The Ingenious
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
Political exiles are desperate to escape from the impossible city that imprisons them, in this bloody and brilliant epic fantasy
Thousands of years ago, the city of Athanor was set adrift in time and space by alchemists, called "the Curious Men". Ever since, it has accumulated cultures, citizens and species into a vast, unmappable metropolis.
Isten and her gang of half-starved political exiles live off petty crime and gangland warfare in Athanor's seediest alleys. Though they dream of returning home to lead a glorious revolution, Isten's downward spiral drags them into a mire of addiction and violence. Isten must find a way to save the exiles and herself if they are ever to build a better, fairer world for the people of their distant homeland.
File Under: Fantasy [ Alchymical Exiles | Loathing and Fear | Manifest Revelation | City of Broken Spheres ]
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this dense but rewarding secondary-world fantasy, Hinks (Warrior Priest) tells the story of Isten, a would-be revolutionary prophesied to free her people. Isten lives in the city of Athanor, a rotating kingdom that moves across lands and absorbs bits of each place it encounters. It's incredibly multicultural but economically destitute. A childhood prophecy has made people believe Isten will lead a revolution in her home country, but the pressure has caused an addiction that is killing her. Isten wants to serve her purpose but needs help. She meets and becomes allies with Alzen, a member of the elite class known as the Elect, who is also seeking a way to achieve his purpose: becoming the Ingenious, a powerful magician. They eventually give each other the power to achieve their goals. Hinks's descriptions are intense, bordering on the grotesque, showing the effects of colonization, unchecked power, and revolution but it takes a long time to get to the meat of the story. For readers of fantasy with a sociopolitical bent, this intriguing novel will be worth the time and focus required to reach its heart.
