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Rhean
Empathy and sympathy wax and wane when years are counted in millions and thousands. The cusp of a new world order or the first to fall from the heavens, Rhean Eyadu slowly learns how to survive as she's left adrift and alone across the endless sea and atop the highest mountains.
Rhean's modern companions, Dorus Chatahyuk, Othil Utenyest, and Kronates Skia, join her for the journey. More a band of temporarily aligned incentives than true allies, each plays their part as long as they receive something in return.
What awaits in prayer and song is nothing less than salvation. Rhean slowly learns the full price of waging a war to end all wars while wielding her sword, Nox Aeterna.
And in the end, the questions of good and evil mean nothing to the time she spends with fallen comrades.
Rhean's modern companions, Dorus Chatahyuk, Othil Utenyest, and Kronates Skia, join her for the journey. More a band of temporarily aligned incentives than true allies, each plays their part as long as they receive something in return.
What awaits in prayer and song is nothing less than salvation. Rhean slowly learns the full price of waging a war to end all wars while wielding her sword, Nox Aeterna.
And in the end, the questions of good and evil mean nothing to the time she spends with fallen comrades.
357 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 8, 2024
3 people want to read
About the author
John M. Bauer
7 books10 followersJohn M. Bauer spent his youngest years on a farm in the middle of nowhere. His dad was a lawyer for the local tribe and he grew up thinking he would one day raise pigs. After several more moves across countries and continents, he ended up leaving that swine-fueled dream behind and settling into an apartment just outside Paris. The constant shifting of the Earth has left John with a feeling that nowhere is ever truly home.
Adrift on that tiresome sea, he spent years writing for other people and their goals: podcasts, blogs, marketing copy, press releases, and other nightly noise. Disillusioned, overexposed, and anxiety-ridden, he began seeking refuge from the emotional tithe. In words and stories, solid ground finally began to form.
John now captures that magic, exploring the space between us all. Conversations around cheap cups of coffee or just a reminder of the significance all too often lost in otherwise mundane moments.
Adrift on that tiresome sea, he spent years writing for other people and their goals: podcasts, blogs, marketing copy, press releases, and other nightly noise. Disillusioned, overexposed, and anxiety-ridden, he began seeking refuge from the emotional tithe. In words and stories, solid ground finally began to form.
John now captures that magic, exploring the space between us all. Conversations around cheap cups of coffee or just a reminder of the significance all too often lost in otherwise mundane moments.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 25, 2024
I have to be honest and tell you that I struggled with the first 100 pages of this story. The reason for that was the pacing.
Now, I can hear you thinking: Kimberley, how did it end up being a 5⭐️ read than?
By putting the book away for a couple of days and mulling it over. You see, I've been following this author for a while now on Tiktok, and I read his newsletter on substack. I had also read his other work set in this world, Maneus. A few things that stood out to me during this period is that the author may come across as peculiar. His writing, however, is very intentional and layered with meaning and references. Knowing that about the author meant that I had to think about who was telling the story and how the way the story was told related to that.
We follow the story of Rhean, a sort of deity who has lived for more than five thousand years. A human life span means nothing to her. She thinks we humans are much too hasty and she will not be rushed by what we think is important. Of course, this would include the way Rhean tells us her story. Once I realised that, the pacing made sense. I was able to get back to the story, and thanks to this realisation, I enjoyed it so much more.
I was so happy that I continued the story. Not only because the pacing picked up (Rhean decided that she was ready to hurry the journey along), but I also started to make more and more connections to the story that was previously told in Maneus and I genuinely enjoyed being on a journey with these characters.
Rhean is a tragic character who claims she doesn't know how to love, and she often feels lonely. But she does love, and she is loved, even though she doesn't recognise it herself. I was happy that she was able to connect in her own way and that she found those connections with people who showed her patience and grace. I appreciated how the author described the complexity of wanting to connect with others, but finding that your lived experiences can hinder establishing those connections.
After reading both Maneus and Rhean, I have to say, the author does the telling of betrayal so incredibly well. I felt it in my body.
Now, about the reading order.
I read Maneus before reading Rhean, simply because Maneus was published before. I do believe that you can read these stories in whichever order you please. You'll be in for a trip either way.
This story is not a typical fantasy story. I would probably describe it as an epic fantasy with a philosophical touch.
It's definitely worth the read if you're looking for a dash of reflection and puzzling with your escapism.
Now, I can hear you thinking: Kimberley, how did it end up being a 5⭐️ read than?
By putting the book away for a couple of days and mulling it over. You see, I've been following this author for a while now on Tiktok, and I read his newsletter on substack. I had also read his other work set in this world, Maneus. A few things that stood out to me during this period is that the author may come across as peculiar. His writing, however, is very intentional and layered with meaning and references. Knowing that about the author meant that I had to think about who was telling the story and how the way the story was told related to that.
We follow the story of Rhean, a sort of deity who has lived for more than five thousand years. A human life span means nothing to her. She thinks we humans are much too hasty and she will not be rushed by what we think is important. Of course, this would include the way Rhean tells us her story. Once I realised that, the pacing made sense. I was able to get back to the story, and thanks to this realisation, I enjoyed it so much more.
I was so happy that I continued the story. Not only because the pacing picked up (Rhean decided that she was ready to hurry the journey along), but I also started to make more and more connections to the story that was previously told in Maneus and I genuinely enjoyed being on a journey with these characters.
Rhean is a tragic character who claims she doesn't know how to love, and she often feels lonely. But she does love, and she is loved, even though she doesn't recognise it herself. I was happy that she was able to connect in her own way and that she found those connections with people who showed her patience and grace. I appreciated how the author described the complexity of wanting to connect with others, but finding that your lived experiences can hinder establishing those connections.
After reading both Maneus and Rhean, I have to say, the author does the telling of betrayal so incredibly well. I felt it in my body.
Now, about the reading order.
I read Maneus before reading Rhean, simply because Maneus was published before. I do believe that you can read these stories in whichever order you please. You'll be in for a trip either way.
This story is not a typical fantasy story. I would probably describe it as an epic fantasy with a philosophical touch.
It's definitely worth the read if you're looking for a dash of reflection and puzzling with your escapism.
August 2, 2025
Ill preface with a warning that this book is a slower pace.
I enjoyed reading Rhean. John very kindly gifted me a copy, as he thought I may enjoy it. I did indeed.
The early chapters are very slow, when compared to what I'm used to, but when you think about the main character that makes perfect sense. Our MC has lived lifetimes. They have seen mortals come and go, to the point they are almost apathetic to them. To me this felt like an unusual, albeit refreshing, POV to take. To further hammer this across the writing style had an almost voyeurism to it. An almost perversion that distanced the MC from the mortals and their world.
Thought provoking. Beautiful prose. Highly recommend to readers who want a little more from a novel.
I enjoyed reading Rhean. John very kindly gifted me a copy, as he thought I may enjoy it. I did indeed.
The early chapters are very slow, when compared to what I'm used to, but when you think about the main character that makes perfect sense. Our MC has lived lifetimes. They have seen mortals come and go, to the point they are almost apathetic to them. To me this felt like an unusual, albeit refreshing, POV to take. To further hammer this across the writing style had an almost voyeurism to it. An almost perversion that distanced the MC from the mortals and their world.
Thought provoking. Beautiful prose. Highly recommend to readers who want a little more from a novel.
January 5, 2026
A philosophical approach to fantasy
On my YouTube channel, I exclusively review self-published and indie fantasy books. This book had a unique premise and prose, but I had a harder time resonating with the characters. That's a big part of why this book ended up ranking 6.4/10 on my INDIE ranking scale. My full review can be seen here: https://youtu.be/zJMuxmph16U
Here's the short version:
Immersion (worldbuilding): 7.5/10 - Lots of lore in this one. We get to see various histories of mankind, as well as the immortal realm that has almost completely fallen. There are plenty of landscapes we explore as we travel to acquire shards of Rhean's broken sword. And there's a lot of history between Rhean and her old master Dwolmarik. So there is a lot of depth here, but sometimes it felt a little heavy on info dumps and exposition.
Names (characters): 6.5/10 - Rhean has lived for thousands of years, and as a result, she is very apathetic towards humanity. It's an interesting take on how immortality would impact the mind and emotions of such a being, but because she didn't care, I had a harder time caring about these characters. It was definitely a creative approach, I just don't think it connected with me.
Da Magic (& creatures): 6.5/10 - The magic mostly revolves around Rhean and her shattered sword. It is extremely powerful and has a profound effect on humans any time she draws it. The angelic beings themselves were also unique creatures in and of themselves. But I just don't think we really got to see this magic explored in depth, and a lot of sequences felt rushed when magic was involved.
Infrastructure (plot, pacing, prose, etc.): 6/10 - As I mentioned, the apathetic nature of the theme was difficult for me to connect with. The prose is still very unique and clearly holds the authors voice, which is cool to see. And the plot was slow at first, but did have some nice twists and turns as we got to the end. I just thought it was a little slow and explored more philosophy than fantasy.
Enjoyment: 5.5/10 - I'm not really much of an intellectual, so it was probably harder for me to appreciate the core of the themes and messages here. My lack of connection to the characters and world just made this one harder for me to enjoy. But I can see the potential for others who may be more intellectual and want to explore deeper themes.
If you like the idea of a immortal being who has lost her will to meddle with humanity, then you might enjoy exploring this philosophical landscape.
On my YouTube channel, I exclusively review self-published and indie fantasy books. This book had a unique premise and prose, but I had a harder time resonating with the characters. That's a big part of why this book ended up ranking 6.4/10 on my INDIE ranking scale. My full review can be seen here: https://youtu.be/zJMuxmph16U
Here's the short version:
Immersion (worldbuilding): 7.5/10 - Lots of lore in this one. We get to see various histories of mankind, as well as the immortal realm that has almost completely fallen. There are plenty of landscapes we explore as we travel to acquire shards of Rhean's broken sword. And there's a lot of history between Rhean and her old master Dwolmarik. So there is a lot of depth here, but sometimes it felt a little heavy on info dumps and exposition.
Names (characters): 6.5/10 - Rhean has lived for thousands of years, and as a result, she is very apathetic towards humanity. It's an interesting take on how immortality would impact the mind and emotions of such a being, but because she didn't care, I had a harder time caring about these characters. It was definitely a creative approach, I just don't think it connected with me.
Da Magic (& creatures): 6.5/10 - The magic mostly revolves around Rhean and her shattered sword. It is extremely powerful and has a profound effect on humans any time she draws it. The angelic beings themselves were also unique creatures in and of themselves. But I just don't think we really got to see this magic explored in depth, and a lot of sequences felt rushed when magic was involved.
Infrastructure (plot, pacing, prose, etc.): 6/10 - As I mentioned, the apathetic nature of the theme was difficult for me to connect with. The prose is still very unique and clearly holds the authors voice, which is cool to see. And the plot was slow at first, but did have some nice twists and turns as we got to the end. I just thought it was a little slow and explored more philosophy than fantasy.
Enjoyment: 5.5/10 - I'm not really much of an intellectual, so it was probably harder for me to appreciate the core of the themes and messages here. My lack of connection to the characters and world just made this one harder for me to enjoy. But I can see the potential for others who may be more intellectual and want to explore deeper themes.
If you like the idea of a immortal being who has lost her will to meddle with humanity, then you might enjoy exploring this philosophical landscape.
January 23, 2026
Rhean is the incredible prequel to Maneus. This story follows the greater being 'Rhean' and her journey to discover herself and join the battle of good and evil. Along the way she meets friends and foes. The world, it's characters, and gods, are all amazing. The author clearly puts a lot of thought and detail into his work. The journey, battles, and relationships are so fun to follow and I greatly enjoyed reading this book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews