Aching God

Iconoclasts, Book 1

By: Mike Shel

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

Winner of 2019 Voice Arts Award, Audiobook Narration - Fantasy

"Closer, mortal. You are here, finally, to feed the Aching God...."

The days of adventure are passed for Auric Manteo. Retired to the countryside and isolated with his scars and riches, he no longer delves into forbidden ruins seeking dark wisdom and treasure. But just as old nightmares begin plaguing his sleep, he receives an urgent summons back to that old life.

To save his only daughter, he must return to the place of his greatest trauma: the haunted Barrowlands. Along with a group of inexperienced companions and an old soldier, he must confront the dangers of the ancient and wicked Djao civilization. He has survived fell beasts, insidious traps, and deadly hazards before. But how can he contend with the malice of a bloodthirsty living god?

©2018 Mike Shel (P)2018 Podium Publishing

Fantastic start to a new series

I was so surprised by this book. I listen to audio books exclusively, I hardly ever have the time to read them anymore. That being said narration is extremely important to me. Certain books that would otherwise be great, have been left untouched due to the narrator (::coughnickpodehlcough::) being completely unsuited and/or bad. After listening to the sample chapter I was pleasantly surprised by Simon Vance (this was the first time I've heard him), and boy, I'm so glad I bought this book. Simon Vance was spectacular. He's a narrator that doesn't just read the book, he acts the part of every character. He has a recognizably distinct voice for each character, he reads with emotion and realism. In fact, I'd go so far as to say he's the best narrator I've listened to (for this genre) other than Steven Pacey. That being said, not only is the narrator top notch... the book is surprisingly extremely well written, engaging, well paced, action packed, emotional and... realistic. I know that's an odd term for a book in this genre, but when reading it I couldn't help think that I was reading about characters and a universe in an alternate reality. Or a history from thousands of years ago that actually existed.

I say "surprisingly" because I was a little hesitant since this is a self published book and a debut novel, however, it reads like it was written by someone that's been established in the genre for 20+ years.

It opens with Auric (forgive the spelling if/when I get some of these names wrong). An aging warrior and adventurer, and also our protagonist, that was employed by the Syraic League for 30 years. The League is a militaristic order that's tasked by the regions nobility to search and explore ancient Djao ruins for lost and forgotten relics, and other items of importance. The Djao are an ancient race that worshiped demons and practiced dark, necromantic arts. Auric is old, weary and has some serious PTSD from his time spent with The League, holding himself responsible for a catastrophic failure of an expedition he led his team of fellow League members (and friends) on. Having lost his wife, son and having a strained and distant relationship with his only surviving estranged daughter, Agnes, we find him living in a small village outside the life of court, in retirement from The League. He's learned to enjoy three years of life after retirement here until nightmares begin, nightmares of the most harrowing event of his life. It is at the onset of these nightmares that he receives a summons from the Syraic Lector to come back to Boudan, the home of the Queen, Court and the headquarters of the Syraic League. The summons is vague, but mentions his daughter is in peril.

All these details are exposed in the first chapter, what goes on from here is simply a fantastic story of sword and sorcery, love and comradery between friends and fellow adventurers, nightmarish descriptions of horrible creatures and perhaps the best description of how a lifetime of "adventuring" and exploring these types of horrible places can scar the mind. I felt so much sorrow for Auric and the things he's seen and experienced, and the author does such a great job of portraying his genuine fear, anxiety, dread and guilt. It's the first time in a fantasy book that I've read a truly terrifying and accurate depiction of PTSD and it's effects on a character. Along with this, I also had such an extreme feeling of foreboding, dread and creeping anxiety myself while reading. Like I knew there was something evil in the shadows, something unknown waiting around the corner waiting to consume everyone in the book... but I didn't know what it was. Very Lovercraftian horror-esque in this sense, and I loved every second of it!

