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God's Ashes: A Novel
A gripping tale of loss, betrayal, and redemption set across the porous maritime borders of Southeast Asia and the remote islands of the Pacific.
In God's Ashes, an archipelago of displaced characters -- refugees, dissidents, and indigents -- converge in an unseen transnational crime. Years later, their hard-won reshaped identities threaten to crumble when one among them disappears. The ensuing search could upend the existing world order.
In God's Ashes, an archipelago of displaced characters -- refugees, dissidents, and indigents -- converge in an unseen transnational crime. Years later, their hard-won reshaped identities threaten to crumble when one among them disappears. The ensuing search could upend the existing world order.
308 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 1, 2026
One of my favorite things about God's Ashes is that the way it's written perfectly reflects what it's trying to say. At its core, the novel suggests that every person is a node in one massive circuit, and the story is built the same way. It introduces characters who seem to exist in completely different worlds until their lives gradually begin to intersect. The flashbacks never felt like interruptions. They become the connections that complete the circuit, and every revelation changes how you understand everything that came before.
The "God's Ashes" themselves are a fascinating concept. They are a type of coral exposed to nuclear radiation, becoming both a highly addictive narcotic sought after by criminal cartels and a crucial material for an advanced superchip that enhances human cognition. That dual purpose perfectly captures one of the novel's biggest ideas. Discoveries are never inherently good or evil. What matters is who controls them and how they're used.
I also loved how the book refuses to separate mythology from science. Instead, it lets them coexist naturally, creating a world where ancient beliefs and cutting-edge technology constantly shape one another. It made the story feel both timeless and futuristic. What impressed me most was how many ideas the novel explores without feeling overcrowded. It tackles national and cultural identity, colonialism, environmental justice, social hierarchies, gender and sexuality, and the relationship between politics and technological advancement. Rather than existing as separate themes, they all reinforce the novel's central idea that everything is interconnected.
One idea that has stayed with me is the novel's exploration of language and power. The difference between calling the nuclear waste site a "tomb" or a "dome" is not just word choice. To the local community, it is a tomb marked by death and the lasting consequences of nuclear waste. To the people who built it, it is a dome, a more clinical term that softens those consequences. It is a subtle reminder that the people in power often get to shape not only policy but also the language we use to understand reality. That same idea carries over to Deus, the app whose name literally means "God." Giving technology that name places it in a position of authority, something to trust, obey, or even worship. It made me reflect on how names shape perception and influence who gets to define the narrative.
The opening can be confusing because it feels like you've been dropped into the middle of the story with very little context. But trust the process. As more pieces are revealed, everything gradually falls into place. The flashbacks only make the suspense stronger because each new revelation reshapes your understanding of the present. The ending felt a little rushed compared to the careful pacing of the rest of the novel. Still, I found myself wondering if that was intentional. Technology evolves rapidly, discoveries happen unexpectedly, and science rarely offers neat conclusions. In that sense, the ending feels true to the world the novel creates. After finishing the book, I immediately looked up Nan Madol, and I highly recommend doing the same. Learning about the real place adds another layer of appreciation for the novel.
God's Ashes is an ambitious and rewarding read that trusts its readers to make connections instead of spelling everything out. Even after I finished it, I found myself thinking about its ideas and making new connections long after turning the last page.
The "God's Ashes" themselves are a fascinating concept. They are a type of coral exposed to nuclear radiation, becoming both a highly addictive narcotic sought after by criminal cartels and a crucial material for an advanced superchip that enhances human cognition. That dual purpose perfectly captures one of the novel's biggest ideas. Discoveries are never inherently good or evil. What matters is who controls them and how they're used.
I also loved how the book refuses to separate mythology from science. Instead, it lets them coexist naturally, creating a world where ancient beliefs and cutting-edge technology constantly shape one another. It made the story feel both timeless and futuristic. What impressed me most was how many ideas the novel explores without feeling overcrowded. It tackles national and cultural identity, colonialism, environmental justice, social hierarchies, gender and sexuality, and the relationship between politics and technological advancement. Rather than existing as separate themes, they all reinforce the novel's central idea that everything is interconnected.
One idea that has stayed with me is the novel's exploration of language and power. The difference between calling the nuclear waste site a "tomb" or a "dome" is not just word choice. To the local community, it is a tomb marked by death and the lasting consequences of nuclear waste. To the people who built it, it is a dome, a more clinical term that softens those consequences. It is a subtle reminder that the people in power often get to shape not only policy but also the language we use to understand reality. That same idea carries over to Deus, the app whose name literally means "God." Giving technology that name places it in a position of authority, something to trust, obey, or even worship. It made me reflect on how names shape perception and influence who gets to define the narrative.
The opening can be confusing because it feels like you've been dropped into the middle of the story with very little context. But trust the process. As more pieces are revealed, everything gradually falls into place. The flashbacks only make the suspense stronger because each new revelation reshapes your understanding of the present. The ending felt a little rushed compared to the careful pacing of the rest of the novel. Still, I found myself wondering if that was intentional. Technology evolves rapidly, discoveries happen unexpectedly, and science rarely offers neat conclusions. In that sense, the ending feels true to the world the novel creates. After finishing the book, I immediately looked up Nan Madol, and I highly recommend doing the same. Learning about the real place adds another layer of appreciation for the novel.
God's Ashes is an ambitious and rewarding read that trusts its readers to make connections instead of spelling everything out. Even after I finished it, I found myself thinking about its ideas and making new connections long after turning the last page.
July 7, 2026
His whole existence was a balancing act. Between the past and the future. His roots and his wings. Tradition and technology.
Synopsis:
It’s hard to write my own synopsis for this because so many things happened, but I’ll try.
It started with math and corals. But things got out of hand, and nothing is as it seems. Set in various locations around the world, especially Southeast Asia, this sweeping novel will take its readers on a wild ride.
Thoughts:
When I reached the end of this book, I was stunned.
Mind-blown.
In awe.
We are introduced to a cast of characters, like a ‘sea urchin’, an environmental activist, a couple of college students, the owner of an inn, a mysterious Mr. X… the threads of their stories slowly intertwine but the reader is rewarded when they are unraveled.
Okay, to be honest, I’m still having a hard time gathering my thoughts. This was such a dense book. It didn’t spoon-feed the readers. I wish I took notes and made a table complete with what happened where, when, and with whom.
The time and location jumps were confusing at first, but near the halfway point, I was hooked. The title “god’s ashes” refers to radioactive coral that people have become creative in using, and it has some strange effects. I think the theme of this novel is: transformation.
(This review is kind of incoherent. Moving on…)
It was hard to believe that this was only around 300 pages because of how much depth it had. Though I honestly wouldn’t have minded if this was a series where readers could get really immersed in the main characters’ experiences, especially with how the Deus app affected their lives. But I will settle for reading this again. I think I need to because I’m sure I missed a lot of clues the first time around.
Ratings breakdown:
(PEACH method by Erin Smith)
- Plot: 4.5
- Entertainment: 4.5
- Artistry: 5
- Characters: 4.5
- Heart: 4.5
-------
- Average: 4.6 stars
--
Other quotes I like:
“Points for personal development. As if some digital program could make someone… ‘better’. In exchange for money, of course. But Valya knew from experience how terrible people could be. It was inherent.”
“He was angry that his family was gone before he might’ve learned to resent them.” - Edi
“He was a good man, a kind man, who treated her well. And she loved him for everything he was. In a sense, he resurrected her. But he never made her burn. He never set her alight and made her… glow.”
July 8, 2026
Confession.
When my copy arrived, I excitedly messaged the author because I wanted to film an unboxing.
Her immediate response?
“Nooooo.” 😂
She started apologizing because it had been shipped in the most practical brown mailing envelope imaginable. She even joked that the packaging wasn’t exactly Bookstagram-worthy and kept insisting,
“The book is so much more than the packaging.”
She was right.
The envelope was plain.
The book is anything but.
I also have to admit…
The first quarter had me confused.
There were multiple timelines, different locations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and a growing cast of characters that all seemed completely unrelated. I kept asking myself, “Where is this going?”
But I trusted the process.
And somewhere around the halfway point…
everything clicked.
Not gradually.
Not one revelation at a time.
Everything.
Suddenly the scattered pieces found each other. Conversations I had almost forgotten became important. Characters I thought were worlds apart turned out to be connected in ways I never expected. Looking back, I realized the novel had been quietly laying its foundation from page one.
From that moment on?
I couldn’t put it down.
The closest comparison I can make is Black Mirror—but not because of the twists or the technology.
Imagine if Black Mirror stopped chasing shock value and instead became a sweeping geopolitical thriller set across Southeast Asia. One that explored environmental collapse, displacement, technology, power, identity, and what it means to remain human in a world obsessed with progress.
That’s what this felt like.
It asks you to trust it.
It doesn’t spoon-feed you.
It lets you wander through uncertainty until, almost without warning, the entire picture comes into focus.
And when it does…
it is incredibly satisfying.
More than anything, what surprised me was how relevant it all felt.
The technology doesn’t feel impossibly futuristic. The politics don’t feel far removed from our own reality. Every advancement comes with a moral compromise, every promise of progress comes at a cost, and somewhere in the middle of it all are ordinary people simply trying to survive.
That’s the kind of speculative fiction I love.
The kind that doesn’t ask, “What if?”
It quietly asks,
“What if we’re already on our way there?”
Huge thank you to @thefilipinoshelf and @margaortigas for the gifted copy and for having me on this tour. This was such an ambitious, beautifully constructed novel, and I already know a reread is in my future—because I’m convinced those first confusing chapters are hiding details I’ll only truly appreciate now that I’ve reached the end.
When my copy arrived, I excitedly messaged the author because I wanted to film an unboxing.
Her immediate response?
“Nooooo.” 😂
She started apologizing because it had been shipped in the most practical brown mailing envelope imaginable. She even joked that the packaging wasn’t exactly Bookstagram-worthy and kept insisting,
“The book is so much more than the packaging.”
She was right.
The envelope was plain.
The book is anything but.
I also have to admit…
The first quarter had me confused.
There were multiple timelines, different locations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and a growing cast of characters that all seemed completely unrelated. I kept asking myself, “Where is this going?”
But I trusted the process.
And somewhere around the halfway point…
everything clicked.
Not gradually.
Not one revelation at a time.
Everything.
Suddenly the scattered pieces found each other. Conversations I had almost forgotten became important. Characters I thought were worlds apart turned out to be connected in ways I never expected. Looking back, I realized the novel had been quietly laying its foundation from page one.
From that moment on?
I couldn’t put it down.
The closest comparison I can make is Black Mirror—but not because of the twists or the technology.
Imagine if Black Mirror stopped chasing shock value and instead became a sweeping geopolitical thriller set across Southeast Asia. One that explored environmental collapse, displacement, technology, power, identity, and what it means to remain human in a world obsessed with progress.
That’s what this felt like.
It asks you to trust it.
It doesn’t spoon-feed you.
It lets you wander through uncertainty until, almost without warning, the entire picture comes into focus.
And when it does…
it is incredibly satisfying.
More than anything, what surprised me was how relevant it all felt.
The technology doesn’t feel impossibly futuristic. The politics don’t feel far removed from our own reality. Every advancement comes with a moral compromise, every promise of progress comes at a cost, and somewhere in the middle of it all are ordinary people simply trying to survive.
That’s the kind of speculative fiction I love.
The kind that doesn’t ask, “What if?”
It quietly asks,
“What if we’re already on our way there?”
Huge thank you to @thefilipinoshelf and @margaortigas for the gifted copy and for having me on this tour. This was such an ambitious, beautifully constructed novel, and I already know a reread is in my future—because I’m convinced those first confusing chapters are hiding details I’ll only truly appreciate now that I’ve reached the end.
September 8, 2024
Full disclosure: I received a copy of God’s Ashes from the author herself. I am also her avid reader. As someone who has read all of Marga Ortigas’ books, I have to say that God’s Ashes is by far my favorite one for a good reason: the book embodies what any reader would appreciate in a novel, which is a fresh perspective through an enjoyable read. Marga Ortigas possesses the ability to write bingeable books that explore otherwise heavy topics. Her first book, House on Calle Sombra, appears to be an intimidating multi-generational narrative that weaves through more than a hundred years of Philippine history but manages to be an approachable book that can be read for hours on end. Her second book, There Are No Falling Stars in China, captures poignant moments of Marga Ortigas’ career as an international journalist, which includes assignments in no less than war zones, through succinct but heartfelt chapters. With God’s Ashes, Marga Ortigas experiments with science fiction and puts together, among many others, gem stones, blockchains and the forgotten problem of nuclear waste into the reader’s consciousness. From historical fiction to nonfiction and science fiction, Marga Ortigas treats her narratives almost in a tongue-in-cheek manner as a tool to keep the reader engaged. In God’s Ashes, a catastrophic nuclear disaster is imminent. The world is ending and no one is paying attention. It may seem to be a hopeless situation but like the plot device from which the main plot point is derived from, God’s Ashes presents an unexpected solution to an impending disaster. This is exactly the author’s the underlying message to the reader in God’s Ashes — one is not necessarily invited to look deep within but to pay attention to what is right in front of your eyes. There lies the magic of Marga Ortigas’ books.
July 7, 2026
Rating 3.5
This is the third book from the author that I read, the first two were nonfiction and this is her first venture in speculative fiction.
Set in a very different 2023 in Southeast Asia (SEA) and remote Islands of the Pacific, God’s Ashes talks about a story on loss, betrayal and redemption, featuring the displaced people - the refugees, dissidents and indigents - when their very existence is threaten by the people who wants to dominate the world.
I am not familiar with the Pacific Islands, particular the Micronesia, I google search where they are and the places mentioned. It’s fascinating to look and find these places where the author create a story from this. I am also in awe of her creative mind and world building.
The book also tackles important themes of climate crisis, autocracy, armed conflicts around the world. While climate crisis is happening worldwide, the author chooses to concentrate her story in SEA and Islands of the Pacific, as we are also affected and tend to be overlooked by the world.
It’s a slow but a very interesting start. Lots of characters are introduced with nonlinear timelines and various locations. At first, it seems intimidating, thinking it is heavy on scientific terms. Surprisingly it is not. The science fiction aspect is there but it just set the tone for the book. It gets confusing at the start as I feel like I am witnessing the story starting in the middle. Half way is when things are slowly being revealed, that aha moment, as each chapter makes sense and you start connecting the dots. Even then, it still leaves me with some questions. It also makes you want to go back to the first few chapters. I believe this is best read twice to fully appreciate and understand its entirety. Best to take notes from the start. The ending is as shocking as it may seem but I a fitting one.
This is the third book from the author that I read, the first two were nonfiction and this is her first venture in speculative fiction.
Set in a very different 2023 in Southeast Asia (SEA) and remote Islands of the Pacific, God’s Ashes talks about a story on loss, betrayal and redemption, featuring the displaced people - the refugees, dissidents and indigents - when their very existence is threaten by the people who wants to dominate the world.
I am not familiar with the Pacific Islands, particular the Micronesia, I google search where they are and the places mentioned. It’s fascinating to look and find these places where the author create a story from this. I am also in awe of her creative mind and world building.
The book also tackles important themes of climate crisis, autocracy, armed conflicts around the world. While climate crisis is happening worldwide, the author chooses to concentrate her story in SEA and Islands of the Pacific, as we are also affected and tend to be overlooked by the world.
It’s a slow but a very interesting start. Lots of characters are introduced with nonlinear timelines and various locations. At first, it seems intimidating, thinking it is heavy on scientific terms. Surprisingly it is not. The science fiction aspect is there but it just set the tone for the book. It gets confusing at the start as I feel like I am witnessing the story starting in the middle. Half way is when things are slowly being revealed, that aha moment, as each chapter makes sense and you start connecting the dots. Even then, it still leaves me with some questions. It also makes you want to go back to the first few chapters. I believe this is best read twice to fully appreciate and understand its entirety. Best to take notes from the start. The ending is as shocking as it may seem but I a fitting one.
April 22, 2025
Picked up this book blind without knowing anything besides it was written by a Filipino author. I honestly thought it would be a fantasy book because the summary at the back didn’t give away anything 😁 Imagine my surprise it was sci-fi heavy but I wasn’t disappointed!
God’s Ashes is a story about interconnected characters set in the near future (I think) where the world is ruled by technological advancements and cryptocurrency. There is an app developed which makes the user smarter and they have to rack up points doing good deeds until they reached Elysium. Such utopian ideals, of course, was ladened with violence, corruption, nuclear disasters, and climate changes.
The story spans different timelines and I was initially wondering how these characters with seemingly different ethnicities and backgrounds are related to each other. At some point, I got a little confused because there were new characters introduced even more than halfway! Glad I persevered, tho, because once everything was unraveled, I was hooked.
The premise is intriguing, listing down the consequences of man’s desire to achieve paradise at the expense of the environment and the marginalized. Overall, it took a while for me to get into it but the last 100+ pages were definitely amazing enough to make up for the slow pace. Definitely recommending this book!
God’s Ashes is a story about interconnected characters set in the near future (I think) where the world is ruled by technological advancements and cryptocurrency. There is an app developed which makes the user smarter and they have to rack up points doing good deeds until they reached Elysium. Such utopian ideals, of course, was ladened with violence, corruption, nuclear disasters, and climate changes.
The story spans different timelines and I was initially wondering how these characters with seemingly different ethnicities and backgrounds are related to each other. At some point, I got a little confused because there were new characters introduced even more than halfway! Glad I persevered, tho, because once everything was unraveled, I was hooked.
The premise is intriguing, listing down the consequences of man’s desire to achieve paradise at the expense of the environment and the marginalized. Overall, it took a while for me to get into it but the last 100+ pages were definitely amazing enough to make up for the slow pace. Definitely recommending this book!
July 5, 2026
4.75 ⭐️ “but… there really are mathematical solutions to the world's problems. life is one big equation, and soon, we will find a way to control it. of course, that may also be what kills us?”
quite a heavy read, if i’m being honest… but wow! i was just a bit slow at first because i was kind of confused, but when i was able to grasp the plot, i couldn’t put the book down. my favorite line from this book is about edison, who is described to have one eye that’s blind.
“it was only his sight he had trouble with, but he had long learned to live with his wonky eye. he had never known a world of 20/20 vision.”
if this is a metaphor for their world and the world we live in, it’s the perfect metaphor for all its imperfection. it showed, through the novel, that the “perfect world” was never attainable in the first place. the moment i read about this and realized the illusion of perfection they tried to conceal through the dystopian technology, i was just left dumbfounded.
perhaps, no one will ever know a world of 20/20 vision. but with the shared identity and humanity already engraved in us, i believe that’s how the world is already perfectly imperfect. we’re complex as it is, and not even a mathematical equation can be a single solution to life’s chaos.
god’s ashes: apocrypha by marga ortigas is a novel that explores the lives of the displaced and the preservation of humanity.
quite a heavy read, if i’m being honest… but wow! i was just a bit slow at first because i was kind of confused, but when i was able to grasp the plot, i couldn’t put the book down. my favorite line from this book is about edison, who is described to have one eye that’s blind.
“it was only his sight he had trouble with, but he had long learned to live with his wonky eye. he had never known a world of 20/20 vision.”
if this is a metaphor for their world and the world we live in, it’s the perfect metaphor for all its imperfection. it showed, through the novel, that the “perfect world” was never attainable in the first place. the moment i read about this and realized the illusion of perfection they tried to conceal through the dystopian technology, i was just left dumbfounded.
perhaps, no one will ever know a world of 20/20 vision. but with the shared identity and humanity already engraved in us, i believe that’s how the world is already perfectly imperfect. we’re complex as it is, and not even a mathematical equation can be a single solution to life’s chaos.
god’s ashes: apocrypha by marga ortigas is a novel that explores the lives of the displaced and the preservation of humanity.
March 16, 2026
I just finished reading “God’s Ashes”, and I realize that it is going to take me a few weeks to understand how I feel about the experience.
The story, the characters, and the plot (literally plotted in longitude and latitude chapter by chapter) by Marga Ortigas are exceptionally well written, making what could have been a confusing tale of the end of the world into an accessible and enjoyable read.
My problem is coming to terms with what it is all about. There is an allegorical level in which we see our world mirrored and exaggerated (if only by a little) in hers. There is a tropological wherein we can see how our obsession with connectivity and technology could lead us, a level that shows how we love the form and don’t quite get the content, to our eschatological detriment.
I am giving you a lot of spoilers, but they make no sense unless you read the book…
Finally, an anagogical reading in which we ask What’s It All About is where I will linger for some time. Ortigas takes on technological advancement, political machinations, globalized drug trade, and the very human conditions of loss, confusion, and identity.
And although the novel ends in a satisfying way, she brings these elements to a conclusion which is left up to us to settle for ourselves.
The story, the characters, and the plot (literally plotted in longitude and latitude chapter by chapter) by Marga Ortigas are exceptionally well written, making what could have been a confusing tale of the end of the world into an accessible and enjoyable read.
My problem is coming to terms with what it is all about. There is an allegorical level in which we see our world mirrored and exaggerated (if only by a little) in hers. There is a tropological wherein we can see how our obsession with connectivity and technology could lead us, a level that shows how we love the form and don’t quite get the content, to our eschatological detriment.
I am giving you a lot of spoilers, but they make no sense unless you read the book…
Finally, an anagogical reading in which we ask What’s It All About is where I will linger for some time. Ortigas takes on technological advancement, political machinations, globalized drug trade, and the very human conditions of loss, confusion, and identity.
And although the novel ends in a satisfying way, she brings these elements to a conclusion which is left up to us to settle for ourselves.
January 13, 2025
This book is def a 5 star read.
It crosses among various genres—setting themes of national and cultural identity, social heirarchy, political involvements in tech advancements (and vice versa), and even gender and sexuality, on a fictional story world set in the very real, untold world. Not much can be said beyond giving this book a 5 star rating. It does get hefty in the beginning with new characters being introduced throughout different timelines, but it all wonderfully ties together in the end.
Specifically, I admire the novel as it creates a fictional, almost sci-fi, world but through the lens of real and actual problems that nobody has heard of, such as the displacement of individuals vis-a-vis making way for corporations and national agendas of countries from the global north. These are untold stories of those that suffer the most at the hands of those who have the rest of the world dancing like puppets (through globalisation of media & tech most likely), and Ortigas does this by weaving this truth to the stories of the characters.
It crosses among various genres—setting themes of national and cultural identity, social heirarchy, political involvements in tech advancements (and vice versa), and even gender and sexuality, on a fictional story world set in the very real, untold world. Not much can be said beyond giving this book a 5 star rating. It does get hefty in the beginning with new characters being introduced throughout different timelines, but it all wonderfully ties together in the end.
Specifically, I admire the novel as it creates a fictional, almost sci-fi, world but through the lens of real and actual problems that nobody has heard of, such as the displacement of individuals vis-a-vis making way for corporations and national agendas of countries from the global north. These are untold stories of those that suffer the most at the hands of those who have the rest of the world dancing like puppets (through globalisation of media & tech most likely), and Ortigas does this by weaving this truth to the stories of the characters.
January 16, 2026
This novel is set in an incredibly rich world, at once ours and not. Most characters - and there are a lot of them - have multilayered tragedies. The ending felt a little rushed, and I am left wondering about the ultimate fate of the world and its children (especially Maki, Raed, and Anak iykyk)
I guess one other question that I have is whether it was Mel who introduced Willy to Valya.
I guess one other question that I have is whether it was Mel who introduced Willy to Valya.
June 13, 2026
One thing I really appreciated was how the author carefully planted small details throughout the book. These details may seem minor at first, but they subtly reveal important clues about the events unfolding in the story. As a reader, I found myself paying close attention because every detail felt meaningful.
February 1, 2025
The world this is set in is so cool!! The corals, the app, the different characters, the political and environmental themes. That said, I found the plot a bit hard to follow. It'd probably make a really cool show though.
June 22, 2026
i wish this was longer! but very good. 3.75 ⭐️
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