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Alamat, A History of the Awakened #2
Days of the Elder Gods (Alamat, A History of the Awakened, #2
"Days of the Elder Gods" is the much-awaited second volume of Kadi Serafica's 7-book series, "Alamat, A History of the Awakened".
The First Hunter ends life, but the Matriarch takes everything---your land, heart, life, and soul.
Padaugnon, Eater of Gods, has escaped his prison! In a land brimming with legends, the 48th kampilan and its four gods of war call a Pangayaw to put an end to the creature.
Halfway around the world, the First Hunter, who has stalked the world since time immemorial, wakes up from millennia of slumber, lured by a battle he cannot ignore.
As war engulfs the land, sinister forces that play with the lives of gods, whose quarrels have wiped out civilizations, move their pieces around the board and prepare for the ultimate game—the end of the world.
The First Hunter ends life, but the Matriarch takes everything---your land, heart, life, and soul.
Padaugnon, Eater of Gods, has escaped his prison! In a land brimming with legends, the 48th kampilan and its four gods of war call a Pangayaw to put an end to the creature.
Halfway around the world, the First Hunter, who has stalked the world since time immemorial, wakes up from millennia of slumber, lured by a battle he cannot ignore.
As war engulfs the land, sinister forces that play with the lives of gods, whose quarrels have wiped out civilizations, move their pieces around the board and prepare for the ultimate game—the end of the world.
360 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2025
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December 16, 2025“Fate, when left alone, is often cruel to the powerless. That is why we must hold one another accountable.”
Synopsis:
This is the second book in the series Alamat, A History of the Awakened, but it is considered a prequel.
It is a sweeping history of not just gods in Philippine mythology, but many other beings around the world.
Padaugnon, Eater of Gods, has escaped his prison!
...
As war engulfs the land, sinister forces that play with the lives of gods, whose quarrels have wiped out civilizations, move their pieces around the board and prepare for the ultimate game—the end of the world.
How I found out about this: The Filipino Shelf is doing a feature on this book. It sounded like something that would interest me, so I applied and was luckily chosen to receive an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thoughts:
This is the kind of book that is not for everyone. This was described as similar to A Game of Thrones because of the multiple POVs. But when I read this, I’d say it’s more like Malazan, Book of the Fallen (I only read book 1 though). It has even more POVs, a more complex story, and it’s a very challenging read.
What I enjoyed about this was the writing style at the beginning of the book. I loved the writing, the descriptions, especially the use of defamiliarization. Then, the writing style changed later on. Just as the history in the story was changing, so did the writing. One part became epistolary, and even blog posts were used. It definitely added to setting up the timeframe in the story.
Reading this felt like a crash course in Philippine mythology. There was a dramatis personae at the start of the book, but I would have appreciated a more detailed one with more context for each character, or at least for the major characters. I got lost so many times because I didn’t take notes.
As the title of the series says, this is a history of the Awakened, and this really did feel like a sweeping history. This covered the period even “before history” up to the modern day. It was written very broadly, and because of its breadth, I felt that the story depth was not as developed. (But maybe it was covered in the first book, which I have not read yet.)
Reading this was definitely an experience. I’m amazed at the thought of how much research and imagination went into this. I do wonder what my reading experience would have been like if I read the first book first. I’m curious about it, but I need to give my brain a rest first.
Who should read this:
Readers who don’t want to be spoonfed. Readers who want a challenge. Readers who are interested in mythological history.
Other quotes I like:
“...not knowing is not a transgression. But pretending to know—that, my friend, is madness.”
“Your life is a thread, so is mine and every other life… With all the gods pulling this way and that way, no one can really see what will happen next. “
“You are the sum of your actions, the buckets of blood you spilled, the lives ruined, and promises broken. When all is said and done, Buyong Dumalapdap, you and I, we are puppets, dancing on strings. I call my strings ‘knowledge’ and ‘curiosity’, while you call yours ‘duty’ and bravery’. Far more devious gods pull these strings for a game we will never understand.”
November 10, 2025
Honestly, I don’t know where to start in reviewing this book. It has a lot of notes to discuss. But one thing’s for sure, it delivers a strong message that the Philippines has a rich culture, stories, and beliefs.
The introduction by Sir Kadi immerses us in the world of mythology, where through foreign travels and visits, stories were exchanged between nations. One mention from this novel is Aman Sinala, who said that he has many names, including Poseidon. Which makes sense since some of the words that we have is almost sounds like of our neighboring countries.
There are a lot of names mentioned in this book, and annotating and tabbing have been my friends all along. They simplified my understanding of the connecting stories.
I like the persona given to the first aswang, Nuang. My understanding of the scene is that they were in an orgy. It was an interesting conversation with Sir Kadi that there are writings about pre-colonial Philippines showing that people were not as conservative as we perceive nowadays. It was a good way to learn about the culture back then. And with their description of shapeshifters, they are worthy of being part of the heroes’ league in this story.
The book has its own glossary that you can refer to from time to time. However, there are names that cannot be found there, so Google is a good way to find descriptions for those.
There are even notions that debunk common knowledge. For example, the transition from the old perception that only males could rule. The concept of gender in leadership became blurred. There were no strict guidelines on what position they would call themselves; they could be called “King” if they wanted to. The only option is their capacity to rule. It further explains that gods and goddesses are almighty, but they could not retain massive amounts of memory. It was like watching Marvel’s Eternals.
I like how the story focuses on our myths but also has a bigger conflict and plot that concern nations and the whole world. After all, we are all related to one another.
I do not have that wide knowledge about our myths and legends, and this book made me enjoy how rich our stories. And I am looking forward to reading the story of Hiraya in present time which is the continuation of this book.
The introduction by Sir Kadi immerses us in the world of mythology, where through foreign travels and visits, stories were exchanged between nations. One mention from this novel is Aman Sinala, who said that he has many names, including Poseidon. Which makes sense since some of the words that we have is almost sounds like of our neighboring countries.
There are a lot of names mentioned in this book, and annotating and tabbing have been my friends all along. They simplified my understanding of the connecting stories.
I like the persona given to the first aswang, Nuang. My understanding of the scene is that they were in an orgy. It was an interesting conversation with Sir Kadi that there are writings about pre-colonial Philippines showing that people were not as conservative as we perceive nowadays. It was a good way to learn about the culture back then. And with their description of shapeshifters, they are worthy of being part of the heroes’ league in this story.
The book has its own glossary that you can refer to from time to time. However, there are names that cannot be found there, so Google is a good way to find descriptions for those.
There are even notions that debunk common knowledge. For example, the transition from the old perception that only males could rule. The concept of gender in leadership became blurred. There were no strict guidelines on what position they would call themselves; they could be called “King” if they wanted to. The only option is their capacity to rule. It further explains that gods and goddesses are almighty, but they could not retain massive amounts of memory. It was like watching Marvel’s Eternals.
I like how the story focuses on our myths but also has a bigger conflict and plot that concern nations and the whole world. After all, we are all related to one another.
I do not have that wide knowledge about our myths and legends, and this book made me enjoy how rich our stories. And I am looking forward to reading the story of Hiraya in present time which is the continuation of this book.
December 23, 2025
#BernardReads | BOOK REVIEW 📚
Days of the Elder Gods: Volume Two of #Alamat, A History of the Awakened by Kadi Serafica ⚔️
After being refreshed by the companion book, I went straight on “eating” Volume Two. I haven’t read a book before wherein I already have thousand reviews just by reading the intro and character guide. Haha.
Volume Two seemed to expand more of its beloved world, incorporating other mythologies as well. It reminds me of the Nicholas Flamel book series, trying to have connections and categories out of millions of myths. Kudos to Sir Kadi. I don’t know if he’s just a fiction writer or a historian of the world we’re not yet ready to see.
The vibes of the book gives me The Sandman and Engkantadia feels, with its intricate and maybe centuries-long histories.
The book started right at the oldest time I could imagine. The storytelling was smooth and easy to follow with such twists so simple yet thought-provoking.
Frame narrative are a staple of epic fantasy. I’m not a fan of that long expositions. Fortunately, they were succeeded by equally epic god fights to death.
There are multiple instances of cold opening that just made me gagged. I didn’t know we’re just killing characters left and right. I admit, they were epic battles though.
I know it’s funny but the fight scenes reminds me of Dragonball where superpowerful characters are fighting each other and dead enemies left and right, and there will always be a bigger baddie. The author definitely had a flair for vivid descriptions, I can imagined them in details.
The 3rd part of the book was told in journal entries. It bridged that ancient battles to the modern Filipino time. It was an effective writing style on keeping us up to date as well as on witnessing the evolution of these characters.
The book really reminds me of the Ender’s Game series by Orson Scott Card with its brilliant storytelling, compelling characters with questionable morals, and even exploring the world itself. So good.
Congratulations again, Sir Kadi! Looking forward to the next installments.
#bookrecommendations #bookreview
Days of the Elder Gods: Volume Two of #Alamat, A History of the Awakened by Kadi Serafica ⚔️
After being refreshed by the companion book, I went straight on “eating” Volume Two. I haven’t read a book before wherein I already have thousand reviews just by reading the intro and character guide. Haha.
Volume Two seemed to expand more of its beloved world, incorporating other mythologies as well. It reminds me of the Nicholas Flamel book series, trying to have connections and categories out of millions of myths. Kudos to Sir Kadi. I don’t know if he’s just a fiction writer or a historian of the world we’re not yet ready to see.
The vibes of the book gives me The Sandman and Engkantadia feels, with its intricate and maybe centuries-long histories.
The book started right at the oldest time I could imagine. The storytelling was smooth and easy to follow with such twists so simple yet thought-provoking.
Frame narrative are a staple of epic fantasy. I’m not a fan of that long expositions. Fortunately, they were succeeded by equally epic god fights to death.
There are multiple instances of cold opening that just made me gagged. I didn’t know we’re just killing characters left and right. I admit, they were epic battles though.
I know it’s funny but the fight scenes reminds me of Dragonball where superpowerful characters are fighting each other and dead enemies left and right, and there will always be a bigger baddie. The author definitely had a flair for vivid descriptions, I can imagined them in details.
The 3rd part of the book was told in journal entries. It bridged that ancient battles to the modern Filipino time. It was an effective writing style on keeping us up to date as well as on witnessing the evolution of these characters.
The book really reminds me of the Ender’s Game series by Orson Scott Card with its brilliant storytelling, compelling characters with questionable morals, and even exploring the world itself. So good.
Congratulations again, Sir Kadi! Looking forward to the next installments.
#bookrecommendations #bookreview
January 5, 2026
Another great gem from Kadi Serafica as part of his ambitious and epic Alamat novel series.
Reading the volume 2 of Alamat was a cinematic experience as the author never shy away from bringing a superb world not only boasting of fantastic beings from ancient Philippines duking out in a primal clash of blades and sorcery on a nuclear level but the narrative and inerconnecting plots between every characters was so amazing. Kadi's world building skills was giving me goosebumps. Right now, in our local scene, he was probably one of the best right now in creating an epic fantasy story that could go toe to toe with international novels.
It might be too early to say but I am not surprise if in the neae future, the Alamat series will found itself as the next sough after TV series or movie 😁.
Can't wait for Volume 3 as the story now continue in the modern era of Awakened!
Reading the volume 2 of Alamat was a cinematic experience as the author never shy away from bringing a superb world not only boasting of fantastic beings from ancient Philippines duking out in a primal clash of blades and sorcery on a nuclear level but the narrative and inerconnecting plots between every characters was so amazing. Kadi's world building skills was giving me goosebumps. Right now, in our local scene, he was probably one of the best right now in creating an epic fantasy story that could go toe to toe with international novels.
It might be too early to say but I am not surprise if in the neae future, the Alamat series will found itself as the next sough after TV series or movie 😁.
Can't wait for Volume 3 as the story now continue in the modern era of Awakened!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews