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especbooks's review
5.0
What an amazing banquet of tales from a diverse selection of cultures. So refreshing and unique as it explores underutilized mythos and cultures. Short but engaging stories that were like nothing I have ever read before. I loved every single one. Definitely a must-read for fans of fantasy and world mythology.
spookshow's review
4.0
You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Air and Nothing press, and the author via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The blood of four Gods and other stories is a collection of short stories from author Jamie Lackey. Some stories are only a matter of pages long, others substantially longer. Majority of these stories had Eastern influence from what I assume to be different myths and stories from these various cultures.
I have to admit that I loved every single one of these stories. Which is rare in an anthology type novel, generally there's a least one story that I don't take to, this collection however, every single story was enthralling. Even though these stories were quite short the author still managed to connect with the reader through their characters. I felt connected to every single character I read about, being able to instil this feeling through a short story can be quite challenging, Lackey aced it. There's no other way to put it. Being able to convey depth to a character in such a small amount of pages is definitely a gift. You hated the villians, you loved the heroes and you were enthralled with the Gods and the magic.
I found myself wishing for an extension of a few of these stories. The first one, of which I can't remember the name, was only around 5 pages long but I really wanted to see the story that lead up to the scene that was shown to us. The female sacrificing herself to the water God who was a dragon in order to save her village. I would LOVE to see a complete story of this. I want to see what lead to her taking these steps. The blood of four Gods was another that stuck in my mind, a short journey and a massive adventure, but I would love to see a longer story come from this, maybe a rewriting. I'd also love to see what happened after she collected the blood of the four Gods. Another that stuck in my mind, of which I can't remember the name, is the story about the young daughter who has no magical ability so feels shunned and unloved by her mother, so she goes on a quest to find her mother a suitable apprentice to take her place. Again, I'd love to see a longer story surrounding this one.
The writing style was beautiful and easy to read, no unnecessary wordy prose, which is a pet hate of mine, just simple, descriptive awesomeness. There was not one flat character or scene in any of these stories. Even the one story that at first I didn't think I was going to like dragged me in and I fell in love with it.
This collection of stories has given me a need to look more into the myths and legends of eastern culture to see possibly where the basis for these stories originated from. I'd be interested to see another point of view on them.
What more can I say? A fantastic collection of stories and characters, I would definitely re-read this no doubts about it. The stories stay with you long after you finish reading them which to me illustrates a great story and author.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Air and Nothing press, and the author via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The blood of four Gods and other stories is a collection of short stories from author Jamie Lackey. Some stories are only a matter of pages long, others substantially longer. Majority of these stories had Eastern influence from what I assume to be different myths and stories from these various cultures.
I have to admit that I loved every single one of these stories. Which is rare in an anthology type novel, generally there's a least one story that I don't take to, this collection however, every single story was enthralling. Even though these stories were quite short the author still managed to connect with the reader through their characters. I felt connected to every single character I read about, being able to instil this feeling through a short story can be quite challenging, Lackey aced it. There's no other way to put it. Being able to convey depth to a character in such a small amount of pages is definitely a gift. You hated the villians, you loved the heroes and you were enthralled with the Gods and the magic.
I found myself wishing for an extension of a few of these stories. The first one, of which I can't remember the name, was only around 5 pages long but I really wanted to see the story that lead up to the scene that was shown to us. The female sacrificing herself to the water God who was a dragon in order to save her village. I would LOVE to see a complete story of this. I want to see what lead to her taking these steps. The blood of four Gods was another that stuck in my mind, a short journey and a massive adventure, but I would love to see a longer story come from this, maybe a rewriting. I'd also love to see what happened after she collected the blood of the four Gods. Another that stuck in my mind, of which I can't remember the name, is the story about the young daughter who has no magical ability so feels shunned and unloved by her mother, so she goes on a quest to find her mother a suitable apprentice to take her place. Again, I'd love to see a longer story surrounding this one.
The writing style was beautiful and easy to read, no unnecessary wordy prose, which is a pet hate of mine, just simple, descriptive awesomeness. There was not one flat character or scene in any of these stories. Even the one story that at first I didn't think I was going to like dragged me in and I fell in love with it.
This collection of stories has given me a need to look more into the myths and legends of eastern culture to see possibly where the basis for these stories originated from. I'd be interested to see another point of view on them.
What more can I say? A fantastic collection of stories and characters, I would definitely re-read this no doubts about it. The stories stay with you long after you finish reading them which to me illustrates a great story and author.
ladytieryn's review
3.0
It's an OK book. The tales are interesting. Just didn't hold my attention very well.
dreamlibrarian's review
1.0
Disclaimer: I received a free Digital Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of The Blood of Four Gods and Other Stories from Air and Nothingness Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
First and foremost, please be aware that this author uses the Bury Your Gays trope.There is ONE story (Citali's Song) about lesbian lovers, which is one of the few that doesn't have a happy ending. Worse even, one of the women has to kill the other to save her from herself.
And for short stories set in fantastical worlds with elements of magic and mystery, for short stories with many female protagonists, these stories were almost all bout men and women throwing their lives away for them. Instead of exploring the magic and mystery of these new places and powers, Jamie Lackey focused on women who wait on, are rescued by, or offer their lives for men. And not in the way that challenges women giving up their lives for men, but in a way that normalizes it. Even when the women do something bold, their actions are almost entirely motivated by men and are rarely completed by the woman herself, but often led by or finished by the men. In general, this is not the worst thing ever, but when that's all you read about, it gets boring and frustrating to only see women as they relate to their relationships with men.
