Master of Sorrows by Justin Call (The Silent Gods #1)

In a few days, a lot can occur. Just ask Deacon Acolyte Ainnevog (also known as Annev) in the tiny, isolated community of Chaenbalu. The next, Annev is balancing his mentor’s mentoring obligations at the Church while preparing for his last chance to pass the challenging Avatar test. The following moment, he learns that a fallen evil deity is after him and is out to wipe out his entire bloodline. In order to save himself and everyone he knows, Annev must remain concealed in his town. It is predicted that he will eventually destroy the world if he manages to live long enough. His romantic life is negatively impacted by this for some reason. poor child. These difficulties are but a ripple in the ocean of a tale known as Master of Sorrows, the first volume of Justin Call’s Silent Gods series.

A struggling adolescent without a family, Annev is being nurtured by an elderly priest who has been his tutor since infancy. While practising with the other boys at the town’s Academy, he excels at his physical tasks, but his altruism prevents him from moving up. The fact that Annev has both friends and foes makes life challenging for him, but this week is his final opportunity to take a mystery Avatar test before he graduates. To pursue a relationship with a lady, get married, find a job that pays well, or even leave the town, one must be an Avatar. Boys who don’t pass the test end up being stewards for life.

Although this novel barely spans three or four days, there are an unbelievable amount of events crammed into the narrative that allow Annev to develop and mature in ways that feel earned rather than hurried. Early on, Annev displays cockiness and immaturity due to his intelligence and physical skill, but as significant events are disclosed and he learns more about his place in the universe, he begins to wrestle with his own morality and experience loss of control. Observing how he oscillates between showing strong leadership and committing absolute evil makes for some of the story’s most compelling sequences.

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One noteworthy aspect is how Call handles conflicts amongst his characters as they devise schemes to outsmart one another. It’s encouraging to see that Call offers his opponents the same level of mental prowess that he does to his main characters because all of Call’s characters are intellectual, thus they can typically discern their opponent’s motives fast, regardless of how cunning they are. This also holds true for all of the story’s characters, both major and minor; each is given thoughtful consideration and is fully fleshed out, which is yet another example of Call’s meticulous devotion to giving this world life and lore. It appears that no detail was overlooked and that every aspect of its creation was carefully considered.

The lore that underpins this tale is nothing short of extraordinary and, in terms of complexity and history, recalls Sanderson’s Cosmere world. Not bad for a book that is almost entirely set in a tiny village and the forest that surrounds it. Call has stated that he speaks on the phone for hours with his map illustrator every other weekend to discuss the layout of his world, the ecology, the history of the continent, and the geographic plans for the upcoming volumes of the next three to as many as eleven books. I have the impression that Call has written more background information and world-building material than is included in the finished book we are holding in our hands. I could easily see wiki pages, specialised subreddits, glyph interpretations, and numerous other fan-created discussion boards attempting to theorise and distribute all of this series’ mysteries as it develops more popularity in the years to come.

While reading Master of Sorrows is immediately enjoyable, it also paves the way for something very rewarding in the years to come. The mixture of exciting action, creative revelations, and flawed characters is well-balanced. It is both stunning and ambitious while also showing respect for the intelligence of the reader. This is the beginning of an incredibly long, dark fantasy narrative that is definitely worth starting from the beginning.