed in full.

All of this works whether or not you’ve read Kay’s earlier novels. Because his world draws so closely on real history, his elegiac descriptions of civilizational decline resonate with authenticity. But for those of us who have followed him across multiple books, these moments hold even greater meaning. The former greatness of Sarantium, the fading mosaics, the empty hippodrome—these hit harder because we have been to these places before, have walked them alongside characters full of ambition and desire. We know the now “nameless” artist behind the mosaics was once Crispin, a passionate and grieving artist. For us, this is a fully “living” character, not merely a footnote lost to history. This knowledge gives us insight beyond the limited viewpoints of the novel’s characters, providing us with the long view of a historian, while sharpening our sense of loss. ...more

Andrew LiVecchi rated a book it was amazing

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
by Jared Diamond

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This is one of those iconic history books I’ve been meaning to read for a long time. I found it absolutely fascinating and thought-provoking. As many have already pointed out, Diamond oversimplifies and generalizes many things, but that is to be expe ...more

Andrew LiVecchi and 1 other person liked Millie Abecassis's review of Rage of the Raven Queen: Book Two of The Lays of Athewain:

"A sequel as good as the first installment of the series!

Rage of the Raven Queen continues shortly after book 1 ends and explores the consequences of Athewain's victory against Saorlach, angering the demigod's mother, the goddess Gaillag, who allies h" Read more of this review »

Andrew LiVecchi rated a book liked it

Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
by Blake Snyder

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Andrew’s Friend Comments

	Son of the Thunder Goddess: An Epic Fantasy Novella (The Lays of Athewain Book 1) 4.13 avg rating — 24 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Kingdoms of Wrath and Ice by Liz Delton (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Cherie Lynae Cabrera Suski (Goodreads Author), Elise Berensen Meyer 4.23 avg rating — 13 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rage of the Raven Queen: Book Two of The Lays of Athewain 4.33 avg rating — 6 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	It Came from Cambridge: Short stories from from the people who live there by Bob Burtt, Douglas Craig, Ken Doran (Goodreads Author) 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Songweaver: A Sword and Sorcery Short Story really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Andrew’s Year In Books

Andrew LiVecchi’s Followers (3)

Andrew’s Bookshelves

Andrew’s Friends (3)

2026 Reading Challenge

Andrew LiVecchi

Goodreads Author

Learn moreAsk the Author

Combine EditionsAndrew LiVecchi’s books

rssAndrew’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — Son of the Thunder Goddess by Andrew LiVecchi

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Preview — The Seventh Sister by Millie Abecassis

See a Problem?

Preview — A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War by Joseph Loconte

See a Problem?

Preview — Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay

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Preview — Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

Andrew’s Friend Comments

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