The Black God's War: A Novella Introducing a New Epic Fantasy

By Moses Siregar III

"I enjoyed this novella from its opening chapter to its gripping end ... The writing style ... immediately put me at ease in the setting."
--Red Adept Reviews, 5 Stars

"Siregar's prose is smooth, and for his first novella he has his sense of pacing nailed down ... Siregar's debut is an excellent example of the quality the indie author scene is capable of ... More like this, please."
--Signal dot Noise blog

"If you want to read a talented new author with a flair for storytelling, you should definitely pick up this story."
--Debra L. Martin's Review, Two Ends of the Pen Blog

"'The Black God's War' has all the right ingredients and his prose lives up to the challenge ... It's been a while since a novella so captured me that I read it almost straight through--70 pages in the first sitting. But Siregar's novella, 15 chapters culled from 85 of his upcoming novel, just has that effect on you ... His characters are as passionate as his descriptive prose. The pacing is perfect ... This is a novella epic fantasy fans don't want to miss."
--Bryan Thomas Schmidt's blog
_______

Her father-king wants war.

Her messianic brother wants peace.

The black god wants his due.

She suffers all the consequences.

King Vieri’s war against the lands of Pawelon rages into its tenth year, and with the kingdom’s holy savior, his son Caio, en route to the fighting in the storied canyon, victory ought to come soon. Feeling abandoned by his god, King Vieri forces young Caio to lead his army to victory.

The Black One, Lord Danato, tortures Lucia with nightly visions promising another ten years of bloodshed. She can no longer tell the difference between the waking world and Danato's nightmares. Lucia knows the black god too well; he entered her bed and dreams when she was ten.

As the epic battles rage, Lucia struggles to understand the messages of The Black One, while Caio wrestles with his conscience: Can someone who only wants to heal the world bring himself to kill another man?
_______

"An inventive tale with high command of craft."
--Scott Nicholson, Author of Drummer Boy

A 27,000 word novella introducing a new epic fantasy novel by the same title, available now.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Moses Siregar III
• Release date: Aug 11, 2010
• ISBN: 9781458041395

Moses Siregar III

When I was ten, I fell in love with an anime series. It was a space opera spanning three human generations, a saga revealed over 85 consecutive episodes and four months of after-school TV. Watching Robotech was a spiritual experience for me. I still remember how high I felt after watching the 85th episode for the first time. How many pleasures in life are better than a well-executed drama? Because of that experience, I decided I wanted to be a storyteller when I grew up and hoped I could someday inspire others as that show did for me. As things turned out, I have spent most of my life exploring religious and metaphysical questions, while writing a lot on the side. In recent years, I have decided to get back around to my heart's desire when I was a boy: Telling the big story. My novel "The Black God's War" is a dramatic epic fantasy, and an homage to Homer with a multicultural flavor. It's an original story in which I also tip my cap to the Greek dramatists of old. My novella-length preview of the novel is currently available, with the full novel planned for release as an e-book and print book in May, 2011. You can follow my blog, "Moses and Dionysus Walk Into a Bar ..." at http://ScienceFictionFantasy.net. I invite you to read a sample from my epic story and more than anything, I hope you'll enjoy it and feel inspired by it to pursue your own passion.

Book preview

THE BLACK GOD’S WAR:

A Novella Introducing

A New Epic Fantasy

Moses Siregar III

To see a larger version of this map, go to:

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Map by Jared Blando at TheRedEpic.com

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2010 Moses Siregar III

Cover design Moses Siregar III

Map by Jared Blando (TheRedEpic.com)

First electronic publication: August 11th, 2010

Updated: December 29th, 2012

P.O. Box 421

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www.ScienceFictionFantasyBooks.net

Please contact [e-mail] with any comments.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Sing Muse, of Hades and Light

Chapter Two: The Ten

Chapter Three: A Sacrifice for Apollo

Chapter Four: The Remonstrations of Achilles

Chapter Five: The Furies

Chapter Six: Cranes in a Stormy Sky, Obscured by Dust

Chapter Seven: To Dream of Battle

Chapter Eight: The Wrath of Athena

Chapter Nine: A Burial Truce Offering

Chapter Ten: The Unseen One in Prophecy

Chapter Eleven: The Lovers’ Respite

Chapter Twelve: The Earth Shaker and His Sea

Chapter Thirteen: Astrapios and Brontios

Chapter Fourteen: A Rival to the Gods

Chapter Fifteen: The Quieting of the Gods

Afterword

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Moses is a fine writer deserving of success and I think that it will follow. I really enjoyed Moses’s work.

—NY Times Bestseller David Farland

The Black God’s War is, to date, the finest example of quality independent fantasy I’ve seen … This is what indie publishing is all about and I have no qualms about recommending this great novel.

—Indie Fantasy Review

I don’t give many 5 star reviews … I find I really can’t stop thinking about this story. Unforgettable story, intriguing characters, compelling journey with unexpected twists—in short, a very satisfying and engaging read.

—(5/5 stars) MotherLode Review Blog

… a rather brilliant climax that left me grinning from ear to ear …By the time you flip to the last few pages, I hope you have the shivers just as I did …

—Journal of Always Reviews

An inventive tale with high command of craft.

—Scott Nicholson, Author of The Red Church

Given the quality of the writing, you would not know that this is Siregar’s first novel and he set the bar quite high … I enjoyed this book, immensely. It had style, it had substance, and it had a lot of heart … Siregar easily defies the stigma that you can only get a quality book out of a recognised publishing house. (Review: 9.4/10)

—FantasyBookReview.co.uk

Simply a great book, skillfully written. It is intriguing, holds your interest and has some surprising twists and turns that will pleasantly, or unpleasantly, surprise you. For a debut novel ... simply outstanding.

—Ray Nicholson (Top 1000 Amazon Reviewer)

I enjoyed [the] novella from its opening chapter to its gripping end. (Review: 5 out of 5 stars)

—Red Adept Reviews

If you want to read a talented new author with a flair for storytelling, you should definitely pick up this story.

—Two Ends of the Pen Blog

Siregar's debut is an excellent example of the quality the indie author scene is capable of ... More like this, please.

—Signal dot Noise Blog

His characters are as passionate as his descriptive prose. The pacing is perfect ... This is a novella epic fantasy fans don't want to miss.

—Bryan Thomas Schmidt's Blog

The writing is tight, the characters well-drawn and deep, and the world feels alive and many-layered … this is no one- or two-dimensional and predictable plot/conflict, but rife with undercurrents and tensions that just spread out like so many strands of a spider’s web.

—W. Brondtkamffer’s Blog

Siregar's strongest suit may be the character development on display, as the royal siblings and a few other characters exude their personalities and frailties in a believable fashion.

—Skull Salad Reviews

… A tale spun with a degree of elegance I did not fully expect. The Black God’s War is a great example of how there are extremely talented indies.

—Ron C. Nieto’s Stories of my Life Blog

The full-length version of this story

is now available!

The Black God’s War

[A Stand-Alone Novel]

(Splendor and Ruin, Book I)

The Black God’s War won awards in the categories of

*Best Novel* and *Best Fantasy*

In the eFestival of Words

Best of the Independent eBook Awards (2012)

Please visit the author at

ScienceFictionFantasyBooks.net

and subscribe to his newsletter

(you’ll also get some free stuff).

For Molly, Athens, and Mom.

Thanks to Homer and Carl Macek (Robotech).

Author’s Note

This novella is a 27,000-word excerpt from my novel with the same title, The Black God’s War. The first five chapters of this novella are identical to the first five chapters of the full novel. After chapter five, this novella takes a different course in order to focus on particular characters and elements in the story. In brief, the novella focuses on the kingdom of Rezzia. The full novel shows both sides of the story, including Rezzia’s enemy, Pawelon.

If you like what you’ve read after five chapters, you could pick up the novel to read the rest of the 85-chapter story (120,000 words); that’s what I would recommend. Or, of course, you can just enjoy this shorter work (15 chapters).

Thanks for reading a new author. I hope you’ll enjoy the story!

"Every old poem is sacred."

-Horace

Chapter One: Sing Muse, of Hades and Light

IN THE KINGDOM OF REZZIA, inside the highest chamber of the grand minaret, ten-year-old Lucia looked out to see her father, King Vieri, on the balcony. He lifted her newborn brother high above his head, and the masses, hundreds of feet below, roared with devotion.

Father, what are you doing! she thought. Be more careful with our savior.

Lucia glanced down at her mother resting in the birthing pool. The queen’s black hair clung to her neck, all of it soaked by the holy waters.

You did it, Mother!

Kindness brightened her mother’s face. Thank the gods, dear. You have a brother now. A very special brother. Go, join your father and wave to the crowd.

You stay here and rest. I’ll wave to them on your behalf.

Her mother laughed. Thank you, Lucia. That sounds perfect.

Lucia crept toward the archway leading to the balcony wrapped around the circular chamber. She squinted, fighting the midday sun. Tears soaked her father’s cheeks as he presented the pink baby to the faithful. Nature had tattooed thorny red and black vines on little Caio’s hands and forearms: the holy markings of the Haizzem.

As she gazed at Caio, a spiritual energy filled her body with peace and warmth. Her spirit soared. The teachings are coming true! A Haizzem had come again, to rescue all the world. Her brother would conquer Rezzia’s foes and bring the gods’ light to everyone.

Lucia skipped forward to participate in the royal scene. She looked down at tens of thousands of pilgrims in their cream robes and felt dizzy. The clay-white acropolis of the holy city sprawled across the desert plateau: massive domed structures, spiraling minarets, and temples of the ten gods supported by grand columns.

She clutched her father’s ceremonial cremos robe to steady herself. The fabric was bloodied; he had obeyed the scriptural commandment for Rezzia’s king to oversee the birth of his own Haizzem son. She felt so lucky, knowing every Rezzian alive would love to be in her place, touching the king’s garments and the words of divine power stitched into them.

Her father pressed the baby against his chest, and pushed Lucia backward with his free hand. He raised up baby Caio and beamed his joy again.

The rejection shattered Lucia’s bliss.

Her father’s face, with his heavy brown eyes and his perfectly trimmed beard, always showed his serious nature. But as he admired the baby—so high above the masses—he transformed, positively euphoric. He looked at Caio with such true love, a look Lucia had never, ever seen before.

Lucia’s vision darted from her father to her brother and back again. Your love for me is a lie. She dropped her head and long vermilion hair fell around her face. She wouldn’t cry. Not then. Not in front of him.

The crowd’s chanting grew louder and louder. They cried out in

Reviews for The Black God's War

[divanina-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Moses Siregar III has spun an epic tale of growth, love, betrayal and acceptance in The Black God's War. The first book in his Splendor and Ruin series, War tells of the end of a long-waged war between two civilizations that have more in common that they know.

The book is very well written and the characters come to life after a somewhat slow start. Dialogue is smooth and easy. It rarely feels as though it's for the sole purpose of exposition, save for one section where one character reveals information about another character's past. The monologue feels as though it was lifted from something more modern and urban than this story's setting and it feels as if a completely different character is speaking.

Beyond that minor lapse in style, the book forms a very cohesive whole until the end. There, the resolution feels a little contrived, as if Siregar realized the book was running too long and wanted to wrap things up. Regardless, I look forward to Book II.

[aoibhealfae · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I lost interest in the middle of the book and since I don't like doing DNF reviews so it took me a long time to finish this book. The only thing I like about "The Black God's War" was the entire conflict was due to a convergence of two civilizations inspired from Indus and Greece civilizations. It was interesting for me since I always like historical adaptations even if its deathly fictitious.

Plain speaking, I can't stand female characters who are too stupid to live especially in a book with a lot of words in it. Halfway through the book I was asking myself whether it was the character developments or plot progression but despite some promising start, as I go on, I don't find myself invested at all. Its not about likable characters or ELI5 plot but there's a need to add more complexities to make a fantasy book rich in content and soulful. Add to the fact that it does get tiring when the descriptive parts tend to be uneven and bland and sometimes appropriated to fit into the desired conflicts that drive the whole book. Usually I like politics in fictions but when clarity was rendered optional and the narrative style made character motivations genuinely nonsensical and again with the blown up writing style, do understand why it was so easy to give up on reading the book in the first place.

I don't feel the book was meant for me. Some may like it but overall, it was plain disappointment to me. Being Asian, I do love asian history and there's a whole field of unexplored territory of asian fantasy anyone could exploit with some imagination. Although I don't feel the book appropriated anything and the setting does remind me of Devdas, but I wish there was more to it than the setting being used as plot devices.

The ARC was given by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[chamainew-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've been on an Indie Author craze for a few months now. A good friend of mine loaned me Black God's War by Moses Siregar III via Amazon's Kindle Lending Library. While it took me a minute to get into the story, after the first couple of chapters I was hooked. It's always a crap shot when it comes to Independent Authors because of their general lack of editing, but I was pleasantly surprised by Black God's War.Black God’s War is actually the prelude to Siregar’s Splendor and Ruin Trilogy. It’s a stand-alone novel about the war between the two kingdoms of Rezzia and Pawelon. The two nations have always known war, and the story has an interesting take on its main characters and their gods. The story centers on the interaction between the Haizzem, the Rezzians young spiritual leader named Caio, his sister Princess Lucia and the Pawelons Prince Rao, his best friend Aayu, along with Prince Rao’s lover Narayani. These five characters feel that there is no need for the war to continue and they begin to look for ways to end it.Caio will have to overcome his natural aversion to war and useless killing in order to protect his people and fulfill their wishes. His sister Princess Lucia who has been tormented throughout her life by the Black God has to learn to open her mind to the possibility that not everything is clear and concise, and that there is always a price to pay for one’s actions. Prince Rao seems to be the most sympathetic character in the entire story. You come to realize that he is the true victim.This is a dark fantasy with strong religious overtones. The Rezzians are reminiscent of Muslims in that there isn’t a separation of religion and lifestyle. The Rezzians live and breathe their Gods, while these patron Gods wield their power to directly help they Rezzians only when they choose to.There are a few editorial glitches in the book, but overall Siregar has done an excellent job of story building and editing. I highly recommend this book.

[suzemo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This novella was OK, especially for a Kindle freebie. It's made of a selection of 15 early chapters from an 85 chapter "epic." It was decently written, and there were some fun ideas in the book.

This particular selection of chapters centers around a brother-sister pair who are the leaders of a country and have been endowed with powers by their patron gods. Their country is involved in a holy war against another country (of non-believers, of course). The parallels between these gods and Greco-Roman mythology was a bit fun and I liked the involvement of the gods in the story.

It was decent, but I just couldn't really bring myself to get very invested in the characters. It just feels like something is missing. Ideas are OK, writing is decent, and I have read reviews that it got better, but I just have other things I would rather read.

[cmbohn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very different take of fantasy and myth. Like the Greek and Roman deities, the gods are not necessarily good or evil, and they are not to be trusted either. I found the whole thing with the Black God and his obsession with Lucia to be rather disturbing. Overall, I just couldn't get into this book. I found it so confusing. Not really what I expected.I received this book free from Member Giveaways for a review.

[nigeltb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good first novel. Set in a fantasy world it's the story of war told from both sides in alternating chapters. The best thing is that neither side is portrayed as good or evil, making for an unpredictable plot. My only criticism is that there is a notable change in pacing from the first to second section. Tighter editing would fix this and possibly bring the novel length to under 100K words.

[staceyhh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Black God's War is a story propelled by human ambition and desire for cultural dominance, and ambiguous heroes choosing paths sometimes based on misunderstanding and poor information. It's war, and military intelligence is not always what it seems.

Faith and Spirituality is a character in this story, as much as Caio, Rao and Lucia. One side, (the Rezzian) has a much more personal interaction with their pantheon of Gods; there's a lyrical scene where Caio ceremonially chooses, or is chosen by, his patron god. In contrast, the Pawelons – a primarily non-theist nation - give lip service to the concept of personal responsibility and profess disbelief in a more personal type of mystical worship of Gods, and yet, they also display an incredibly strong “faith” in the abilities they develop through meditation. It's an adept and respectful handling of spiritual variance, and I appreciated that.

I loved the character of Lucia. She's strong, smart and interesting. As a female long-time reader of Science Fiction and Fantasy, I think I've read every permutation of overwrought, emotional and incompetent female character a man can write. Lucia is anything but incompetent, and even better, she is still emotional, but contextually so. She's passionate, a leader, and her actions have reasons. It's beautiful. She's not a stock male character rewritten to be a woman, she's the kind of intentional woman character that makes you believe that the writer is surrounded by strong, capable, intelligent women, and has taken the time to listen and learn what strengths, motivations, and ideas these qualities drop in his lap for the content of his story. I found this to be the best piece of Black God's War.

I'm torn by whether or not I wanted more fleshing out of the Gods. On the one hand, I think it's an important idea that we are driven by our own desires far more than the desires of our Deities. King Vieri wants to conquer, and he will do anything to accomplish that, even if it places him in direct conflict with the goals of his Gods. The ease at which he drowns out their direction rings true throughout the story. On the other hand, you have a Pantheon of higher beings that work as a single unit, each reflective of a different concept, with different supernatural abilities, which they can confer on their devotees. There are glimpses of a much larger story here. Why are these Beings so interested in this one protracted war? Why are they seemingly unconcerned with a whole nation that denies their existence? Why are they so incredibly powerful in battle, but with the exception of Danato, apparently so unable to directly influence any of their own people? I wanted to know this story.

