Vale of the Gods

Furyck Saga #6

by A.E. Rayne

Vale of the Gods is the explosive conclusion to the epic adventure that has been The Furyck Saga.
Draguta Teros wants to crush her enemies.
Every last one of them…
Her disloyal sister, Dara.
Briggit Halvardar and her Followers.
Jael Furyck and her Brekkan army.
The gods themselves.

But Draguta will not be cowed by any of them.
She will have her revenge.
They want her?
They want to take the Book of Darkness?
Let them come and die trying.



Note: This book contains adult themes and mature content

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Witches, Magic, Epic Fantasy, Romantasy, Fantasy Romance

762 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 26, 2019

About the author

Introducing myself

Hello, I’m Amy!

I live in Auckland, New Zealand, and have done for three-quarters of my life. The other quarter was spent in England, where my kids were born. I have three of those, and they’re very cool. I’m a bit demented and thought it would be a good idea to have them a year or so apart. I’m still recovering from that misguided notion, but am convinced that a month in Bora Bora would set me right!

Speaking of travelling, as much as I crave a tropical island escape, you’re far more inclined to find me hankering after snow. We don’t have any of that in Auckland – not a drop! And, although it did snow occasionally in dear old England, I’m still looking for the up-to-your-window sort of snow experience. I come from Viking stock (my grandmother was Swedish), so maybe that’s why I have always craved the cold, white stuff. In fact, my husband and I bonded over our love of scarves.

'Twas love at first discussion about the pleasure of a good scarf!


My reading journey
I was drawn to historical romance as a young reader. I loved anything by the Brontë sisters, but I think Jane Austen was my favourite author at that time. It was a toss-up between Pride & Prejudice and Jane Eyre for my favourite book as a tween. As I got older and developed a real love of history, I became obsessed with anything do with Vikings. I fell in love with Bernard Cornwell and Robert Lowe, Giles Kristian, too. But there’s always been time to fit in the next Diana Gabaldon. Her Outlander series is probably my favourite series ever (great tv too!). History is my one true love, so some of my favourites lately have been C.J. Sansom’s thrilling Tudor series and Patrick O’Brien 19th century naval adventures.

I always thought I would write the Furyck Saga as a historical fiction series, but I never found a period or place where it felt possible. Ultimately, I realised that actual history was far too limiting, so I stepped away from reality and entered the wonderful world of fantasy, and that’s when the fun started…


It took me a long time to become a writer.

I have ring binders and ring binders of stories, screenplays, tv show concepts, and book ideas that I’ve been creating since I was 10-years-old.
I was always very fast with ideas but seeing them all the way through was a lot harder, and eventually, as I grew up, life and work got in the way.
I would try writing Winter’s Fury off and on, but I never got very far, and dissatisfied, I always gave up, telling myself there simply wasn’t enough
time to fit writing in around three children, two dogs, a graphic design business, etc. etc. But what I quickly discovered is that time is what you make of it.

Inspired by an article I read about James Patterson, who got up early to write his first book and fit it in around his job, I started making writing a
daily discipline; the idea being that, bit by bit, I would eventually create an actual book. At first, it was tough. It felt like I was training for a marathon
and I didn’t even know how to run. But every day it got a little easier and eventually, I started to write more freely, and one day I had enough of a
book to show my husband. At this point it was either, forget it again, or keep going.

He read it and said… keep going. So, I did.

And I haven’t stopped!

Reviews

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

Good story. Extremely long winded and hard going though. Some ofit was such a chore to read, which was a shame. So many bits that just didn't need to be in there to be honest. Still, it's done now and I mostly enjoyed it. I definitely won't be reading the other series though. Can't be putting myself through that again.

[Celinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. I should have have tissues available. Eydis is just...the ending was SO fitting with her character.

My main thing that bothered me was this: Eadmund spends about 70-80% of book 1 addicted to alcohol. He's endearing because there is conflict within him—between his old, destructive self and the healthy, better self he wants to be. Then in books 2-6.75, he's either under a spell by Evaine or Draguta, who are both terrible. We see glimpses of his old self surface, but the majority of time we get with him, he's Zombie Eadmund.

I wanted a lot more of Free Eadmund than we're given. More scenes with him and Jael since so much of it was taken from them by others. More emotion and internal monologue from him since he can finally think for himself again. More self-reflection since he's been through so much.

If not for this, I would have given it a 4 or 5.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic conclusion to the series. I was absorbed in the story and had a difficult time putting it down. There were times I was afraid to keep reading because I didn't want more people to die. I had a few favourite characters and I knew that none of them were safe in this series. Some of them survived, but sadly not all. I was devastated for the last part of the book (Sacrifice.) My only complaint about this book was I wish we had more of a look at the characters lives after the final battle. It felt like so much of this book was with Eadmund and Jael separated, leading up to the final battle to fight Draguta, Jael & her army separated from their home and families. I just wish I got to see more before the epilogue, but that's just me. My opinion about more happiness/love does not take away from this series. I read all of them through Kindle Unlimited and I love them so much that I will be buying them in hard copy. I will read this series again and again.

[Donny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the final book in the Furyk saga, I absolutely enjoyed them all. I would very much liken them to Game of thrones.
The characters were so well written, I was even rooting for the - not so good guys, as the POVS came fluid and fast, you almost felt for some of them.
The main character Jael is a complete badass warrior babe, however it was Meena, a very different character I fell in love with. Some of the characters get killed off, but it was Meena I wanted to pull through more than anyone.
I'll definitely be looking out for more books by this author 100%

[Tina Jane O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Furyck Saga - brilliant read

Read all 6 books one after the other, couldn’t wait to continue the story. If you love fantasy you will love this series. Great plot, characterisation fantastic, cried at the end! A must read

[Bridget Billany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read all six books over the course on 11 days! I loved the story, the characters, the writing. I was on the edge of my seat through out and was up late in the night to finish this final book - and it left me furious and bereft! The way the author writes you get the POV from many different characters at once so you get to know them all really well and become invested in them. After the final battle the book just finishes! Over 4,000 pages and she couldn’t have written a bit more about what happened to them all afterwards. All you got was a few lines about the Hest people immediately after, and, a “3 years after” for Jael and Edmund! What about the rest? The great love story between Jael and Edmund and she hardly spent any time with him and at the end when they’re finally together you got a page! I was so disappointed I felt the book was leading up to a point where good would triumph over evil and then we never saw anything of life after that. What of Meena? Raymon? Axl and Amma? Hannah? Karsten? I just didn’t feel that the author finished the book - it’s as if she said right we had the big battle. This is how it finished. Goodbye. I felt let down.

[Rachel Cass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rollercoaster ride

I have been both dreading and eagerly anticipating this final installment of The Furyck Saga! This series has taken me all over the place emotionally, and this final book was no different! Outcomes I never could've predicted; some devastating, and others so exciting. Tears were shed, and my anxiety level was through the roof. Well done A.E. Rayne!! I absolutely loved this series! I am going to really miss these characters, and I really hope to visit Osterland and the Slave Islands again someday!!!

[Barefoot Gypsy Jimerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dreamers an Gods an Mortals Oh My!

I've read the six book series well see what I come up. The Furyck Saga has a good storyline, great characters an some not so great. I would of liked less blablabla an getting to know more about some the main character. How they entire act with each other, how they love an care for each other. Would of liked to see more on Jael an Edward relationship. They were thrown together an slowly fell in love, an little more on Edwards litte sister. She had a big part to play in the end,could of had more info on her an more on the dreamers. There was a lot of laughter mostly at Torgil expense an the throw back an forty of words with Jael.
There were a lot of gaps with in the six. Characters that were dead had left gaps with the living. Blablabla a side the saga wasn't half bad. Looking forward to reading more about the Furyck.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks goodness this is over! I was so relieved to finally finishing it.

This series started strong, but this should not be a 600 pages x 6 book series. Try 200-300 for 300 pages tops! There is so much filler and back and forth and glacial pace of the development of the story. The character development started off strong and then not only slowed down, but even seemed to go backwards!

Was it all terrible? No. The world was interesting and I did like the characters and Rayne has a very good flair for describing fighting scenes. She is actually very good for that

But while I thought the first book was decent, but overly long, later books were even more agonizing. Why 600 pages when it might actually be a novella?

Tension was slight, especially for the major characters. They were never really at risk and deaux ex Machina techniques were thrown around very, very loosely.

So if this series was so bad why 2 stars and why did I finish it? Good fight/battle scenes. The basic characters were intriguing (but boy did they overstay their welcome...) and I read these books under Kindle Unlimited so little $$ cost. And I skimmed a lot!

Everyone has their opinion, but that is mine. Be warned.

[Shari S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I NEED MORE!

[Mo Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ah... this one was a bit disappointing.

I can’t talk about this book without mentioning the entire series. My feelings from the previous books heavily influenced my experience with this one, and many of the issues I had been noticing became very prominent in this particular installment.

Let me start by saying that the first three books in this series were amazing. I will always think of them fondly. I read the first two twice and loved them both times. I wish that tone and writing style had continued throughout the series because they were some of the best books I've read. Unfortunately, it felt like the author didn't have a fully fleshed-out idea for the rest of the series, leading to a lot of meandering and repetition. I firmly believe this could have been a five-book series and it would have been a lot better.

Starting with book 4, we began to see a pattern that continued until the very end: Draguta would cast some sort of spell on our heroes, they would scramble, and miraculously the dreamers would break it. This exact sequence happened over and over again. It wasn't just a minor flaw—it was like crossing the line and then running another 10 miles past it.

Additionally, the constraints of the dreamers became completely unhinged. In book 1, Edela dream walks and has to recover for weeks. By the latter half of the series, they were dream walking what felt like every other day. Suddenly, dreamers could just hop into a trance and visit each other. They always found a symbol out of nowhere—literally experiencing a flash of a symbol in their mind that would be exactly what they needed. Somehow, Edela could whisper to Jael from across the country? She and Eydis were walking around the battlefield in a dream state? WHAT? You had five books to establish this, yet you still introduced all sorts of random, highly convenient elements in this one?

I found a lot of the deaths very anticlimactic. We had three well-deserved deaths that happened far too quickly to be satisfying. Then we had two heartbreaking ones, one of which felt downplayed. The ultimate hero was totally overshadowed. The other one, though, made me absolutely sob—probably the hardest I've ever cried over a book in my life. It was so tragic. Not that it was a surprise. There were two people on the chopping block, and I knew one of them had to go. I wasn't entirely sure who, and it still hurts my heart to think about.

I was also disappointed that we didn't get more time with Jael and Eadmund. Both at the end of this story and the whole series. I know the point was that he was bound, but their connection and Jael's desire to save him felt less and less believable the more they were apart. And I didn't find satisfaction at the end of this one either.

The good parts of this book, and the entire series, were incredibly strong. But the second half really brought down my overall enjoyment. I had been considering transitioning to one of the author's other series in this world, but I'm not sure I can do this again. It's possible her writing has improved, but these books became so tedious. Maybe I will feel differently once my feelings settle, but for now, this is the end of my journey.

Regardless of my disappointment, I'm glad I read the series, and I will always fondly remember my favorite books from it.

[Elise Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story that wants better editing

TL,DR: I felt sad and bored long before the end, which is a disservice to the epic story this author crafted.

In the tradition of Terry Goodkind, this is a wonderful epic fantasy adventure that gets bogged down along the way with oddly repetitive dialogue and stalled character development after Book 2. I wanted to love this series. And I did, for two books. I signed up for Kindle Unlimited specifically because these books were long and the series looked so promising. The author's works are extensive enough to occupy a reader for months. Not even two weeks in, though, I wanted to stop reading and offer this author a better editorial team.

It reads like the writer was trapped at home with teenagers, or possibly locked in a frat house, while writing Books 3-6. I wanted to rescue us all from the petty conversational desert here.

The bad guys are one-dimensionally, repetitively, immature jerks. Which, ok, that would lend itself to being a Young Adult series. Except one bad guy is a rapist, and the theme of rape is hammered to absolute death in service of readers hating him (we do, really, please stop now). The other bad guys serve up plenty of focus on the attendant gore and smells of their brutality, plus a rather vast helping of misogyny, in a not-YA-appropriate way. By contrast, characters I loved --Thorgils! Fyn! Alexander! -- cease unfolding much, stalling the beautiful friendship story/back story that would elevate readers' emotions through the heavy-handed dark parts.

I love long books, but I found myself hungry for a Cliff Notes of this series. There are hundreds of pages of descriptions that feel like unnecessary filler, not advancing understanding of the characters, instead hammering at tropes that were already firmly established. If the books were maybe 350 instead of 770 pages, the arc of the story could shine. It has enough drama to carry itself along beautifully if its momentum weren't impeded with so much side-tracking to hammer: Evaine is shallow! Jaeger rapes! Meena is mousy! Eadmund is empty! Bad rulers are petty! Repeat! It's like the reading version of trying to get on the expressway, only to be trapped looping on a traffic circle just outside the on-ramp, for days. Wait, weren't we just here? I'm sure we passed this spot already.

The ending ties things up in a satisfying way, if you have the patience to get there. I can't bring myself to pick up the next series. Despite a great overall story, wading through so much verbal chaff to find the gem of adventure within was exhausting. Not since Terry Goodkind has such a great story been rendered nearly unreadable by insufficient editing.

[Mario · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed with this book. Others died to save Eadmund again from his own stupidity and weak character. Eadmund who blamed his brother for his dog dying, his wife, and father all untrue all the years feeling sorry for himself drinking and pissing on himself Gisela and Bayla the useless piece of shit mothers get a new happy ending. It would have made a better story ending if the author had at least killed those three off. The 3 of them were nothing but self-center useless A-holes all their lives who constantly needed saving from their own stupidity and decisions. And why does no one ever tell these people to shut the hell up if all they are going to do is cry, bitch, and demand that someone should always save them? Like Gisela and Bayla for example. Gisela ignored her husband and daughter completely, never cared enough about giving them love or support but fawned over Axl, always demanding he must be protected from himself and everyone else. Balya cheated and billeted her husband and fawned and babied Jaeger. In my opinion, it would have made a much better story if they were killed off instead of the stupid happy ending. There are things that the author brings up but then never follows up on. If the author cut out half the crying, trembling, shaking, and farthing it would be much easier to read and stay interested in the characters. I just found this author and like the world but was disappointed about who gets to live happily ever after and who was killed off. Very disappointed.

[Seri · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't bad by any means, but I was disappointed by some things in the conclusion.

One of my main complaints is Edmund as a character, Jael is supposed to be so in love with him and he's supposed to be so important but all he does is make selfish decisions and spend 99% of the series as 'not himself' because of either alcohol or spells. But at that point, to the reader, that IS the real Edmund because we barely him as anything else. Saving him was one of the main themes but I just didn't care, I thought he was the least likeable character and did nothing but cause trouble. I don't know why Jael fell in love with him so quickly, enough to choose him over her loving and actually brave partner of many years, when he spends most of the series being useless.

I was also disappointed with the handling of Draguta, she was built up to be an amazing villain but didn't amount to that much, I would have liked to see more development from her. The final battle could have been fleshed out a bit more too, I would have liked to see more strategy.

Where this series really shone was the side characters, I really loved the cast and their developments. I just wish the 2 main characters were more interesting. Jael was really badass but I would have preferred if she just dumped Eadmund. I would have also liked to see more about the side characters and where they ended up in the epilogue, I had a lot of questions about them and tbh I cared more to see what happened to them than Eadmund and Jael.

[McKenna Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm… Not sure how I feel

Don’t get me wrong.. this book is good enough. I did read all 6 of them, but after seeing the whole scheme of things, I feel like the books didn’t need to be that long. There were a lot of moments where I was like what has really happened in the past 100 pages. I guess some would call that character or world building. I’m a little disappointed with the last book. The build up to such a small portion of the end being the climax and wrap up was what frustrated me. I mean 5 books of build up to that… it was still good though. I think I would recommend it? Not my usual read that’s for sure. Hard to see the romantic chemistry between the main character when SPOILER they haven’t been together for like all 6 books basically. Just glad it’s done with. Definitely took me to a different world.

[Rachel Chapa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Rayne is a powerful storyteller, and not since reading”Gone with the Wind” has the heroine had such a profound affect on me. Ms. Rayne’s heroine finds herself being responsible for the fate of all she loves, and endures her burden with courage, feeling and intelligence. Ms. Rayne’s conclusion of the Furyk Saga series was both felicitous and heartbreaking. If you read to lose yourself in a fantasy world with believable characters, this is the series for you.

[Lamb Family · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written, but much too long

I almost stopped reading about half way through because I was so bored. Scenarios kept repeating; dialog kept repeating. Made me want to scream “enough already!” Could have edited it down by a third and still achieved the same tension and emotion. I enjoyed the story, but this last installment was simply much too long.

[Shari Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have savored this book. Dragging it out as long as I could.

The best series from beginning to end!
Great job to AE Rayne for keeping me on the edge of my seat.

Definitely grab tissues. We lost some amazing characters.

[paula richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!!!

The ending to this series was perfect!!! This book is a must read!! I cried over the unexpected deaths and happy for those who were there for the victory. Love the twists in the story that I just didn't see coming.

[Peg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been one of the best series I have ever read, and I’m a readaholic! I love the humor, intensity, the character depth. I am sad the series is over but I enjoyed the ending immensely!

[H. T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gah! That ending! I’m so sad this is the last book in the series. It was so good and I enjoyed every bit of it. This is absolutely one of my favorite fantasy series of all time.

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary fantasy series!

All six books are a good, serious length. I was actually very pleasantly surprised once I started the series, and each book has been quite compelling. There is good character development, excellent plot line, and enough surprises along the way to keep you on your toes.

The story is reminiscent of a Viking Saga, with love, war, fear, and wonder and all the excitement surrounding them.

Highly recommended.

[ian duggan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great conclusion to a fantastic series. Like the previous instalments well paced and intriguing characters.

[Johnathon J. Dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

Ho pe there is more to come at some pointgreat characters and character development. Love the world building as well

Hope she keeps it up

[Lindy Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most superb saga , an epic fantasy of love and loyalty, pain and hope, loss and gain. A series that quickly becomes the most unputdownable books I’ve ever had the joy to read. AE Rayne has given me many hours of brilliant reading. Superb ‼️

[Sandra Cronin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed each and every book in this series didn’t want it to finish. I’ll look forward to future books from this author.

[Chris Hewitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, wow Gripping

A bit slos at the start, and you could feel the tension and pace, and fear and the unknown grow as you move through the book.
Wow, what a novel, what a series. Absolute.y amazing. Have lover every minute of reading this. The hardest bit was having to wait for the next book, though thexwait was absolute.y worth it.
Defj Italy recommend this to everyone, .
So .looking forward to the next series.

Thank you, thank you, thank you

[Vickie Lowery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved!

I loved this series of books! I started them and then could not stop reading. I loved the strategy and the romance. The characters were flawed but redeemable. I liked that they were understood and forgiven for their mistakes.

[Karenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read series, one of THE BEST epic storylines ever!!

This series, 'The Furyck Saga’ is one of THE best I've ever read. It's filled with some excellent characters and there's a lot of meat on the bones of these books, they're the right length and filled with so many twists & turns that will have you cheering, jeering, and sobbing in equal measure.

The only regret I have is that the books ended at all, but the story is truly epic & surpasses Game of Thrones and rivals Lord of the Ring in content, excitement & characters.

Be prepared to despise and love and lament in equal measure, but gift yourself this 6 book series, read our listened to in order - you'll be so glad you did!!

[Sian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dragged on and on and on.... and then it all happened in the last 10% can't say I saw a need for some of the deaths... seemed a bit game of thrones like but without any full connection to the characters. Good plot for the 6 books but could have been done better in 3 books with less waffling I think
Left me with so many note questions than I had for the entire book. Just rounding up Jael and Co's story doesn't answer for everyone else's. Alot of deaths at the end that seemingly either didnt have a huge reaction or we just didn't need to know about it... someone of them where characters that had been around a while. Their deaths should have had knock on effects but we didn't get trusted with that information. Ending seemed rushed after dragging it out for 6 books