The Last Sacrifice by James A. Moore, The Tides of War #1Since time began, the Grakhul – immortal servants of the gods – have taken human sacrifices to keep the world in balance and the gods appeased. When they choose the family of warrior Brogan McTyre, everything changes.
Brogan begins the toughest battle of his life to free his family from their terrible fate. But when you challenge the gods, you challenge the very fabric of society. Declared an outcast, Brogan and his kin are hunted like criminals – but nothing will stand in his way.
James A. Moore has come a long way. A few years ago he singed a deal with AR for two books I believe in his new Dark Epic Fantasy series Seven Forges. Just have a look on the internet how many positive reviews this series has gotten. Growing the series from two to four books and several short stories, most of them are featured here on this blog. I didn't know that James A. Moore was working on a new book and new series, so when I got an email from AR with the message that there was a new James A. Moore out, well what moore to say? Dark Fantasy at its finest.
I am a sucker for fantasy that features normal humans vs. gods or godlike beings. So with the brief synopsis I knew this was a book for me. The Last Sacrifice opens precisely how you want such a book to open, action, action, action and action. The focus is immediately on Brogan McTyre, the protagonist of the story. He returns home only to find that there were coins on his doormat. The coins are currency for when the Grakhul have taken people for sacrifice to the gods, Brogan's family has been taken away for sacrifice. Brogan's background is a battlehardened mercenary and for him there is only one thing left to do, hunt down the Grakhul that took his family and get them back. Not everyone in Brogan's rescue party feels a 100% comfortable going up against gods... Eventually they get to the Grakhul only to find that the fate of Brogan's family has been sealed. In an attempt of reckoning Brogan does something unthinkable that ripples through the whole universe, setting a lot of things in motion. These ripples are notable in the remainder of the book.
If you are familiar with the writing style of James A. Moore in his Seven Forges series you know that it is engaging, fast paced and on par. And this is precisely what you will get with The Last Sacrifice. Somehow James A. Moore has developed his writing for his stories in you are unavoidably sucked in, for the better of course.
One aspect that readily stood out in James A. Moore's earlier books was world building it was immense, well thought and just amazing. When you see the cover with a horrid creature and horsemen riding it already inspires a lot. When I was a few pages in it felt to me like a mixture of medieval times and western and gods lets not forget them, perhaps the name of Brogan helped a lot with it. In The Last Sacrifice, James A. Moore begins with showing the beginning of how his world works, the Grakhul, He-Kisshi, the non-deitous people and some of the places that are being visited.
When it comes down to the characters, Brogan is the one that leap out. Well rounded, easy to sympathize with due to his loss and his goal. Who wouldn't pursue it the same way? The supporting characters in Brogan's warband are precisely the persons that you want to have guarding your back, asking the right questions at the right moment. It easily comes to show that Brogan is a leader and that he knows what he wants to do, the way of achieving is often improvised.
Whats moore to say? People fighting Gods? Bring it! This is a great addition to James A. Moore's line up so far, adding another winner to it.
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