River Dragon's Curse: A pregnant woman decides to sacrifice herself to a river god to escape the men in her life. 1/5 stars
Beyond the Reach of Moonlight: A were-fish woman gives up her freedom for a man and watches as trouble comes to him. 1/5 stars
The Steam Lord's Autumn Ruby: A woman in captivity waits for a man to come rescue her from an evil lord and his steam-powered guards. 1/5 stars
Rekindled Dreams: A slave/prostitute finds a few grey hairs and realizes she'll never find a husband like that so she decides she wants to leave and meets mysterious man she hopes will rescue her. 1/5 stars
Fox-Woman: A fox-girl controlled by her father is assigned an arranged marriage, but a fox-boy falls in love with her and tries to convince her to let him take her away. 1/5 stars
The Blood of Four Gods: A woman begs a god to save her sick mother, but the god turns her boyfriend into a bird in exchange. The girl then goes on a quest guided by her bird boyfriend to save him. 2/5 stars
The Place of Fear: After a woman marries a man she doesn't know, he's bitten and killed by a poisonous snake. She risks her life to rescue him from the underworld. 1/5 stars
The Sour Thread of Doubt: A woman has a dream that she's a sacrifice for a volcano god and sets about making that a reality. 2/5 stars
Citali's Song: A woman enters the cloud jungle to rescue her lover from captivity. 0/5 stars for the awful use of the Bury Your Gays trope
Quetzalcoatl's Conquistador: The story of legendary Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, as he kidnaps an Aztec woman, who has given up escaping. 1/5 stars
The Balance Between Strength and Wisdom: A girl undergoes a sacred ceremony to become a water seeker and offer help to hunters, one of whom she becomes romantically interested in. 1/5 stars
Jealous Idols: A couple seeks out the snake gods so the woman can witness the gods. 1/5 stars
Of Dreaming and Destiny: A woman has a prophetic dream about the man she's destined to be with. 1/5 stars
The Value of Weakness: A girl hatches an ostrich egg and meets a travelling magician on a quest to learn the value of weakness. 2/5 stars
Content Warning for brief sexual content (sometimes with questionable consent), gore, murder, suicide by ritual sacrifice, and the bury your gays trope.
First and foremost, please be aware that this author uses the Bury Your Gays trope.
And for short stories set in fantastical worlds with elements of magic and mystery, for short stories with many female protagonists, these stories were almost all bout men and women throwing their lives away for them. Instead of exploring the magic and mystery of these new places and powers, Jamie Lackey focused on women who wait on, are rescued by, or offer their lives for men. And not in the way that challenges women giving up their lives for men, but in a way that normalizes it. Even when the women do something bold, their actions are almost entirely motivated by men and are rarely completed by the woman herself, but often led by or finished by the men. In general, this is not the worst thing ever, but when that's all you read about, it gets boring and frustrating to only see women as they relate to their relationships with men.
River Dragon's Curse: A pregnant woman decides to sacrifice herself to a river god to escape the men in her life. 1/5 stars
Beyond the Reach of Moonlight: A were-fish woman gives up her freedom for a man and watches as trouble comes to him. 1/5 stars
The Steam Lord's Autumn Ruby: A woman in captivity waits for a man to come rescue her from an evil lord and his steam-powered guards. 1/5 stars
Rekindled Dreams: A slave/prostitute finds a few grey hairs and realizes she'll never find a husband like that so she decides she wants to leave and meets mysterious man she hopes will rescue her. 1/5 stars
Fox-Woman: A fox-girl controlled by her father is assigned an arranged marriage, but a fox-boy falls in love with her and tries to convince her to let him take her away. 1/5 stars
The Blood of Four Gods: A woman begs a god to save her sick mother, but the god turns her boyfriend into a bird in exchange. The girl then goes on a quest guided by her bird boyfriend to save him. 2/5 stars
The Place of Fear: After a woman marries a man she doesn't know, he's bitten and killed by a poisonous snake. She risks her life to rescue him from the underworld. 1/5 stars
The Sour Thread of Doubt: A woman has a dream that she's a sacrifice for a volcano god and sets about making that a reality. 2/5 stars
Citali's Song: A woman enters the cloud jungle to rescue her lover from captivity. 0/5 stars for the awful use of the Bury Your Gays trope
Quetzalcoatl's Conquistador: The story of legendary Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, as he kidnaps an Aztec woman, who has given up escaping. 1/5 stars
The Balance Between Strength and Wisdom: A girl undergoes a sacred ceremony to become a water seeker and offer help to hunters, one of whom she becomes romantically interested in. 1/5 stars
Jealous Idols: A couple seeks out the snake gods so the woman can witness the gods. 1/5 stars
Of Dreaming and Destiny: A woman has a prophetic dream about the man she's destined to be with. 1/5 stars
The Value of Weakness: A girl hatches an ostrich egg and meets a travelling magician on a quest to learn the value of weakness. 2/5 stars
Content Warning for brief sexual content (sometimes with questionable consent), gore, murder, suicide by ritual sacrifice, and the bury your gays trope.
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