Servant of a Dark God by John Brown

When I first heard the title of this book, I hesitated to read it, not knowing what it would be about. However, I was fascinated by the cover.  I had even worn the t-shirt a couple of times that I had received when John came to sign books at my bookstore.  I finally decided to read it and I was instantly pulled into the story.   Here is the synopsis:

Young Talen lives in a world where the days of a person's life can be harvested, bought, and stolen. Only the great Divines, who rule every land, and the human soul-eaters, dark ones who steal days from man and beast, know the secrets of this power.

Now a being of awesome power, whose Mothers once ranched human subjects like cattle, feeding on their souls, has arisen in secret. And her monstrous, murderous pawn, a soul-bound creature created of wood and grass and rock roams the land. A massive and mis-directed hunt for soul-eaters is launched and Talen finds himself a target.  Trapped in a web of lies and secrets, Talen must identify his true enemy before the new Mother takes back what is rightfully hers. 

This book was fantastic. It was well-written and had a new variety of characters I had never seen before.  As I've stated in past reviews, I love when I can read something different.   The character building was well done.  You could feel the strengths and weaknesses of each of the characters.  I also loved that you got to see inside the mind of Hunger, the beast who is required to collect people for his master.  You feel bad for him, at the same time you despise him for destroying families.

First you meet Talen's family. His brother, sister and father are all big and strong, while Talen is small.  He has a fun loving personality that wants to make a name for himself so that he's no longer unimportant.   I loved watching him develop into a stronger person by the end.

This book is excellent and it is meant for older audiences. If you're a fan of fantasy, you will want to check it out.  I can't wait to read more from John in the future.

His website is here:  johndbrown.com
You can buy his book here:  www.amazon.com