Normally I wait until finalists in the
Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off have been announced before I start reading, but Graham Austin-King’s “Faithless” managed to catch my attention. I now have an early favorite.
Raised on a farm, Wynn finds himself sold into service to the church of the Forgefather after a drought ruins his family’s fortunes. But the church is a broken thing. Their god has abandoned them, and the last remaining remnants of the faith hide in their temple hoping for a miracle and his return.
Wynn soon learns that “service to the church” actually means backbreaking work in the mines of Aspiration, below the temple. It’s a grimy place, at least the part Wynn experiences, where workers often have to defend their finds from other crews and are expected to make their monthly tally or face the lash. Though the church tries to provide hope that the residents of Aspiration can rise to Novice and enter the temple, only a very lucky few actually pass the test, but Wynn may get that opportunity.
Kharios is one of those lucky few, but discovers that life in the temple, while better than in Aspiration, is certainly not much easier. He’s chosen by a surly but powerful priest named Ossan, who drives his novices hard and has a habit of bringing them to his bed. Kharios will have to make some unpleasant choices if he is to move up, but Ossan seems impossible to escape.
