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The Godslayers #1
Elemental
Orphaned at a young age, Agrad is hiding from god-like wizards, and from the gods themselves. His life, and the future of all Kayan, is at stake as he tries to blend in, to live a normal life. But...how can he be normal when it is his destiny to be an elemental, a type of wizard, himself?
Agrad falls in with a wild troublemaker whose desire to remain hidden rivals his own, and an artist with ties to the wizards he is so desperate to avoid. Agrad only seeks peace, but his powers grow every day, and his nightmares promise danger to come. All three have their own secrets which might thrust Agrad into an impossible decision: to either align himself with the wizard responsible for his parents' death, or to let the goddess of chaos destroy the world.
Agrad falls in with a wild troublemaker whose desire to remain hidden rivals his own, and an artist with ties to the wizards he is so desperate to avoid. Agrad only seeks peace, but his powers grow every day, and his nightmares promise danger to come. All three have their own secrets which might thrust Agrad into an impossible decision: to either align himself with the wizard responsible for his parents' death, or to let the goddess of chaos destroy the world.
- GenresFantasy
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 19, 2017
14 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 16, 2019
I am in shock right now. This book only has three reviews and five ratings since 2017 and it's way better than some of the books from big name authors I've read, it is unbelievable that books like this gets unnoticed.
The story starts with a little boy, Agrad learning magic. Everything changes when a wizard, Krecek comes to his town. He meets Agrad and they become friends, he wants Agrad to apprentice under him because he can see his potential but Agrad refuses. He wants to be with his family and his friends. Agrad unleashes his powers and disappears.
He is found by a couple who thinks the gods have given them their daughter back. Agrad who we have been told looks like a girl is given a dress which he dons. He stays with them for a couple of months/years until he has to flee. He has grown used to the dress and likes the anonymity it gives him. He also likes the way they make him feel.
Several years go by where he thinks he's gone unnoticed but the wizard finds him again. He finds out that one of the old gods is inhabiting his body. Years ago when the gods rule the people suffered under their tyranny so a band of people rose up and killed them.There was a specific reason they did that but I don't want to spoil the book. Somehow these gods they killed manifested in them, so they have some of the powers of these gods. Every time one of the godkillers die, they are incarnated with the gods in them basically as prisoners. Agrad is one of those reincarnation.
Agrad has to figure out how to navigate this system especially when he has to learn from Krecek. He also has to stay ahead of the machinations of gods who have grown tired of their prisons.
I thought this book was exceptional. We get to see his entire journey from when he was a boy to a man. Watching him discover his core identity. Watching him discover love. It wasn't really a fast paced book but it was never slow.
I wish there was more, this is a three book series and I see that book two is going to go in depth into what lead them to kill the gods and I can't wait to read it but I hope there is a book three where Agrad is the main character again.
The story starts with a little boy, Agrad learning magic. Everything changes when a wizard, Krecek comes to his town. He meets Agrad and they become friends, he wants Agrad to apprentice under him because he can see his potential but Agrad refuses. He wants to be with his family and his friends. Agrad unleashes his powers and disappears.
He is found by a couple who thinks the gods have given them their daughter back. Agrad who we have been told looks like a girl is given a dress which he dons. He stays with them for a couple of months/years until he has to flee. He has grown used to the dress and likes the anonymity it gives him. He also likes the way they make him feel.
Several years go by where he thinks he's gone unnoticed but the wizard finds him again. He finds out that one of the old gods is inhabiting his body. Years ago when the gods rule the people suffered under their tyranny so a band of people rose up and killed them.There was a specific reason they did that but I don't want to spoil the book. Somehow these gods they killed manifested in them, so they have some of the powers of these gods. Every time one of the godkillers die, they are incarnated with the gods in them basically as prisoners. Agrad is one of those reincarnation.
Agrad has to figure out how to navigate this system especially when he has to learn from Krecek. He also has to stay ahead of the machinations of gods who have grown tired of their prisons.
I thought this book was exceptional. We get to see his entire journey from when he was a boy to a man. Watching him discover his core identity. Watching him discover love. It wasn't really a fast paced book but it was never slow.
I wish there was more, this is a three book series and I see that book two is going to go in depth into what lead them to kill the gods and I can't wait to read it but I hope there is a book three where Agrad is the main character again.
Read
June 23, 2022As I read Elemental, I really began to take it as a metaphor for finding one's self. Agrad grows up in a world where immortal wizards slew the gods and took their powers.The death of his parents at the hands of one of those wizards sends him fleeing into the wilderness, and on a journey of self-discovery. Agrad is generally easy to like and is supported by a pretty diverse cast of characters. Narrative descriptions of the settings, Agrad's interactions, and the world-building mythology surrounding the "dead" gods (who aren't quite dead) and the magic system of the world were all good and kept me interested. Events in the last 20% of the book brought this first volume to a satisfying close.
Agrad is also presented as gender-fluid. As a child, he's often mistaken for a girl, and told he is pretty enough to be one. Into his teen and young adult years, he adopts the clothing and mannerisms of a girl/woman. This is generally not commented on (save positively) by other characters in the story. It's not something I see a ton of in fantasy fiction, but didn't detract from the story and made Agrad more memorable.
If there was anything about the tale that put me off, it was the pace. I tend to prefer quick-hitting books and Elemental is very slow to develop. I felt as though it took a very long time to reach significant plot milestones and this also diluted the sense of conflict, especially in the first half of the book before the major antagonist makes their presence felt. I nearly put it down several times. Readers who prefer a long, slow-burning plot would probably appreciate this more.
Recommended for fans of gods versus mortal conflicts, first-person POV, gender-fluid protagonist, and slow, expansive reveals.
Agrad is also presented as gender-fluid. As a child, he's often mistaken for a girl, and told he is pretty enough to be one. Into his teen and young adult years, he adopts the clothing and mannerisms of a girl/woman. This is generally not commented on (save positively) by other characters in the story. It's not something I see a ton of in fantasy fiction, but didn't detract from the story and made Agrad more memorable.
If there was anything about the tale that put me off, it was the pace. I tend to prefer quick-hitting books and Elemental is very slow to develop. I felt as though it took a very long time to reach significant plot milestones and this also diluted the sense of conflict, especially in the first half of the book before the major antagonist makes their presence felt. I nearly put it down several times. Readers who prefer a long, slow-burning plot would probably appreciate this more.
Recommended for fans of gods versus mortal conflicts, first-person POV, gender-fluid protagonist, and slow, expansive reveals.
April 20, 2020
Tam does a great job bringing her character to life. Agrad is given a lot of depth as he has his family taken away from him and he has to make it on his own. He felt really real in the way he had to cope with everything that had happened in his life, giving the story a more realistic aspect versus being pure fantasy.
Secondly, I found how the villain in this series very multidimensional as well. There is more this story, and we see throughout the book that maybe he isn't really a villain but someone who had to live by his own circumstances. I really liked him a lot and wanted to learn more.
The world building in this book is great and I definitely recommend to anyone who loves dark fantasy!
Secondly, I found how the villain in this series very multidimensional as well. There is more this story, and we see throughout the book that maybe he isn't really a villain but someone who had to live by his own circumstances. I really liked him a lot and wanted to learn more.
The world building in this book is great and I definitely recommend to anyone who loves dark fantasy!
Want to read
February 26, 2025This is not a full review. I read through the beginning of all 300 SPFBOX contest entries. This was a book I wanted to read more of.
A boy with more magical aptitude than his rural peers lives in a slow, simple town where nothing happens … until his tutor gets a visit from the representatives of one of the wizards who rule the world.
This 1st person opening does a terrific bit of cinematic flashback fiction-craft in its first page or so that landed so well I have to recommend you read it for yourself.
The narration establishes a good sense of voice as our MC looks back at where it all began. In his quiet village. This starts with a good sense of pace, provide the reader with a flourish of establishing details.
Our apt magical pupil is simply rendered in his simple, tho studious life, while at the same time we’re exposed to one interesting world detail after another - from Gods killed by wizards, who then became like gods, to village smiths who use spells to keep plows sharp.
Magic is a fact of life in this world, but it’s a practical magic that meets the everyday needs of ordinary folk. Until our MCs tutor gets a letter. Suddenly everyone around him is very nervous. A strange visitor is coming, and he sees his mother weeping.
The prose is clear and effective, delving into the narrative with ease. Even tho we get a lot of 9-year-old kid dialogue, it isn’t grating or generic, as child characters can sometimes seem. Our kids have their interests and understand what they understand.
The beginning of Wizard of Earthsea came to my mind while I was reading this. Not for the immediacy of action, or for a similarity of pacing, but because of the child with magical promise in a small village in a strange land and the sense that his world is soon to change.
There is a uniqueness to the setting here as well. Our child (for the moment) MC only knows so much about the world, and that makes it seem big and strange to us as well. I still can’t tell just how bad things can get in this narrative, but the unease of the adults sets my teeth on edge.
This is a splendid beginning that makes several engaging promises to its reader, and does a good job of beginning to pay them off. I’m drawn into the narrative voice and the world of the story. I want to know what happens next. I’m in!
A boy with more magical aptitude than his rural peers lives in a slow, simple town where nothing happens … until his tutor gets a visit from the representatives of one of the wizards who rule the world.
This 1st person opening does a terrific bit of cinematic flashback fiction-craft in its first page or so that landed so well I have to recommend you read it for yourself.
The narration establishes a good sense of voice as our MC looks back at where it all began. In his quiet village. This starts with a good sense of pace, provide the reader with a flourish of establishing details.
Our apt magical pupil is simply rendered in his simple, tho studious life, while at the same time we’re exposed to one interesting world detail after another - from Gods killed by wizards, who then became like gods, to village smiths who use spells to keep plows sharp.
Magic is a fact of life in this world, but it’s a practical magic that meets the everyday needs of ordinary folk. Until our MCs tutor gets a letter. Suddenly everyone around him is very nervous. A strange visitor is coming, and he sees his mother weeping.
The prose is clear and effective, delving into the narrative with ease. Even tho we get a lot of 9-year-old kid dialogue, it isn’t grating or generic, as child characters can sometimes seem. Our kids have their interests and understand what they understand.
The beginning of Wizard of Earthsea came to my mind while I was reading this. Not for the immediacy of action, or for a similarity of pacing, but because of the child with magical promise in a small village in a strange land and the sense that his world is soon to change.
There is a uniqueness to the setting here as well. Our child (for the moment) MC only knows so much about the world, and that makes it seem big and strange to us as well. I still can’t tell just how bad things can get in this narrative, but the unease of the adults sets my teeth on edge.
This is a splendid beginning that makes several engaging promises to its reader, and does a good job of beginning to pay them off. I’m drawn into the narrative voice and the world of the story. I want to know what happens next. I’m in!
June 18, 2019
I really enjoyed this book!! It was definitely different from what I normally read, but I think it's safe to safe that Tam Chronin has opened my world to a new genre that was so entertaining to read from start to finish. I really enjoyed all the characters in the story and how they were developed by the author. I felt emotionally connected to the characters (especially Krecek) throughout the story and felt so many emotions (anger, sadness, frustration, etc) while reading this story. I look forward to reading more books as this series grows and continues as there is still SOO very much to learn about Agrad, Krecek, Fereth, and the others. Very well written!
May 31, 2019
One of the best fantasy books I have read in a while and really up there with all the big names, if not better.
It's a coming of age story that seems to be inspired by Louis McMaster Bujolds work (the Character of Aral and demons living and talking to their human hosts) and possibly Tibetan buddhism's practice of finding, training and reinstating the reincarnations of past masters.
The prose in this one is superior, nicely flowing, descriptive while never falling into rambling or thesaurus abuse. The plotting is really clever and the pacing good. The world has the stereotypical Tolkienesk races, but here we see a quite fresh and original take on the elves, dwarves, humans. gods trope. The real strength is the believable character development and generally the likeable characters.
It's a bit slow starting while we see major events in the hero's childhood and adolescence. But you immediately start to root for the hero and the bigger events that are heavily foreshadowed from the beginning as we learn more about the world and it's conflicts along with the protagonist will keep you intrigued to know more.
This book has gender ambiguous and bisexual characters and romance, and is one of the very few fantasy books where it's done really well and without any queer baiting. The characters are just what they are and the young hero falls in love and kisses a man who turns out to feelings for him. It's really touching and you believe it. Romance never becomes the central theme, but on the way characters have feelings of love and erotic attraction that while living their lives. Big plus as romantic life is often either completely neglected or made the focus of the story!
It's a shame that this book hasn't more reviews and readers. I'm a really critical reader and very reluctant to give five star reviews and have heavily critizised a lot of output of really big names, like GRRM, Rothfuss etc. If you like character driven stories that still have a clever plot, this one is your next must read.
It's a coming of age story that seems to be inspired by Louis McMaster Bujolds work (the Character of Aral and demons living and talking to their human hosts) and possibly Tibetan buddhism's practice of finding, training and reinstating the reincarnations of past masters.
The prose in this one is superior, nicely flowing, descriptive while never falling into rambling or thesaurus abuse. The plotting is really clever and the pacing good. The world has the stereotypical Tolkienesk races, but here we see a quite fresh and original take on the elves, dwarves, humans. gods trope. The real strength is the believable character development and generally the likeable characters.
It's a bit slow starting while we see major events in the hero's childhood and adolescence. But you immediately start to root for the hero and the bigger events that are heavily foreshadowed from the beginning as we learn more about the world and it's conflicts along with the protagonist will keep you intrigued to know more.
This book has gender ambiguous and bisexual characters and romance, and is one of the very few fantasy books where it's done really well and without any queer baiting. The characters are just what they are and the young hero falls in love and kisses a man who turns out to feelings for him. It's really touching and you believe it. Romance never becomes the central theme, but on the way characters have feelings of love and erotic attraction that while living their lives. Big plus as romantic life is often either completely neglected or made the focus of the story!
It's a shame that this book hasn't more reviews and readers. I'm a really critical reader and very reluctant to give five star reviews and have heavily critizised a lot of output of really big names, like GRRM, Rothfuss etc. If you like character driven stories that still have a clever plot, this one is your next must read.
January 7, 2020
Glad for our meeting
The book is a wonderful read. You have built a world full of thrills and excitement. Can’t wait to start the next one. Diane Enos
The book is a wonderful read. You have built a world full of thrills and excitement. Can’t wait to start the next one. Diane Enos
January 23, 2018
Before this book I had only read one Elemental type book and it was only mediocre. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this one, but I was very pleasantly surprised!
First of all I loved the descriptions of the places and people we were visiting as we went along. I am not someone who pictures things easily in my head so getting a good feel of where I am, what it is like, and how the people are is a huge bonus for me.
My favorite kinds of books are the ones that connect to my heart as well as my mind. This one does both. We journey with the main character Agrad from childhood and we get to see him grow up in so many ways. At the beginning he is a child your heart reaches out to and by the end he is a man that you feel proud of. During the journey we get to see many different faucets of emotions and even on a grander scale with hints of why people are the way they are in times of war ETC. I don't want to spoil anything, but I appreciated those thoughts.
I loved Agrad and the how he came to be who he is. He is such a multi dimensional character and I think it is important to have characters like this. Not to mention all the other amazing characters in this book. So many different personalities and they are all interesting! Do yourself a favor and read this book asap. You won't regret it.
First of all I loved the descriptions of the places and people we were visiting as we went along. I am not someone who pictures things easily in my head so getting a good feel of where I am, what it is like, and how the people are is a huge bonus for me.
My favorite kinds of books are the ones that connect to my heart as well as my mind. This one does both. We journey with the main character Agrad from childhood and we get to see him grow up in so many ways. At the beginning he is a child your heart reaches out to and by the end he is a man that you feel proud of. During the journey we get to see many different faucets of emotions and even on a grander scale with hints of why people are the way they are in times of war ETC. I don't want to spoil anything, but I appreciated those thoughts.
I loved Agrad and the how he came to be who he is. He is such a multi dimensional character and I think it is important to have characters like this. Not to mention all the other amazing characters in this book. So many different personalities and they are all interesting! Do yourself a favor and read this book asap. You won't regret it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews