Come home to this final volume of a brutal sci-fi trilogy. What does forgiveness mean to you?
One year has passed since General Dominia di Mephitoli defected from the cannibalistic martyr army of her Father, the Hierophant. One year has passed since she began training an army of her own. But with one year standing between her and her escape from home, the General sees her Family's situation with new clarity. Unable to turn back time or repent to the dead, she can only help the living. A whole planet lives beneath her Father's looming shadow, and Jerusalem is under siege in an effort to claim the woman the world now believes to be a terrorist.
Worst of all, her sister, the princess Lavinia, still rests beneath the Hierophant's thumb. An army can do the General no good if a siege against the family home at Old Elsinore will put her sister's life at stake; liberation can do Lavinia no good if she still thinks their Father infallible. There is only one person who can reach Europa's favorite princess-- one person who can penetrate Kronborg castle and speak reason. On the bright side, with a mysterious goddess inhabiting the body of her friend, THE LADY'S CHAMPION can do anything.
An Ohio native who attended college in Virginia before moving by train to Arizona, MF Sullivan is an author and playwright currently living in Southern Oregon. Sullivan is the author of DELILAH, MY WOMAN (2015) and THE LIGHTNING STENOGRAPHY DEVICE (2018), as well as the forthcoming DISGRACED MARTYR TRILOGY (2019-2020). All her work is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Painted Blind Publishing's Aer.io store, and your local indie bookseller.
The release schedule of THE DISGRACED MARTYR TRILOGY is as follows:
THE HIEROPHANT'S DAUGHTER: May 19th, 2019
THE GENERAL'S BRIDE: August 14th, 2019
THE LADY'S CHAMPION: January 9th, 2020
THE DISGRACED MARTYR TRILOGY - OMNIBUS EDITION: October 31st, 2020
Keep up with news, essays from MF Sullivan, and info about her other forthcoming works at paintedblindpublishing.com!
I have read some great books in my time and in my opinion this trilogy surpasses the lot of them, it is as close to art as I've ever seen a book get. The final book in the trilogy brings home to the reader just what a spiritual journey this has been, it takes you beyond death and leaves you hoping that this is what the afterlife would be like. It also contains some of the most mind bending plot twists ever, I actually said "HOLY F*CK!!!" out loud at one point, there was no chance of predicting that scene, never have I ever been side-swiped like that before.
The writing is faultless, every possible loose end gets tied up nicely, every character that was still hanging around had their part to play in the story, Miki Soto also gets her back story told, a much needed addition and it was great to read about her life. As for the final scenes, I think I must have held my breath the whole time, it was pure chaos (as all good battles are), so many things happening at once, a battle jumping between reality and the Ergosphere and back again, it so easily could have become too chaotic but M. F. Sullivan is such a skilled writer, she keeps it all together and keeps hold of the reader's attention so that at the end I flopped back completely knackered.
I'm gonna miss these characters, Dominia is somebody who is gonna stick with me for a while and will probably set the standard for all future feminine heroes. Gonna miss Miki, Lavinia, The Lamb, The Hierophant and even Teddy, the little twerp. :-) Those conversations between Dominia, The Hierophant and The Magician about God and what life means, gonna miss them too, I'm still craving their wisdom.
Easily the best trilogy I've ever read....and probably ever will.
The Lady’s Champion (The Disgraced Martyr Trilogy Book 3) By M.F. Sullivan
Genre - Fiction Sub-Genre - LGBT/Science Fiction/Cyberpunk/Horror Pages - 398 Publication Information - Painted Blind Publishing, January 9, 2020 Format - Print (ARC) Reviewed by William C. Bitner, Jr. (https://booksinmylibraryblog.wordpres...) Rating - 📙📙📙📙📙
Quantum entanglement is a label for the observed physical phenomenon that occurs when pairs or groups of particles are generated, interact, or share spatial proximity in ways such that the quantum state of each particle cannot be described independently of the state of the others, even when the particles are separated. As I was reading this fascinating trilogy by this amazing young author, I found myself transported in mind, body and soul to places of unexplained dimensions (hence the quantum entanglement description, as I was indeed somewhere in-between realities at any given time). Otherworldly, brilliant, original, imaginative, inventive - these are just a few adjectives that define each of these three flawless pieces of literature. It always takes me a bit more time to read one of M.F. Sullivan books. They are cavernous with complex personalities, un-unravelable plots and storylines. From start to finish M.F. Sullivan “demands” that her readers pay attention to not only the big stuff, but also to make sure you understand the minutiae is just as important. To allow the reader to experience a feeling of euphoria, and have them search beyond the pages of their books for understanding is indeed a remarkable thing. Topics dealing with gender identity, sexuality, and religion are only a few of the hot spots you will come across in one of M.F. Sullivan’s books. She doesn’t take these topics lightly, she shows in her skillful and masterful writing that she has done her homework and has done extensive research before delving into anything topic off the top of her head or half heartedly. It’s been a joy and a pleasure to read this trilogy. It’s a bittersweet finale, but all good things must come to an end as they say. I am however looking forward to Ms Sullivan’s next adventure in words and phrases.
From the back cover: Come home to this final volume of a brutal sci-fi trilogy. What does forgiveness mean to you?
One year has passed since General Dominia di Mephitoli defected from the cannibalistic martyr army of her Father, the Hierophant. One year has passed since she began training an army of her own. But with one year standing between her and her escape from home, the General sees her Family’s situation with new clarity. Unable to turn back time or repent to the dead, she can only help the living. A whole planet lives beneath her Father’s looming shadow, and Jerusalem is under siege in an effort to claim the woman the world now believes to be a terrorist.
Worst of all, her sister, the princess Lavinia, still rests beneath the Hierophant’s thumb. An army can do the General no good if a siege against the family home at Old Elsinore will put her sister’s life at stake; liberation can do Lavinia no good if she still thinks their Father infallible. There is only one person who can reach Europa's favorite princess— one person who can penetrate Kronborg castle and speak reason. On the bright side, with a mysterious goddess inhabiting the body of her friend, The Lady’s Champion can do anything.
Anything, that is, except face her past.
From the shores of the United Front to the castles of Europa, the third volume of The Disgraced Martyr Trilogy is the thrilling finale of an LGBTQ cyberpunk/horror trilogy that no reader will ever forget.
About the Author: An Ohio native who attended college in Virginia before moving by train to Arizona, MF Sullivan is an author and playwright currently living in Southern Oregon.
Other books by MF Sullivan: The Lightning Stenography Device: A Psychedelic Odyssey, Delilah, My Woman: A Dark Transgressive Romance and The Hierophant's Daughter (The Disgraced Martyr Trilogy, Book 1), The Generals Bride (The Disgraced Martyr Trilogy, Book 2)
Dominia di Mephitoli has come a long way since her stint as governor and one-time rabid general for the Martyr cause. She’s lost her wife, who was her reason for living, as well as her family, and she’s afraid of losing everyone else. And why? Because of the Martyrs, and one in particular, her Holy Father, the Hierophant.
And yet, if she doesn’t continue the fight, the world will be doomed. Worlds. All of them. Past and present and future. For they all tie together, and sometimes it’s hard to separate what was from what shall be.
Dominia kidnaps her brother Theodore, her replacement as governor. But her father does her one better and snatches Rene Ichigawa’s cousin Tenchi, putting Dominia in an awful position. What else can she do but as the Hierophant requests, in order to save Tenchi’s life. Which involves returning to her father’s house. At least she can see her sister Lavinia again, who has sorely missed Dominia. And is still as innocent as ever.
Dominia has so many questions and few answers. Can she get herself out of this new predicament, defeat her father, and also bring back Cassandra? What is the truth about the Hierophant and his origins? Does he really come from a planet called Acetia? And whose future is the true one?
The Lady’s Champion is a roller coaster ride from start to finish, one that will make your head spin. As soon as you think you understand what’s going on, the roller coaster veers off in a new direction and you have to rethink everything. Before the final curtain drops, everyone is called to the stage once more. Old friends and new. Old enemies and new. And sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s who and what’s what.
The third book of the trilogy kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering what was going to happen next, and hoping against hope that my favorite character, my darling Hierophant, would emerge unscathed. The scope and imagination of this series is staggering. A real mind-blowing story dealing with both physical as well as metaphysical realities, one that will open your mind to unimagined possibilities. Who’s to say what is real and what could become so in the future?
Dominia is a great, somewhat flawed heroine, as all good heroines are. The worst I can say about her is that her obsession with Cassandra did get on my nerves. Just my opinion, but I was never fond of Cassandra, and saw no reason for Dominia to carry on so over her loss. Of course, many will disagree with my own obsession with the Hierophant, who I admit is no saint, but there is just something about him that draws me to him. I make no apologies for him. He does some seriously bad stuff, but I still feel he has redeeming qualities.
This is a series that requires re-reading at some point, and I’m sure I’ll see things I missed and gain a new perspective of other things. I’ve enjoyed the journey greatly and will be sorry to leave this world behind, hence the need to revisit it again. I highly recommend the entire series. Give a copy to someone you love.