Shadow of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire

I’m making a list because I feel like it, ha!

1. Thank you to StoryTellers on Tour for putting together this blog tour! Justine and Timy are incredible people and do a fab job of organizing all us crazy bloggers. And here’s letting them know that I’ll be back for more self-pub SFF fun in the future!

2. Book Blurb: A dead god. A brutal murder. A second-rate mage.

It was only supposed to be one little job – a simple curse-breaking for Mennik Thorn to pay back a favour to his oldest friend. But then it all blew up in his face. Now he’s been framed for a murder he didn’t commit.

So how is a second-rate mage, broke, traumatized, and with a habit of annoying the wrong people, supposed to prove his innocence when everyone believes he’s guilty?

Mennik has no choice if he wants get out of this: he is going to have to throw himself into the corrupt world of the city’s high mages, a world he fled years ago. Faced by supernatural beasts, the mage-killing Ash Guard, and a ruthless, unknown adversary, it’s going to take every trick Mennik can summon just to keep him and his friend alive.

But a new, dark power is rising in Agatos, and all that stands in its way is one damaged mage…

3. Patrick’s Website. Patrick’s Twitter. Check him out! He’s a great friend and supporter of the book community:)

4. I have a category of book on my blog I like to call Weekend Reads. Here’s the factors that I look at when determining if a book falls in the category:

Page Length: It should be about 300 pages long or less… y’know, short enough to get through in a weekend.

Tone: It doesn’t have to be totally a popcorny read, but I think it should be a bit of an escape. It can definitely have some heavy topics, but ultimately a good shoot-em-up, mystery/ thriller, or SSF romp works well for me.

An Escape: This can be defined in so many ways. Everyone has particularly way they like to escape. Some like romance and other enjoy historical fiction, but whatever your pleasure, dig in and enjoy!

5. There’s a problem… In this Shelter In Place, I really can’t tell what day it is! So, I’m going to have to change the name of this category to Quarantine Reads! And I’m going to now tell you why Shadow of a Dead God fit in this category so well…

Page Length: Ok, Samphire’s book goes a little over the page limit described above, but it was such a good read that I didn’t even notice! From the introduction of the characters to the jump into the initial conflict, I think the story arc is so well developed. The clever use of the 1st person POV in the exposition with the protagonist, the shoddy mage, Mennik.

Tone: Bring on the city of Agatos. A vile place of corruption that Nik must navigate as the mystery starts to unfold. A dark and sinister tone envelops the characters as they try to find the answers to the new enemy. But add the sarcasm of Mennik’s voice and his will to defend himself… with a magic system that he may still be struggling with (I’m going to leave the reader to discover that fun for themselves.)

An Escape: This is the SFF romp that will take you away from it all. The Quarantine Read that will enable you to close your eyes and enter a new land and a propel you to the freedom of the imagination:)

6. I don’t really have a 6th thing to say, but I like to end on even numbers🤣. Once again, Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. Have fun, stay safe, and Happy Reading!