Charlotte Kersten

Year published: 2018

Category: Epic fantasy

Summary: The days of adventure are passed for Auric Manteo. Retired to the countryside and isolated with his scars and riches, he no longer delves into forbidden ruins seeking dark wisdom and treasure. But just as old nightmares begin plaguing his sleep, he receives an urgent summons back to that old life.

To save his only daughter, he must return to the place of his greatest trauma: the haunted Barrowlands. Along with a group of inexperienced companions and an old soldier, he must confront the dangers of the ancient and wicked Djao civilization. He has survived fell beasts, insidious traps, and deadly hazards before. But how can he contend with the malice of a bloodthirsty living god?

My thoughts: If you asked me what kind of book a therapist-turned-RPG-writer would come up with, Aching God would be my most optimistic prediction. The “RPG writer” part is evident in how much this feels like a good old-fashioned tabletop campaign. A motley adventuring party of diverse classes goes from one entertaining escapade to another, and the world feels well-realized and interesting. Everything from the magic to the monster-infested lands they must cross and the temple itself is dripping with a dark, creepy atmosphere. Aching God, especially when describing Auric’s ill-fated prior mission, people who are warped and maddened by magic and the evil Djao gods, evokes a particular kind of creepiness that’s thoroughly enjoyable and kind of cozy in a weird way.

The therapist part comes in with Shel’s depiction of Auric’s PTSD. We see him go from a collected veteran adventurer to a trembling wreck who can’t distinguish past from present when triggered, and he struggles with nightmares and dissociation. Beyond individual symptoms, it’s clear that he is weighed down by his guilt, self-doubt and sense of responsibility. In a genre that sometimes lets its heroes emerge from harrowing trials unscathed, Auric and his struggles are refreshingly realistic.

That being said, the rest of the book’s characterization is fairly scant. Most of the adventuring party is not developed beyond basic archetypes, and this isn’t helped by dialogue that can seem a little inauthentic and stilted at times. A prime example of the emotional stakes falling flat because of characterization is Del’s death. After having barely had any development, Del has a heart-warming scene with Auric where he decides that she reminds him of his daughter, and then she is brutally murdered immediately afterwards lol. With a little refining and fleshing out, this beat would have hit much harder – when I read it, it felt more contrived than anything else. I do have a few other quibbles about things like occasional infodumping and some uneven pacing. Overall, though, I had a blast with this book, and I hope the rest of the series is just as much fun.