MASTER ARTIFICER - Justin T. Call
The Silent Gods Series - Book 2
Blackstone Publishing
ASIN: B08PG3GPMW
ISBN-10: 1-98259-179-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-98259-179-3
2021, May 18
Fantasy

The people of Luquatra follow different gods, and each god provides separate magics, but all magics lead to one of the three original gods, Keos. After a dispute with his two older sibling gods, Keos became the god of evil.

The main character, Annev de Breth now wears the Hand of Keos, an artifact forged thousands of years ago by the god Keos. It is a dangerous weapon Annev cannot control. In the previous story, MASTER OF SORROWS, the Hand of Keos became attached to his partial arm, and while trying to protect his village mentor, he lost control of the Hand of Keo's. It immolated the school where he lived and killed Myjun, the girl he loved. Now he searches for a way to remove it from his arm. He and a few friends have left the destroyed, anti-magic school in Chaenbalu. Titus, Therin, Fly, Sraon, Brayan, and he head for the city of Luquatra. The world they travel outside of Chaenbalu is a convoluted place where everyone must be judged with suspicion and doubt. A place where trouble and danger plague them, but they all continue to seek a new future. What Annev doesn't expect is that others from Chaenbalu survived and now they seek to kill him. To survive he must use his magic in some ways he believes evil. Does this make him a monster or a survivor? Can he wear the Hand of Keos and have any morality or good left in him? How can he have the Hand of Keos removed or can he learn to master it? These are dilemmas he must face.

The dictionary defines an artificer as a deviser. Certainly, Annev will have to devise many ways to escape the dangerous situations he faces. THE MASTER ARTIFICER is a long story (94 chapters) with many characters filled with hatred, greed, and deadly magic inherited from their gods. Many scenes are filled with gore and blood, but if you enjoy ominous and danger-filled fantasy, you will enjoy this story.

Robin Lee