I also loved the sub characters in this book. We have Belach, a staunch supporter that meets Auric at the beginning of the book and is tasked to help him get to Boudan to answer his summons. Belach is a friendly, warm and good hearted soldier around the same age as Auric, that is loyal to the bone. Sira, a healing Priestess of Belu that has a chance encounter with Auric, a girl with a lopsided smile that reminds Auric of someone near and dear to his heart. Del, a tattooed, menacing Sorceress with a vast knowledge of the Djao and a heart of gold. Lumari, an alchemist that is a bit OCD and perfectionist and lastly, Nais, a young and brash swordsman that's a bit reckless, vain and condescending although extremely deadly with a blade. Watching these people grow to know each other, rely on each other, protect each other and care for each other was really great. These aren't the most fleshed out characters in fantasy, in terms of their backstory, but they all feel REAL. I grew to care about them all, and was genuinely worried when they were in peril.

The author does a fantastic job at world building as well. Instead of dumping chapters of information on us with long drawn out descriptions of insignificant details, he seamlessly weaves in details throughout the story, mainly using character dialogue. The world slowly and naturally unfolds for the reader and we begin to envision it, and it seems like just when we are a little lost and wondering about something, the author does a great job at tying up the loose ends.

I'm beginning to ramble so I'll just say a few more things here. I can't write the review without giving a shout out to the chapter that introduces The Queen (long may she reign!). Just remember that when you read the book, that when you reach the chapter with her introduction, you're in for a treat! The authors description of her is truly chilling.

The book isn't perfect and does have a slow chapter or two near the beginning, but that's nothing compared to how good the book is overall. This was also one of those books that I was dreading the ending so bad, simply because I knew it would be over. I wanted more, and when it ended I just felt lost, even though the ending was solid and wrapped up the story of the first book, while still leaving plenty of possibility and intrigue for the second and third book.

For any fans of classic sword and sorcery, dark fantasy, Lovecraftian horror... this book is for you. It's not quite as polished as something on the level of Martin or Abercrombie, but man, for an authors first novel, it's truly something special. I'll be buying the second book (titled "Sineater", scheduled for an early 2019 release) on day one. Mark my words, Mike Shel is one to keep an eye on people, he's going to be big if he continues down this road.

Does the author play Darkest Dungeon?

This book is seriously dark, bloody, thrilling, and captivating. It transported me along side the adventurers as they delved into long forgotten and dangerous ruins and even I thought I was going to die. I listened to the book in 1 go. Yeah I didn't sleep

Wonderful sense of dread and comradery.

This book really surprised me with how many feelings it juggles and how well it executes them. The characters are great, generally well flushed out, and interesting. I really cared about them by the end, and that made the final conflict all the more moving. Aulric, our aging adventurer protagonist. came out of it one of my favorite characters of the year. The actual logic they employ for venturing into the dungeons could have easily come off as cheesy or ham-fisted. It ended up being neither. There was a great sense of dread, mystery, sadness, and hope all wrapped together and it all worked. There were twists and turns and the final climax felt both satisfying and surprising.

Simon Vance does the narration and he's one of the best in the business. Very strong narration performance.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I didn't know what to expect and enjoyed every second of it.

Well written with plenty of twists!

This is the story of Auric Manteo, who is a retired member of a league of relic hunters and adventurers. With his wife and son dead, all the family he has left is his daughter, and when he receives word that there is a plague caused by a cursed relic rampaging in the city and that his daughter is a victim of it, he agrees to a mission given to him by the queen to return the relic to whence it came – a tomb in the Barrowlands inhabited by a being only known as The Aching God.

Auric is a really interesting character. He is flawed, and definitely suffers some PTSD from his last foray into the Barrowlands. He blacks out at the sight of blood. He relives the deaths of his friends that occurred during his last mission frequently, in waking dreams sometimes as well as sleeping ones.

The band of adventurers that accompany him on his mission were also interesting and unique. There’s a sorcerer, and a healing priest, an alchemist, and a couple of fighters, one who uses a mace and the other a sword. These guys really gave the story the feel of an intricately crafted D&D session, in a way. It was a dungeon crawler, in its way.

The book was very well written, and had plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep it engaging enough, but I found that I had a very hard time getting engaged with it in the first place. There was nothing that was outright repellent about the book at all, but I just couldn’t stay interested in it, and found my attention wandering away from the book a lot. This required a lot of rewinding in order for me to keep up with what was going on. By about halfway into the book, I was finally hooked into it though. I listened to the last quarter or so of it in one sitting, so once I got there, I got there.

This audiobook is narrated by Simon Vance, which was a huge draw for me listening to the audio rather than sitting down with the book. Here’s the thing though… and I can’t believe I am saying this… but I… didn’t love Vance as the narrator. I liked his narration of Auric, which I suppose is what carried it along to the end for me… but overall, the narration just felt kind of… just alright to me. However, that said, other friends of mine who have listened to the audiobook found the narration to be amazeballs, so this is entirely subjective. Give the sample a listen, and you may just love it. :)

All told, it was a very good book, but I wasn’t in love with it. I certainly enjoyed my time with it enough that I finished it, and I have to say that the last half or so of it was a lot more engaging than the first half for me.

Somewhat below Elenium or Malazan. Sort of Boring.

I finished the entire book and overall wanted to enjoy it. However there are repetitive problems that constantly took me out of the flow.
The narrator has a VERY narrow range of voices and is overly chipper at random times. I was repeatedly struggling to keep track of who was talking. Even from male to female characters his narration follows a narrow range of inflection and hard to follow from person to person. The overall type of world is indeed an interesting concept but has been heavily used by a multitude of prior books so it's rather pale if you've ready many books. If you've not read very much you will like it. If you've read a lot. You won't be impressed.
There are striking Parallels to the Elenium series with Sparhawk. Also there are mirrors of the Malazan series.
Really at the end of the book I feel like I wasted a credit. It's not original or exciting. Softly Plagiarized? By that I mean it strongly feels like a fanfiction rewriting the same general themes with the same general characters but different names.
There are many many cities named during the book and they are 80% just real cities in Europe but with the first 4 letters changed. Example... 3 or 4 cities that sound like Dunkirk plus a dozen more that sound like you'd find them in rural Britain.
Once again... I'm sure I would have LOVED this book if I had never read the books/series that this "new" series was cloned from.

dark, scary and brutal

not the typical fantasy adventure, it's more like horror fantasy. can't wait to get the next book.

An Excellent Book Read Well

Give it a chance - I was surprised by how much I liked this book. It's neither saccharine nor overly gritty, but a nice middle-ground high fantasy book. The story is well paced and leaves enough unanswered questions to truly encourage the reader to look forward to the next book without feeling like you've been ripped-off.

Like lightning in a bottle

This book gave me exactly what needed, exactly when I needed it most. As an avid LARPer and tabletop RPG player, the Covid 19 quarantine took almost all of my hobbies away. I looked up modern fantasy novels and saw a post made about Aching God on r/fantasy. I purchased it partly on a whim, and I've already listened to it through twice, and I know I'll listen many times again.

This book maintains a perfect balance of realism and escapism. An extremely relatable protagonist leads this story, with equally relatable and human characters at his side. I can't think of one member of the original ensemble that I didn't like.

The world-building and the lore is so well done, it's so easy to immerse yourself in it all. The danger feels real, the victories feel real, the emotions feel real. I love being a part of it all.

Mr. Vance's reading is perfection. His voices bring everything to life even more.

Thank you for this book. I needed it, and I will continue to need it and adore it.

The best story I've heard in a long time.

if you like high fantasy and D&D, you'll love this book. Shel's writing style is vivid and timeless, creating a complex world in just a few short chapters. Auric is a rare breed, as he is an aging and experienced adventurer when so many stories are about young people and starting out. I basically shotgunned this book because I just couldn't stop listening. The narrator is dynamic and engaging, and perfectly cast for this story.

Great novel and excellent narration

I'm here because I wanted to get the second book and it doesn't appear to be available on Audible yet, but having just finished Aching God I am very excited to read / listen to further entries in this series. Here in Aching God, Shel sets up relatable and likeable characters and an intriguing world. Shel hints here at some expansive world-building, but doesn't bore the reader with details; instead we get glimpses into theology and magic, a few interesting societies, and some colorful nobility such as the Queen of Hanifax (long may she reign.)

Altogether I enjoyed the story, and the pacing and narration were top-notch. Highly recommend for any and all fantasy audiobook fans.

Great Story, Amazing Worldbuilding!

The Aching God was a fantastic book. I'd heard some really good things about it but hadn't had a chance to read it, so when the audiobook released last week I jumped on it straight away. First off, Simon Vance does an amazing job with the narration. Second, Mike Shel does a fantastic job writing the book.

The Aching God is set in a world where people frequently visit ancient temples to find treasure and ancient artifacts. One such expedition bought back an ancient artifact which is now causing a plague. A retired adventurer, Auric Manteo, is called back to return the artifact because basically everyone else is deathly ill, and thus begins the journey.

The world itself seems to be against Auric and the band of adventurers. At every turn, something or someone fights against them, and the journey to the ancient ruins is long and difficult. As such, the plot pretty much follows the adventurers on a quest sort of story, but there are plenty of twists, turns, and intrigues to keep the reader very interested in the book.

One of the really amazing parts of The Aching God is the worldbuilding. Mike Shel does some really great stuff here. Most people have a patron god who they call on to give them strength, magical abilities, healing powers, and a multitude of other things depending on which god they follow. There are some very interesting political machinations going on in the background: churches vying for more power, insane royals, and plenty more.

The characters are also really interesting. Some have previously experienced horrors in the tombs of ancient gods and it has seriously changed the way they view the world. It's quite evident how the characters change over the duration of their journey.

I really enjoyed The Aching God, and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys:

* Quest fantasy
* Worldbuilding
* Tomb Raider
* Grimdark fantasy

I also highly recommend listening to this book if you enjoy audiobooks. Simon Vance is an amazing narrator and my only issue with any of the narration is that it would occasionally remind me of characters from Lightbringer which Vance also narrates.

Well written, classic D&D adventure.

Loved this. Was searching for ages for a dungeon crawl story that didn't sound like bad LitRPG. This is great. Well written, good characters. Can't wait for part 2. If you like D&D, Heroquest or Warhammer Quest you'll love this.

riveting

what a great book. I couldn't stop listening. terrifying and thrilling, I can't wait for the next one

Highly Recommended!

Amazing! it's great to see a story that heavily uses classic RPG tropes but breathes life into them and makes them feel... genuine. All of the characters fit neatly into D&D classes- Sorcerer, Alchemist, Fighter and so on, but their characters are distinctive and likeable, and they all have organic places in the world. And there's also a heavy focus on dungeon delving, at least conceptually, but it makes sense within the setting and is really enjoyable to read about.

The writing style is also great- I love the colourful and often disturbing descriptions of characters and places, and the setting is wonderful, full of danger and mystery in a way I haven't really seen before.

As for the narrator, he has excellent gravitas, but not a great deal of vocal range, so the characters' voices all end up sounding a bit too similar for my liking but his voice is still great to listen to overall.

Surprised by its quality

I finished this in only a couple of days. I would describe it as a dark twist on classic middle/high fantasy such as dungeons and dragons, which often can be a bit childish. I can't understate how gripped in the welfare of the characters written I was as they crawl through tomb and countryside , as well as the narrative in general. I was surprised to learn that the book is not well known or appreciated in niche circles, though it exists in my own now. I should also state that the book had very good world building which added to the narrative and character interactions beautifully. Not only that, it also paints wonderfully vivid characters, though I thought lumaris fell a little flat but it could be because she wasn't stand out by nature. Some of the characters actually had me giggle to myself at the dead of night, but the humour was so well balanced with gripping stakes. That would be the highest accolade I can assign the author as it must be very difficult to do so consistently. This book towers with and above any other that I have read, and if the author ever were to read this review I would have him know what a blessing he has created.