The Godless

My, she’s a fiery one

Release Date: OUT NOW! 448 pages | £ 16.99 ( hardback)/£ 13.99 ( paperback)/ £ 9.85 ( ebook) Author: Ben Peek Publisher: Tor

Ben Peek cut his teeth on surreal short stories and SF/ dystopian fiction before sitting down to write The Godless. It’s the Aussie author’s first fantasy novel and the opener to his Children trilogy, a series set in a world where age- old divinities lie dead or dying, their powers cursing the people that remain with extraordinary abilities.

One of those people is Ayae, who lives in the city of Mireea, built on the rocky spine of the fallen god Ger. After an encounter with a mysterious assailant, she miraculously escapes a burning building without a scratch. As an invading army marches on the city, Ayae discovers that she’s immune to fire and, given time, will be able to control it. With the help of the immortal Zaifyr, she attempts to come to terms with her new powers, while mercenary and exiled baron Bueralan tries to sabotage the enemy advance.

Epic in sheer size and scope, a good chunk of The Godless is tangled with backstory. While the chapters are often short, flitting between Ayae, Zaifyr and Bueralan, the constant history lessons from Peek don’t allow the pace to build. Consequently, it requires some patience to trudge through the book’s first 250 pages, as the author carefully slots together the 1,000- piece jigsaw of his world. Ultimately, The Godless is a slow and thoughtful read, rather than a brisk and violent one. Dean Evans

Ben Peek finished his first novel when he was 15. Sadly, it was lost when his mum threw out the old computer he wrote it on.