The Living God

The Equitas, Book 1

By: Kaytalin Platt

Narrated by: Evan J. Smith, Ryan Hawkins

Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

In a land of magic, where parallel worlds are just a portal away, a civil war rages.

Saran and Keleir are elemental mages bound by love and sorcery: one destined to rule a kingdom, the other to destroy it. Five years ago, Saran reached into Keleir Ahriman's heart and imprisoned the demon within him, tying her soul to his. Together, they've conspired against Saran's father—a fanatical king who worships the world-ending demon inside Keleir, a being known as the Vel d'Ekaru. When Saran risks everything to save a village of innocent people, the king rips her magic away, splintering the wall she built around Keleir's heart.

Powerless and desperate, Saran struggles to see her rebellion finished and stop Keleir from becoming the Vel d'Ekaru—the Living God.In a world equal parts magic and political intrigue, heroine and hero must battle their way back to each other if they are to overcome their doomed destinies.

©2021 Kaytalin Platt (P)2024 Kaytalin Platt

Emotional Rollercoaster

The story was an emotional rollercoaster. Great performance from the voice actors! Evan and Ryan made you feel it all. Villans you love to hate, heroes with dark pasts, intrigue, and magic. The twists and turns the story takes will have you second guessing everything about each character. Well written and well performed. I'd give it a Sunshine more than a Cricket.

An Amazing Story

“Sometimes we do what we hate to do what is right.”

I LOVED this book. The writing is fantastic, the characters are nuanced and well rounded and the lore and world building is incredibly unique and interesting. I was absolutely blown away by the story.

This is fantasy with elemental magic, a deranged king, and secret battles waged for the right to take over a kingdom. It has political intrigue, portals to other worlds and parasitic ‘demons’ who vie for control of their hosts body.

I won’t say too much about the characters or plot because I feel like it would be easy to give away spoilers, but I also feel like I would be remiss if I didn’t say that Saran, the FMC is absolutely amazing. She’s everything I think of when I imagine a strong, powerful, well written woman. I enjoyed her softer moments and she definitely had them, but I absolutely loved the way she embodied female resilience and rage. She’s an incredible character.

I don’t generally like comparing books to other media, but this book reminds me of both Dragon Age and Stargate and that is probably one of the highest compliments I can give it.

I listened to this book on audible and the narrators all did a wonderful job as well. Thanks to them I know how to pronounce everything correctly.

I would also like to thank Kaytalin Platt for sharing a code from audible so I could listen to this book.

A Genre-Defining Masterwork

The Living God is a truly epic debut; a genre-blending masterpiece unlike anything that came before, setting a new standard for how a fantasy story can be told.
Platt's universe is a truly unique fusion of conventional high fantasy, modern urban fantasy, and dystopian science fiction that manages the nigh-impossible task of being true to the spirit of each subgenre at once. the majority of this story is set in a fantastical world of magic, mages, and eldritch demons called Orukes, but the unique worldbuilding allows characters to travel to two other worlds: the Second, AKA our modern "real" world, and the Third, an industrial sci-fi dystopia. Fitting three genres in the same book is a challenging feat and could have easily fallen apart in less capable hands, but Platt's worldbuilding is impeccable and deftly utilizes the strengths of all three to great effect.
The plot is a blend of political intrigue and romantic drama that may feel familiar in broad strokes, but made much more compelling than it might have been thanks to the aforementioned solid worldbuilding. Saran and Keleir's star-crossed love is unusual in that there really is no "will they/won't they" stage to their arc. Save for an introductory scene of their beginnings, we meet them as an already well-established couple from the very beginning. Drama that might otherwise come from the depiction of a shaky courtship comes instead from Keleir's internal struggle with the demon seeking dominion over his body and mind, and Saran's complicated role in aiding him in that battle. Saran's fairly conventional role as the reluctant heir to a tyrant's throne is made more compelling by the magical time-altering powers she wields, the political interests of powerful secondary antagonists from the Second and Third, and the complicated dynamic between her and her father, whose power and ambitions have quite literally driven him mad.
That brings me to what I feel is this book's greatest strength: its characters. Saran and Keleir in particular are very well fleshed out, and we see both characters struggle with their inner demons (100% literally in Keleir's case) and the conflict around them in a complex and truthful way. Keleir struggles not just with the Oruke inside him and its constant attempts to seize control, but also the guilt for the bloodshed he caused before Saran freed him from its influence, and with uncertainties about his own true nature. Saran struggles under the weight of the expectations of those around her, as her power, both magical and political, makes her a valued pawn for many different figures in their own machinations. Saran and Keleir both life complicated and harrowing lives, tossed in the storm of entities more powerful than themselves, finding comfort and support in each other, in a romance that feels genuine, compelling, and worthy of emulating.
The narration is well done, with a few very minor sound quality issues that, while noticeable for me, were nowhere near bad enough to affect my listening experience in any measurable way. I haven't had any prior experience with an audiobook read by two narrators: one for the main story and all female characters and one for all the male characters, and I found this a bit jarring at first, but once I got used to the style it felt natural and quickly stopped being a distraction. Both narrators do a good job of distinguishing character voices and delivering compelling emotion in their performances. All in all, the audiobook did exactly what all audiobooks should: tell the story of the book in a way that accentuates its strongest points.
The Living God is, in no uncertain terms, a masterpiece. Deep, rich, and filled with drama, The Living God will make you question if you've ever read a good fantasy story before now. My only complaint is that I didn't get to spend enough time in this beautifully crafted, interconnected world. Thank God there are more books in the series!

Magic, Politics, and Machinations!

Story

This is a story of grand scale and personal relationships. Balancing that is always difficult. The author does a great job with the personal relationships with Saran's determination and circumstances. Keleir's magical and ethical struggles, Their romantic partnership and so many others. I wanted to know more see more, and be with these characters.

That grand scale I mentioned is literally 3 separate realities called first second and third worlds. They exist as cautionary tales, threats, and other literary roles. I can appreciate and oooo and ahhh with the best of readers at all the promise they have, but the problem is that they flash in and out so fast that I'm not sure if I'd miss them if they were gone.

Also quick praise to the author that she managed to make a last minute twist, a plot device I usually dislike, not only plot relevant but enjoyable the more I thought about it.

Overall I will definitely be reading the next story.

Narration

Evan and Ryan are my new favorite narration duo right up there with Kate and Michael, iykyk! The heroes, villains, the side characters all of them are distinct and make me forget it's just two people narrating. Everything form the accent work delivery and prose engages the mind helps me see the scenes feel the emotions. Just absolutely love it and I can't wait to see what they work on next.