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The Passionate Pantheon #1
The Brazen Altar
They know the gods were created by humans, of course. But the gods protect and provide for the people, so why wouldn’t the people serve the gods? In a Utopian society, what better way to express service than through pleasure and faith? For Kheema and her seven fellow Potentials, that means entering the temple of the Sun God to undergo months of training and practice to determine which of them will be chosen as Sacrifice. On the day of the summer Solstice, the one chosen as Sacrifice must recite the entire litany from atop the temple, while enduring nonstop forced orgasms from dawn ’til dusk. For Terlyn, service means becoming part of the Garden, bound naked and asleep while worshippers help themselves to her body. Terlyn wakes in ecstasy over and over, only to fall asleep again. The experience changes her, and her relationship with her friend and lover Donvin, who visits her while she is part of the Garden. Ashi’s service to the god known as the Wild entails competing with other worshippers in a forest that appears overnight to demonstrate her resilience and will, so that she might become part of a ritual involving an altar, a long row of cages, and the complete abandonment of the self. The three stories brush against each other, revealing the heart of the City, as the people of the City serve, or ask for enlightenment from, multiple gods at once.
368 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2021
2 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 3, 2021
This was one of those reads where you keep going to the end in the hope there will be a point to the story... but there isn't.
It's just several somewhat confusing and very bland and boring stories in which sex seems to the main preoccupation, under the guise of worshipping gods. Other than that the people seem to do nothing.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
It's just several somewhat confusing and very bland and boring stories in which sex seems to the main preoccupation, under the guise of worshipping gods. Other than that the people seem to do nothing.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 31, 2021
I didn't come to this series for the sex.
That's not to say that it's not pretty hot and that you won't enjoy it, though.
I came to this series for the world-building and that's definitely what held my attention and what will make me keep reading.
This is a post-scarcity world with a penchant for hedonism. Where life is long and everyone's basic needs (and more) are met. Where you can be (almost) anything or anyone that you want. Where extreme body modding is something you can do for an evening's party so that your eyes better match your outfit and your genitalia fits the mood. Where you can throw yourself off the top of a tree and know that the benevolent AIs that manage everything will catch you before you fall.
In such a world of such freedoms, what heights and depths can humans reach? This is what the authors are trying to explore.
And I, for one, want to see more.
That's not to say that it's not pretty hot and that you won't enjoy it, though.
I came to this series for the world-building and that's definitely what held my attention and what will make me keep reading.
This is a post-scarcity world with a penchant for hedonism. Where life is long and everyone's basic needs (and more) are met. Where you can be (almost) anything or anyone that you want. Where extreme body modding is something you can do for an evening's party so that your eyes better match your outfit and your genitalia fits the mood. Where you can throw yourself off the top of a tree and know that the benevolent AIs that manage everything will catch you before you fall.
In such a world of such freedoms, what heights and depths can humans reach? This is what the authors are trying to explore.
And I, for one, want to see more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2020
One of the biggest problems with fantasy and SciFi stories is that rarely are the consequences of the fantastical elements taken to their logical conclusions. Magic and technology serve as throwaways to drive the plot and are then forgotten about. As a result, I hold in high regard stories that add a fantastical element and then explore the implications such technology would have.
The Brazen Alter nails this aspect of the story and it was my overriding feeling throughout reading it. In a post scarcity world, where would humanity find their drive? We've seen how religion and tribalism shape our society today, but what would it look like in a world where the desperate need for survival and power were taken away as concerns completely?
This setting is one of the most intriguing and interesting parts of the book. As usual from these authors, the characterizations are well done, the erotic aspects are strong without taking away from the story and characters, and the reactions are realistic to the world that they grew up in, without imposing how modern people would react to such a world.
If you like erotic novels and/or SciFi that is well written and intriguing, give The Brazen Altar a try. I certainly am looking forward to the subsequent novels
The Brazen Alter nails this aspect of the story and it was my overriding feeling throughout reading it. In a post scarcity world, where would humanity find their drive? We've seen how religion and tribalism shape our society today, but what would it look like in a world where the desperate need for survival and power were taken away as concerns completely?
This setting is one of the most intriguing and interesting parts of the book. As usual from these authors, the characterizations are well done, the erotic aspects are strong without taking away from the story and characters, and the reactions are realistic to the world that they grew up in, without imposing how modern people would react to such a world.
If you like erotic novels and/or SciFi that is well written and intriguing, give The Brazen Altar a try. I certainly am looking forward to the subsequent novels
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews