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In the Realm of the Gods #1
Causality
The elites of our time discovered immortality - and kept it for themselves. Over the millennia, they bent nanotechnology and quantum physics to their will, becoming gods. Their power is undeniable, belief is mandatory. In a distant future, one in which humanity has spread itself out across the galaxy, the lesser gods war among themselves ceaselessly while the high gods glare down at them.
Of all the trillions they rule over, only one small group of mercenaries does not bend a knee. They are the apex predators of warfare, it is said that Victory is their friend. They are called the Hana. While the gods plot against each other and employ the Hana in their wars, the Hana secretly plot against the gods. At the end of days, the long knives of the Hana will strike out at the divine.
The Hana are not alone in their opposition. Out there, somewhere, beyond a stellar wilderness abandoned by the gods, are those few who stood and fought, the distant home of the Human Nations, the realm of non-belief. All the wars over that little sliver of choice, all the power and majesty of the gods, and yet they still exist.
The god Soleon plots war against them. He has begun a muster of his worlds and journeys to each in turn to raise the war cry. Debeb is one of his newly acquired worlds, taken from another of the gods. Soleon has hired the Hana for this war. A Hana division travels with him for the muster. Soleon thinks to raise himself up into the ranks of the high gods. Not everyone is pleased by this - not the people of Debeb, not the other gods, and especially not the secret protectors of the Human Nations.
It starts innocently enough, on what should be a day of celebration during Soleon's visit, but it turns into an open revolt. If the Hana cannot suppress this revolt, then the god will burn this world to ash. Nothing is ever easy for those of the long knives, their path beset by traitors and fools. Billions of lives depend on them, on one lone Hana soldier named Tremmel in pursuit of an assassin, of the last stand of small isolated units besieged by religious maniacs, one led by Tremmel's girlfriend Dram, another led by his uncle Erramm, and of one boy and a game called pankay. Victory and life, defeat and the death of a world, dependent upon their sharp knives.
Of all the trillions they rule over, only one small group of mercenaries does not bend a knee. They are the apex predators of warfare, it is said that Victory is their friend. They are called the Hana. While the gods plot against each other and employ the Hana in their wars, the Hana secretly plot against the gods. At the end of days, the long knives of the Hana will strike out at the divine.
The Hana are not alone in their opposition. Out there, somewhere, beyond a stellar wilderness abandoned by the gods, are those few who stood and fought, the distant home of the Human Nations, the realm of non-belief. All the wars over that little sliver of choice, all the power and majesty of the gods, and yet they still exist.
The god Soleon plots war against them. He has begun a muster of his worlds and journeys to each in turn to raise the war cry. Debeb is one of his newly acquired worlds, taken from another of the gods. Soleon has hired the Hana for this war. A Hana division travels with him for the muster. Soleon thinks to raise himself up into the ranks of the high gods. Not everyone is pleased by this - not the people of Debeb, not the other gods, and especially not the secret protectors of the Human Nations.
It starts innocently enough, on what should be a day of celebration during Soleon's visit, but it turns into an open revolt. If the Hana cannot suppress this revolt, then the god will burn this world to ash. Nothing is ever easy for those of the long knives, their path beset by traitors and fools. Billions of lives depend on them, on one lone Hana soldier named Tremmel in pursuit of an assassin, of the last stand of small isolated units besieged by religious maniacs, one led by Tremmel's girlfriend Dram, another led by his uncle Erramm, and of one boy and a game called pankay. Victory and life, defeat and the death of a world, dependent upon their sharp knives.
395 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2013
3 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
R.P. Bird
23 books14 followersProfessional writer since 1989. He is the author of the In The Realm Of The Gods science fiction series (Essa, Book 1: Causality, and Book 2: Contravallation), the crime novel Suzie's Technical Support, the science fiction romance novel Rewire, the novella Perfect Children, the anthology The Heart-Shaped Topologies of Spacetime and innumerable short stories. Crazy, but highly reliable. Can fix about anything. Send him fan mail or annoy him on Twitter: @rpbirdwriter
Annoy him even more on Facebook: facebook.com/rpbirdwriter
Annoy him even more on Facebook: facebook.com/rpbirdwriter
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 29, 2017
One of my favorite independent authors.
This is Bird at his best. There are series that I am not fond of, but this realm of the gods series is right up my alley. It is rare for me to give full marks to writers that work without the safety net of publisher / editor support, but a rare few pull it off quite well. I can only hope that Mr. Bird continues to write full sized (for me 350+ pages) novels on this subject. I have bought everything published thus far and am in my third reading of these books. I think that they are just that good.
This is Bird at his best. There are series that I am not fond of, but this realm of the gods series is right up my alley. It is rare for me to give full marks to writers that work without the safety net of publisher / editor support, but a rare few pull it off quite well. I can only hope that Mr. Bird continues to write full sized (for me 350+ pages) novels on this subject. I have bought everything published thus far and am in my third reading of these books. I think that they are just that good.
Displaying 1 of 1 review