The Price of Survival
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Technology and magic clash in this tale of power and treachery. The Historian and his new friends find themselves part of an unlikely team as a portal opens in a war-torn land, linking it to a world of darkness and terrible power. Tanniks, twisted into cruel monstrosities by their own magic, come through the Vortex to claim the new territory and butcher the defiant.
As casualties mount and trembling refugees warn of worse things to come, it becomes ever more difficult to foresee mankind's destiny. Will they remain in slavery, or will the fury of the Tanniks be crushed by human ingenuity and ruthlessness?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Conrad's fourth entry in the world-hopping Historian Tales series (after 2015's The Price of Loyalty), the flippant narrator, an unkillable being called the Historian, watches as a military mastermind, Colonel Daws, confronts an incursion of refugees from a parallel world enslaved by gods. The outraged deities follow their former slaves and target their new home for destruction. Daws and other stereotypical characters a plucky rebel leader, an emotionally repressed genius, a ruthless and competent henchman try to stop them, using only biochemical weapons, as Daws's version of Earth has no metal-based technology. Unable to affect the course of events, the Historian instead provides a steady stream of irritating comments. Conrad's worldbuilding is thoughtful, highlighting an interesting contrast between the humans' technology and the gods' seeming magic. But the plot has more loose threads (such as an unresolved coup triggered by the colonel) than tightly woven ones. If the characters were not so flat, the whole would better stand the strain.
