Theurge

Spellmonger, Book 19

By: Terry Mancour

Narrated by: John Lee

A plague of divinity!

When Minalan summoned humanity's gods to support him in his negotiations with the aquatic Vundel, it was an impressive feat... but the gods did not merely fade away afterwards. The various manifestations of divine power, filtered through the collective subconscious of humanity, came to Callidore with a host of ideals, agendas, and interests that often conflict with their own priesthoods. The land is now filled with capricious gods, half-mad and sociopathic, some of them new to earthly manifestation—and that brings god-sized problems that only Minalan the Spellmonger can solve.

It is not an easy task. Though some gods are Minalan's allies, plenty more are suspicious of the mortal wizard's power, and some are outright hostile to him. Ancient grudges and theological feuds erupt across the land involving beings who can alter reality itself with their power. Some gods press for open revolution, while others subvert human society in more subtle ways. Contentious titans prowl through city streets while gods of grain stir up the countryside. Gods of Death and Chaos, gods of Wood and Stream, gods of War and Commerce, all seek to exercise their powers in not particularly helpful ways. Newly manifested divinities stumble with the realities of human society outside of their divine Sphere. Old, forgotten gods seek new purpose. And there's a forty-foot long Jungle Lizard God prowling through the streets of Farise, for some reason no one really understands.

Wounded and recovering from an assassination attempt, Minalan does what every great wizard does in a time of crisis: he finds an expert to help. In this case, he turns to a Theurge, a scholarly wizard named Jakin Ssu, who is an acknowledged expert in Theurgy, the science and magic of divinity. Only it quickly becomes clear that Jakin's arcane knowledge about the gods is largely theoretical, if not completely misinformed. Between the two of them, they're able to keep things from spiraling out of control... mostly.

But then a new threat emerges from the West, an ancient evil threatening all of Callidore, and Minalan is forced to invoke the very gods he struggles with to help. Not even the Alka Alon can defend against it when it attacks—but the Spellmonger has to try, even if it means risking his life, his sanity, and his very soul to stand against it. But can he do so without irrevocably ruining Callidore's delicate magical balance with a flood of divine power? Can he trust the very gods to fight for him? Or is it going to be left to the Spellmonger alone to stand against the foe with the help of one terrified, out-of-his depth... Theurge?

©2026 Terry Mancour (P)2026 Podium Audio

Great story as usual!

The bit with Adrian in the beginning went on way too long. The character is insufferable. We get it. Good God.

I own the entire series, and this was the first and only time in all of these years that I truly wanted to skip to the next chapter.

And then

Just another great listen. If you don't know what's going on then start from the beginning and get ready for a great ride.

Pretty decent

A good continuation. Overall plot development was pretty lacking, and he is still constantly misusing “demured” which is annoying. But otherwise alright

great addition, with painfully slow bits

Overall another great edition to the series, but there are multiple entire chapters of magi-babble that could have been cut.

Another Positive Addition In Every Possible Way

Excellent pacing, development and execution. Handling something so tastefully as religion and divinity is difficult even in fantasy.