Lost Gods
A Novel
-
-
4.5 • 51 Ratings
-
-
- $16.99
-
- $16.99
Publisher Description
In Lost Gods, Brom, the artist and author of The Child Thief and Krampus, brings readers into a dark, fantastical, masterful mix of brilliant illustrations and dazzling prose.
A young man descends into Purgatory to save his wife and unborn child in this gorgeous, illustrated tale of wonder and terror from the mind of master storyteller and acclaimed artist Brom.
Fresh out of jail and eager to start a new life, Chet Moran and his pregnant wife, Trish, leave town to begin again. But an ancient evil is looming, and what seems like a safe haven may not be all it appears . . .
Snared and murdered by a vile, arcane horror, Chet quickly learns that pain and death are not unique to the living. Now the lives and very souls of his wife and unborn child are at stake.To save them, he must journey into the bowels of purgatory in search of a sacred key promised to restore the natural order of life and death. Alone, confused, and damned, Chet steels himself against the unfathomable terrors awaiting him as he descends into death’s stygian blackness.
With Lost Gods, Brom’s gritty and visceral writing takes us on a haunting, harrowing journey into the depths of the underworld. Thrust into a realm of madness and chaos, where ancient gods and demons battle over the dead, and where cabals of souls conspire to overthrow their masters, Chet plays a dangerous game, risking eternal damnation to save his family.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fantasy artist and author Brom creates a fascinating vision of the underworld in this sprawling dark novel, but the quest story that crosses the landscape is unsatisfying. It's 1976, and 24-year-old bumbler Chet Moran has just served seven months in county prison in rural Alabama for drug possession. He reunites with his pregnant girlfriend, Trish, and they elope to Chet's ancestral home, Moran Island, S.C., where his grandmother Lamia welcomes them with open arms. The island is not the haven it appears to be, though, and when Chet is murdered, he must cross through purgatory, which is currently in a state of perilous upheaval, to save Trish and their baby from a bleak fate. Brom clearly wants to show off his worldbuilding and much of Chet's journey through the afterlife involves him stumbling into situations that could have been compelling, but Chet treats them as mere obstacles impeding his quest, which dulls their impact. The momentum is entirely driven by plot, and many characters seem more like puppets than people. The prose is evocative and the settings are brilliantly crafted, but unwelcome surprises (including upsetting things happening to the baby and many of the other female characters) and confusing, contradictory metaphysics (which both draw on and disparage non-Christian traditions) detract from the experience.
Customer Reviews
The publisher’s weekly blurb below is untrustworthy.
Don’t bother reading that super biased “review” as all it does is complain because this book treats ALL gods, including christian ones, as equally awful & ridiculous. It’s adorable that such a reviewer got their delicate little feelings hurt over an adult fantasy book. Perhaps they should consider a different line a work and realize the world doesn’t revolve around their delusional religious beliefs.
BROM IS AMAZING AND THIS BOOK IS WONDERFUL.
Amazing
I couldn't put this book down. Absolutely recommend!