That brings me to my only real complaint about the telling of this story. Even though I personally love a “wordy” story, I can't even count the number of epic-style fantasy stories I've read that were horrendously overwritten (*ahem* Jordan *cough*) sometime to the degree that I couldn't finish. Still, there is something to be said for the kind of writing that envelopes you in a world, and builds a universe in the mind. I want to feel the heat of the sand coming up through my sandals, and smell the stone and earth. I wish to see the citadel and hear the tent fabric flapping when the breeze comes up. I need to know about the sweat running down his back as he's locked in mortal combat, and the fear in his eyes, and the feel of the horses gathering up their muscles for the gods-powered burst of battle speed.

This story provides some of that, the combat scenes have a life of their own, but many of the other parts of the story feel like they were edited too closely. The soul of the story – the personal conflicts and relationships – were somewhat constrained, and left me wanting more development. Draw me a picture, I want to see it all. Maybe that's really too picky for a debut novel. Maybe I'm criticizing because I liked it so much. Maybe it just didn't otherwise feel like a debut. And yet, it's not a short novel, nearly 400 pages in the print edition, and I've started to really sour on the 700 page epic series debut. So maybe this accomplishes what a first in series should do – give me a story and a tease. It certainly does that, and whatever/whenever Splendor and Ruin, Book 2 exists, you can be sure I will be reading it.

[tottman_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was fortunate to receive an early review copy of The Black God’s War, a very interesting fantasy debut from Moses Siregar III. The Black God’s War is an interesting take on fantasy tropes in that there is not really a clear cut “evil” to overcome or a clearcut “good” to overcome it. Both sides in the battle have their own viewpoint and it’s never clear what would constitute a victory for either side. The writing is consistently good and the characters feel real and interesting. The system of magic is certainly different, but ultimately not very well explained. One side in the conflict, the Rezzians, calls upon the powers of the gods, who are present if not often seen, or at least seen by many, yet whether or not they choose to manifest their powers as called upon is somewhat arbitrary. The other side in the conflict, the Pawelons, rely on powerful sages. These sages use a form of concentration and mantras to manifest their powers. Several things about this system of magic are never made clear, however. Some sages study for years, but can apparently teach their powers to others with no apparent training in a matter of days or hours. It is also never explained what makes some sages more powerful than others or how those powers compare to the powers wielded by the Rezzian gods.The plot moves steadily forward and maintains interest, but the results of the battles and the strategies employed are unreliable. The feelings and motivations of some, but not all, of the main characters seem to change almost randomly. It is hard to become invested in the outcome of the battles when there seems to be no permanence or consequence to them.Maybe the point is that motivations for starting and continuing a war are murky and clouded by personal feelings of those in charge. Or that the outcome of battles and maybe even entire wars is irrelevant and inconsequential. As a story, though, it is ultimately unsatisfying. The level of the writing and some of the concepts involved make this an interesting read. The holes in the plot and the arbitrariness of some of the outcomes make it less satisfying. 3 stars.

[janarose1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A ten year war brews between King Vieri and the Pawelon kingdom. When Caio, his son and the kingdom’s messiah, comes of age, he is given control of their armies. His sister, Lucia is haunted by the Black God, who waits to see Lucia confront an impossible decision. I found this book hard to read. Although the plot was interesting, the characters seemed flat and stereotypical and I had a hard time becoming invested in them. I am interested to see how this author develops in the future.

[bryanthomass · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This epic fantasy is a solid debut for Siregar, who has come out of nowhere to surprise a lot of people with his talent for storytelling, prose, and marketing. There's a reason this book sold 500 copies in 38 days when it was finally released. After teasing us with a novella last year, lots of people, like me, have been eagerly awaiting the full novel, and it was worth the wait. From world building to character development, Siregar rises to the challenge fully. There's interesting choices made in everything from plotting to point of view. With two diametrically opposed protagonists, their love interests and their fathers, as well as best friends and others, we have plenty of views from which to immerse ourselves in the story and world. The parallels to the Greek-Roman religious traditions struck me alongside parallels to current anti-war philosophies. I enjoyed the read and was eager to know how it ended. He surprised me with a few twists and turns and it will be interesting to see where he takes the story next.If you're bored with the typical European medieval settings for epic fantasy, give this book a try. It's different, in a good way, and filled with action sequences, character conflict, even some romance, as well as a good pcaing of tension and wonder.

[amberr80-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow, what a wonderful surprise. I love the tone The Black God's War is written in: it's a very eloquent, almost poetic story that easily crept underneath my skin. The world the author has created is astounding, even better is how vibrantly this world is portrayed. Not once did I have to struggle with imaging the scene or understanding the characters. Kudos to Moses Siregar III for providing such rich entertainment.

[druidgirl_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you like a truly wonderful epic fantasy then this is the book for you. It is well written and quite creative. It takes a fine mind to create and write a story like this. The only negative I would say is that there was not enough info on what started the war and background on the characters.

[doskoipanda · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Moses Siregar III's "The Black God's War" is an unusual fantasy novel - utilizing mostly non-western names in a story of a long two sided war reminiscent of tales of wars in Greek or Persian classics. The gods take an active part in the novel, albeit mostly silently, supporting the (apparently*)aggressive Rezzians. The other side (Pawelon), who appear to be defenders in the war, rely not on gods but instead on a sort of magic, not dissimilar to some of the purported powers of yogis or mystics (though with magnified effects.) The novel focuses on the children of each kingdom's ruler and their closest friends, and their struggles to end the war favorably for their respective people. My main problem with the novel is that it relies heavily on the reader gleaning information/inferring about the religion and culture - I found it difficult to understand or care for characters so heavily armored in a religion whose pantheon is presented only in terms of "x, the god/goddess of y" without the mythology or story to understand them. As a result, for me, Lucia was not really a strong character; she was made too remote through the lack of cultural understanding, and rendered weak by her reliance on external aids (gods, people). I felt much more in tune with the Pawelonians as they felt so much more real and human, despite their abilities. The author mentions that he has a love of the grand anime space opera, Robotech, and in many ways he's acheived writing one himself**; it will be interesting to see where the rest of the story goes. 3.5 stars, 4 if a whole star system.*It's never made clear what started the war. I guessed that, because the Rezzians are crossing a desert to attack, and because the Pawelonians refer to defending their walls/cities, Rezzians would be most likely to be the aggressors.**Weirdly, I kept thinking of the Arslan Senki series (Heroic Legend of Arslan) when reading this - not for the story, but for some of the battle elements, and the use of sages/mystics.This review refers to the ebook edition, and was supplied to me by the author as part of LibraryThing's Member Giveaway program.

[christopherkellen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Black God’s War is, without a doubt, one of the most fascinating epic fantasy books I have read in years.Mr. Siregar has essentially taken the long route around, making the tropes of world-shaking fantasy feel new again through his fresh vision of world-building and his decidedly non-traditional-Western-European approach.When one picks up a fantasy novel, there are certain things that you expect. You expect knights, and lords, and castles. You expect princesses and dragons, at least in some form or another. We expect a Western European world which generally has one thing or another in common with the high medieval/Renaissance era which is so familiar to all of us.Somehow, Mr. Siregar manages to avoid all of that.My favorite part of this book is not the incredibly strong core story, nor is it the highly believable characters. Those are wonderful things in their own right, of course, and they only serve to make this book better. My favorite part of fantasy is always world-building, and I have never seen a fantasy world like the one constructed for The Black God’s War. It feels fresh, it feels original – and that, my friends, is my favorite part of this book. From the Roman core of the Rezzians to the Indian/Buddhist roots of the Pawleon, Mr. Siregar has chosen an entirely different basis for his fantasy, and it is quite refreshing.I will not go into plot, so as to avoid spoilers (and besides, the book’s description does a fine job of doing what little summary I could manage anyway) but the characters of Lucia, Caio, their father Vieri and Ilario are all very well drawn; Lucia and Caio especially often seem to leap off the page. Rao, Aayu and Narayani are equally well-done, and Mr. Siregar has done an excellent job adapting stereotypes to make these characters feel like real people, instead of cardboard cutouts.This is not just one of the best independent books I have ever read; this is one of the finest fantasy novels (period, full stop, etc etc) that I have read in many years. My hat (had I one) goes off to Mr. Siregar for a well-told, well-edited and highly professional independent work that lends credence and credit to independent authors everywhere.Final Score: 5 out of 5. You must read this book – you will not regret it.