Of Gods and Men
Book 1: Men
In the enigmatic, realm-crossing fantasy novel Of Gods and Men, a battle of good against evil germinates.
The god of darkness sets his sights on conquering Earth in Harrison F. Kraus’s epic fantasy novel Of Gods and Men.
Across the East Coast, four young adults begin to change in noticeable ways. Sam prefers cold weather and can walk barefoot in the snow without a problem. Jacob, Sam’s older brother, would rather be warm all the time; he sends a stream of fire into the woods to protect his friends. Max never sees his parents, and he can’t see himself anymore, either. And Katy, home from her first semester at college, has a night out with friends that turns bloody.
In another universe, the Sicarius, an ice demon, hunts the dragon Gildir and his brother. Rafe hides in the forest, risking starvation, and Yuna eases her iron grip on her band of survivors too late to avoid mutiny. The Sicarius, Gildir, Rafe, and Yuna know the true weight of the darkness in Aezigar, while on Earth, the troubles are just beginning.
The Earth characters and their Aezigar counterparts are presented in parallel, with each taking up half of each chapter. In the first section, the Earth characters discover their powers to varying degrees, though the revelation of Katy’s powers of flight are comparatively delayed. On their separate paths, each prepares to begin the liberation of Aezigar and Earth’s resistance to domination. However, the connections between the characters are implied, rather than developed in full: They share powers with their other selves but not their idiosyncrasies or visions of them. There are hints that their connections will be developed in time with climactic battles on Earth, but this volume ends before that occurs. Further, little is done to develop the Aezigar characters beyond their archetypal roles. The Sicarius, in particular, has flashes of self-determination but does not follow those inclinations, resulting in frustrations.
The Earth sections are well developed in terms of settings, characterizations, and people’s powers. When darkness spreads over major cities, storms howl, and the acidi, Aezigar’s venomous wolfmen, descend upon the populace, the narrative vibrates with tension. The action is swift, vibrant, and strategically attuned. Still, the Aezigar sections are flat in comparison, serving to highlight reigning inconsistencies.
Further, the book’s pace is impeded by instances of meandering exposition, and its characters do not speak often enough. The lack of conversations is most glaring in the Aezigar sections, where internal monologue and excesses of description dominate, stunting characters’ development. This extends to the book’s villain, Umbra, whose physical absence from most of the book and solitary presence is limiting. Indeed, the acidi are much more terrifying and present.
Coalitions for resistance are built in two realms in Of Gods and Men, an enigmatic, realm-crossing fantasy novel that pits good against evil.
Reviewed by
Dontaná McPherson-Joseph
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
