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Darshan the God Slayer
Darshan is many things: a thief, a street urchin, and a proud nuisance to the city guards, but he is no fool. Well, usually he’s not. After the daring rescue of a new street urchin goes wrong, Darshan is arrested and taken to the last place he expected: the Arena.
Utilizing his skills as a thief, Darshan must learn to fight against beasts and warriors, entertain a cruel crowd, and search for a way to regain his freedom—all while trying to maintain his morals within a place full of twisted ideologies.
But the arena master leaves no room for different opinions. If Darshan doesn’t play by the rules, then his mother and friends will be thrown into the Arena. Will he risk failure by following his own rules or secure victory by committing brutal deeds that will haunt him forever?
Darshan the God Slayer is an alternative Biblical history depicting what the world may have been like before God’s global flood. Experience a historical period we know little about and understand why the Biblical flood was necessary as told through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old.
Utilizing his skills as a thief, Darshan must learn to fight against beasts and warriors, entertain a cruel crowd, and search for a way to regain his freedom—all while trying to maintain his morals within a place full of twisted ideologies.
But the arena master leaves no room for different opinions. If Darshan doesn’t play by the rules, then his mother and friends will be thrown into the Arena. Will he risk failure by following his own rules or secure victory by committing brutal deeds that will haunt him forever?
Darshan the God Slayer is an alternative Biblical history depicting what the world may have been like before God’s global flood. Experience a historical period we know little about and understand why the Biblical flood was necessary as told through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old.
- GenresFantasy
601 pages, Paperback
Published August 5, 2023
11 people want to read
About the author
Moriah Jane
13 books24 followersMoriah Jane strives to fill bookshelves with clean, high quality, and immersive stories. She writes and reads a variety of fantasy genres and loves weaving tales for young adult and middle grade readers. As an avid lover of Japan and anime, Moriah Jane became the co-founder and co-organizer of the hit devotional series Finding God in Anime. When she isn’t working on her next project, Jane can be found drawing her characters, sewing doll clothes, or bingeing anime. Connect with her across social media or on her website: moriahjaneauthor.blog.com!
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 27, 2023
This is a good book, and it’s definitely worth giving a read! It has the length and pacing of the first Keeper of the Lost Cities (KOTC) book (this one is longer, actually), but it has more action overall. That being said, it reads more like The False Prince (of the Ascendance series) than KOTC. It has a sarcastic male protagonist, it has an emphasis on action/fighting, and it doesn’t contain magic. The Biblical nature of the story doesn’t really come front and center until about the 70% mark of the book (at least as far as I could tell, as I don’t know a lot about ancient history). People who love the history of the world prior to Noah’s ark will probably especially love this, because there’s a lot of historical stuff (food, clothes, religions) and ancient Biblical stuff (Nephilim) in the story.
I recommend printing or bookmarking the glossary of terms while reading the book. There are a lot of new (ancient) words, so it’s helpful to keep it handy.
My favorite aspect of the story was the narrative voice. The author writes things and describes things very well, and the sentences are fluid and jive together beautifully. Definitely an A+ here! The present tense POV threw me (I don’t think I’ve ever read present tense before), but I did get used to it.
I would recommend this story for readers who like sassy, sarcastic protagonists and intense battle scenes, as the story revolves around the protagonist training and then fighting for his freedom through battles at an arena. Some of the battles include humans, but others include ancient/mythological creatures (behemoths, giant snakes, etc.), so it stays interesting. The battle scenes also have a Hunger Games feel, as the arena is built/designed to interfere in the fights in unique ways.
Action fans should have a lot of fun with this overall. If that’s your jam, give this one a try!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. This is my honest review.
I recommend printing or bookmarking the glossary of terms while reading the book. There are a lot of new (ancient) words, so it’s helpful to keep it handy.
My favorite aspect of the story was the narrative voice. The author writes things and describes things very well, and the sentences are fluid and jive together beautifully. Definitely an A+ here! The present tense POV threw me (I don’t think I’ve ever read present tense before), but I did get used to it.
I would recommend this story for readers who like sassy, sarcastic protagonists and intense battle scenes, as the story revolves around the protagonist training and then fighting for his freedom through battles at an arena. Some of the battles include humans, but others include ancient/mythological creatures (behemoths, giant snakes, etc.), so it stays interesting. The battle scenes also have a Hunger Games feel, as the arena is built/designed to interfere in the fights in unique ways.
Action fans should have a lot of fun with this overall. If that’s your jam, give this one a try!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. This is my honest review.
November 13, 2024
📚 Book Review 📚
Book: Darshan the God Slayer
Author: Moriah Jane
Genre: Alternate History Fiction
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
#bookloungereviewteam
Darshan is a young street urchin, a skilled petty thief, and an all-around menace to the royal guard. He is also a caring and thoughtful rogue who looks out for his mother and friends. When Darshan is asked by his friend Turan, to help him find and rescue a seemingly abandoned young girl, Asha, from the slave traders of Nemris, Darshan reluctantly agrees. The daring rescue does not go as smoothly as planned, and the group is captured, with Darshan being sent to the Arena, a stadium designed for life-and-death combat with the evil Drakan as its owner and overseer. Not knowing the fate of either Asha or Turan, Darshan is trained for combat, but his foes do not only include other human warriors, but monsters (some gods of Nemris) of every kind including giants, sea monsters, and other unimaginable adversaries. It takes all of Darshan’s skills and cunning to defeat his opponents, but he also learns to listen to an internal voice that gives him the direction he so desperately needs to keep him going.
This story’s setting is the biblical pre-greatflood era, where giants and behemoth creatures existed along with humans. It is also a brutal portrayal of that era, where not only the monsters were savage, but the population was bloodthirsty and sadistic. The inter-character relationships were well established, and the suspense and tension was intense throughout most of the story. Emotions ran high between the characters and although the mood was dark, it did have some fun and clever moments to uplift the plot. This was definitely an action-packed storyline and I found the story engaging and enlightening. The story was well written and I found it enjoyable from a historical perspective. I can definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a historical fiction novel. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Readers Copy
Book: Darshan the God Slayer
Author: Moriah Jane
Genre: Alternate History Fiction
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
#bookloungereviewteam
Darshan is a young street urchin, a skilled petty thief, and an all-around menace to the royal guard. He is also a caring and thoughtful rogue who looks out for his mother and friends. When Darshan is asked by his friend Turan, to help him find and rescue a seemingly abandoned young girl, Asha, from the slave traders of Nemris, Darshan reluctantly agrees. The daring rescue does not go as smoothly as planned, and the group is captured, with Darshan being sent to the Arena, a stadium designed for life-and-death combat with the evil Drakan as its owner and overseer. Not knowing the fate of either Asha or Turan, Darshan is trained for combat, but his foes do not only include other human warriors, but monsters (some gods of Nemris) of every kind including giants, sea monsters, and other unimaginable adversaries. It takes all of Darshan’s skills and cunning to defeat his opponents, but he also learns to listen to an internal voice that gives him the direction he so desperately needs to keep him going.
This story’s setting is the biblical pre-greatflood era, where giants and behemoth creatures existed along with humans. It is also a brutal portrayal of that era, where not only the monsters were savage, but the population was bloodthirsty and sadistic. The inter-character relationships were well established, and the suspense and tension was intense throughout most of the story. Emotions ran high between the characters and although the mood was dark, it did have some fun and clever moments to uplift the plot. This was definitely an action-packed storyline and I found the story engaging and enlightening. The story was well written and I found it enjoyable from a historical perspective. I can definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a historical fiction novel. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Readers Copy
December 25, 2024
Title: Darshan The God Slayer
Author: Moriah Jane
Genre: Comedy, Biblical Fiction, Action
Darshan the God Slayer is a colorful action/adventure story that has touches of history mixed with Biblical references. It is fast paced story that keeps you entertained. You are on the edge of your read the whole time.
You meet Darshan when he is a thief in the streets of Nemris. He steals to help provide for the other street urchins. The forgotten or abandoned children living in the city. The only thing worse is being captured. You only have a few choices when you are a street urchin. So, Darshan and his friend, Turan, try to provide some sort of stability to these outcasts that have none.
In an attempt to help a girl that is at risk of being captured, they plan a rescue, only to have it backfire. Now they are in the throw of a life that no one willingly choses. Turan is forced to become an Acher at the Arena and Darshans fate is to perform in the Arena as a sort of gladiator. He finds Turan and together, with the help of the girl they were trying to rescue, try to devise a plan for all of them to make it out alive. This plan will be difficult, since it means that Darshan must not only survive the Arena, but he must entertain the crowds to be granted his freedom. It is no small feat. He will have to use all of his skills to survive. The plan of the Arena is for him not to survive.
In the end, Darshan discovers that nothing is possible without belief and faith in the One true God. So, will Darshan have what it takes, and will God help him in quest to save himself and those close to him? Faith is a powerful thing.
Author: Moriah Jane
Genre: Comedy, Biblical Fiction, Action
Darshan the God Slayer is a colorful action/adventure story that has touches of history mixed with Biblical references. It is fast paced story that keeps you entertained. You are on the edge of your read the whole time.
You meet Darshan when he is a thief in the streets of Nemris. He steals to help provide for the other street urchins. The forgotten or abandoned children living in the city. The only thing worse is being captured. You only have a few choices when you are a street urchin. So, Darshan and his friend, Turan, try to provide some sort of stability to these outcasts that have none.
In an attempt to help a girl that is at risk of being captured, they plan a rescue, only to have it backfire. Now they are in the throw of a life that no one willingly choses. Turan is forced to become an Acher at the Arena and Darshans fate is to perform in the Arena as a sort of gladiator. He finds Turan and together, with the help of the girl they were trying to rescue, try to devise a plan for all of them to make it out alive. This plan will be difficult, since it means that Darshan must not only survive the Arena, but he must entertain the crowds to be granted his freedom. It is no small feat. He will have to use all of his skills to survive. The plan of the Arena is for him not to survive.
In the end, Darshan discovers that nothing is possible without belief and faith in the One true God. So, will Darshan have what it takes, and will God help him in quest to save himself and those close to him? Faith is a powerful thing.
February 26, 2025
It is rare to find a sassy book protagonist that fills out the plot so completely that you would lose track of time reading to simply stay abreast of the relatively fast-paced plot developments.
Author Moriah Jane seems to have mastered that rare gift of knowing just when to give a reader some break from the twists and turns that the main character Darshan has to cope with, gaining lots of empathy and admiration for someone who exists only in fiction.
What makes this book so fun isn't just the ever-escalating challenges and the smart ways that unfair hurdles are overcome, the little moments breathe well too and there's nary a wasted word - which makes this a writer to watch out for.
If you are going to read just one book over any short vacay, this should definitely be among your top picks.
Author Moriah Jane seems to have mastered that rare gift of knowing just when to give a reader some break from the twists and turns that the main character Darshan has to cope with, gaining lots of empathy and admiration for someone who exists only in fiction.
What makes this book so fun isn't just the ever-escalating challenges and the smart ways that unfair hurdles are overcome, the little moments breathe well too and there's nary a wasted word - which makes this a writer to watch out for.
If you are going to read just one book over any short vacay, this should definitely be among your top picks.
Read
August 10, 2025I was totally surprised by the first few chapters of this story and fell in love with the narration from the MC's pov. Hilarious.
And then the plot took a turn and I lost my enjoyment of that narration, since it just didnt seem to fit anymore with what was happening. It didn't work for me and I ended up putting it down.
Content warnings
Violence & gore: moderate violence, mild gore (gladiator arena)
Coarse language: none, if i remember correctly
S&xual content: none
And then the plot took a turn and I lost my enjoyment of that narration, since it just didnt seem to fit anymore with what was happening. It didn't work for me and I ended up putting it down.
Content warnings
Violence & gore: moderate violence, mild gore (gladiator arena)
Coarse language: none, if i remember correctly
S&xual content: none
December 18, 2025
Just not for me.
The mix of frequent modern slang and terminology alongside ancient terms and setting were a bit odd and prevented proper story immersion.
The mix of frequent modern slang and terminology alongside ancient terms and setting were a bit odd and prevented proper story immersion.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews