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A review by darkskybooks
The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan
5.0
This was refreshingly different. A steampunk fantasy, with a definite focus on innovation. I had seen some good reviews of this series which left me intrigued so was quite excited to pick up the book. The imagination on display here is impressive. It avoids most of the fantasy tropes and instead builds a fresh and suitably grimy world all of its own. The three lead characters of a saint, a ghoul and a stoneman make for an unusual set up to start with. The vast array of other characters and creatures brought in (eg the Tallowmen, the Ghoul elders, the Raveners, the Crawlers) show that this is not some run of the mill fantasy with off the shelf fantasy monsters. The descriptions of these monsters really are quite disturbing too - the crawlers for example are a swirling mass of worms wearing a mask, the tallowmen are dead people who have been rendered down and then had their spines lit like a wick. This is some dark, dark imagery!
The religious mythology of this world is a key element of this story (as evidenced from the title) and is again cleverly done. The gods have their avatars ('saints') who gain unusual powers but are essentially human. In other parts of the world their is a 'godswar' on where these beings of incredible power are fighting one another and unleashing a madness on everyone else trough the extreme powers being used. The main location used here is neutral in this conflict, making money by supplying the weapons being used in this war.
The plot is largely following one of these saints as they discover their sainthood and the pantheon on which they are linked. This particular saint is a thief and as such this is mainly dealing with the underworld. The grey and murky morals involved blend well the grey and murky world built.
This book is dark. It is also brilliant
The religious mythology of this world is a key element of this story (as evidenced from the title) and is again cleverly done. The gods have their avatars ('saints') who gain unusual powers but are essentially human. In other parts of the world their is a 'godswar' on where these beings of incredible power are fighting one another and unleashing a madness on everyone else trough the extreme powers being used. The main location used here is neutral in this conflict, making money by supplying the weapons being used in this war.
The plot is largely following one of these saints as they discover their sainthood and the pantheon on which they are linked. This particular saint is a thief and as such this is mainly dealing with the underworld. The grey and murky morals involved blend well the grey and murky world built.
This book is dark. It is also brilliant