ARROW SECURITY SHUTTERS

The Black God's War [A Stand-Alone Novel] (Splendor and Ruin, Book I)

This is the full novel (120,000 words/384 pages) promised by the much shorter excerpt novella, 'The Black God's War: A Novella Introducing a New Epic Fantasy.'

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PRAISE FROM BESTSELLING AUTHORS

"Moses is a fine writer deserving of success, and I think that it will follow ... maybe his project will turn him into the next Amanda Hocking. Personally, I really enjoyed Moses's work." -David Farland, NYT Bestselling Author of The Runelords

"An inventive tale with high command of craft." - Scott Nicholson, Bestselling Kindle Author

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DESCRIPTION

Against the backdrop of epic warfare and the powers of ten mysterious gods, Lucia struggles to understand The Black One.

Her father-king wants war.

Her messianic brother wants peace.

The black god wants his due.

She suffers all the consequences.

King Vieri is losing his war against the lands of Pawelon. Feeling abandoned by his god, he forces his son Caio, the kingdom's holy savior, to lead his army. Victory ought to come soon.

To counter Caio's powers, Pawelon's prince enters the conflict. Rao is a gifted sage, a master of spiritual laws. He joins the rajah to defend their citadel against the invaders. But Rao's ideals soon clash with his army's general.

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

The Black One watches, waiting to see Lucia confront an impossible decision over the fates of two men--and two lands.

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PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS of the previously released novella-length excerpt from this work:

"The writing is tight, the characters well-drawn and deep, and the world feels alive and many-layered." -W. Brondtkamffer's Blog

"Siregar's prose is smooth and he has his sense of pacing nailed down ... 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." -Two Ends of the Pen Blog

"... excellent storytelling in this debut, a tale spun with a degree of elegance I did not fully ... it reminds me a bit of Dune ..." -Ron C. Nieto's Blog

"Well-paced and fluid, the writing style is engaging and descriptive ... There is more to the story than it seems ..." -MotherLode Review 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

"'The Black God's War' has all the right ingredients ... His characters are as passionate as his descriptive prose. The pacing is perfect ... This is a work epic fantasy fans don't want to miss." -Bryan Thomas Schmidt's blog


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Moses Siregar III is a co-host of the popular Adventures In SciFi Publishing podcast, where he has interviewed Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, Guy Gavriel Kay, Sherrilyn Kenyon, David Farland, Tracy Hickman, Michael J. Sullivan, and other fantasy authors. The AISFP podcast has also interviewed Neil Gaiman, Kevin J Anderson, Tad Williams, and Ray Bradbury, among others. Moses has a B.A. in Religion. He lives in Prescott, AZ with his wife and son. 'The Black God's War' is his first novel.

This is the full novel (120,000 words/384 pages) promised by the much shorter excerpt novella, 'The Black God's War: A Novella Introducing a New Epic Fantasy.'

________


PRAISE FROM BESTSELLING AUTHORS

"Moses is a fine writer deserving of success, and I think that it will follow ... maybe his project will turn him into the next Amanda Hocking. Personally, I really enjoyed Moses's work." -David Farland, NYT Bestselling Author of The Runelords

"An inventive tale with high command of craft." - Scott Nicholson, Bestselling Kindle Author

________


DESCRIPTION

Against the backdrop of epic warfare and the powers of ten mysterious gods, Lucia struggles to understand The Black One.

Her father-king wants war.

Her messianic brother wants peace.

The black god wants his due.

She suffers all the consequences.

King Vieri is losing his war against the lands of Pawelon. Feeling abandoned by his god, he forces his son Caio, the kingdom's holy savior, to lead his army. Victory ought to come soon.

To counter Caio's powers, Pawelon's prince enters the conflict. Rao is a gifted sage, a master of spiritual laws. He joins the rajah to defend their citadel against the invaders. But Rao's ideals soon clash with his army's general.

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

The Black One watches, waiting to see Lucia confront an impossible decision over the fates of two men--and two lands.

________


PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS of the previously released novella-length excerpt from this work:

"The writing is tight, the characters well-drawn and deep, and the world feels alive and many-layered." -W. Brondtkamffer's Blog

"Siregar's prose is smooth and he has his sense of pacing nailed down ... 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." -Two Ends of the Pen Blog

"... excellent storytelling in this debut, a tale spun with a degree of elegance I did not fully ... it reminds me a bit of Dune ..." -Ron C. Nieto's Blog

"Well-paced and fluid, the writing style is engaging and descriptive ... There is more to the story than it seems ..." -MotherLode Review 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

"'The Black God's War' has all the right ingredients ... His characters are as passionate as his descriptive prose. The pacing is perfect ... This is a work epic fantasy fans don't want to miss." -Bryan Thomas Schmidt's blog


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Moses Siregar III is a co-host of the popular Adventures In SciFi Publishing podcast, where he has interviewed Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, Guy Gavriel Kay, Sherrilyn Kenyon, David Farland, Tracy Hickman, Michael J. Sullivan, and other fantasy authors. The AISFP podcast has also interviewed Neil Gaiman, Kevin J Anderson, Tad Williams, and Ray Bradbury, among others. Moses has a B.A. in Religion. He lives in Prescott, AZ with his wife and son. 'The Black God's War' is his first novel.

I almost forgot about this one... A clip from this battle.

[2009/08/26 0:49] Solrana Zagato tries to slam harder against the wall, her eyes staring at the ruined eye of the woman. She starts to tighten her grip around the woman's neck, "Glady... Just one question..." She leans in close to the woman, her hair tricklking through the blood, the scent attracting her attention briefly, "Where is the boy? The one you took off the awning?"

[2009/08/26 0:58] Peanut Scientist shrieks as she's bashed against the brick and mortar surface, blood flicking from her lips. Her grip tightened around the wrist, though the rest of her limply hung, not even her tail flicking, "I.... Killed him... He screamed... Like a bitch..." This of course was a lie, River was alive and well. But if she was asking she obviously didn't know he was. Hopefully it would bring about a quicker death, or maybe a slower one, oh who the fuck knew with Sol, really?

[2009/08/26 1:05] Solrana Zagato presses the body up close to wall, her eyes narrowing even more. She couldn't see or hear much else beyond the woman, her voice drifting down to a low hiss. "Then may my master drag you down to the hell you deserve, cold and alone for eternity in the darkness." Her thumbs press hard against her throat, her burn scarred fingers tightening suddenly as if she was going to choke the woman to death or break her neck, not caring which came first, her nails digging into the soft cool skin.

[2009/08/26 1:20] Peanut Scientist gasps for air, although welcoming the inevitable death it was a natural instict to try and gain more oxygen. Arms and legs started to shut down, her power hitting a critical low. With what little voice she had left she whispered, ".... t-thank you... Lucifer..... b-be praised..." Her skin turned paler, if it was even possible. She was just on the brink of death, just needing a nudge to topple over into hell like Sol condemned her to.

[2009/08/26 1:18] Masha Eilde blinks at Chi, then peers up at Brenden, coyote gaze fuzzy. She gasps out, "Sol... non..." more or less while still gazing at Brendan, then takes his help to lever herself up to a stand, her legs pretty mutually agreeing that they worked. She staggers forward, bumping against Brendan, and reaches to grasp at Sol's iron grip.

[2009/08/26 1:27] Solrana Zagato snarls again. "Lucifer.... You are wrong." Her head jerks to the side as Masha's voice breaks in briefly, Chi's words finally registering as well as she glances over her shoulder at the three standing nearby. Where was her companion? Where'd they come from? She hesistates a moment as Masha grabs her arm weakly, "She hurts children." She shakes Masha off for a moment, slamming the head back into the wall with her full strength, "She guts people just walking." She makes to slam the woman again, her grip shifting a bit as her foot slides in the entrail mess on the ground, "She needs to be stopped, not me..." She goes to slam the head again, "Her weapons are tainted. I won't use them." Brendan is an after thought, she feels almost ashamed that he should get exposed to the backstreets like this, but at the same time, he couldn't be help. Innocence never lasted long here.

[2009/08/26 1:34] Masha Eilde blinks at the end of the sword coming down with an air of finality and lets herself get tugged away, something like sorrow in her gaze as it finally hits what the woman in black had said. A boy? Did Sol have a son? She shakes her head again, her thoughts a scramble, feet sliding slightly in the gore of the poor unknown man who lay there still. She mutters something in Kreyol as they go.

[2009/08/26 1:37] Peanut Scientist's body cracks against the bricks hard with every slam, head no longer connected to her spine. Her cranium case was split open, blood intermixing with blue and yellow liquids, most likely coolant and oil. None of her vital organs were working any longer, heart having beat its last mere moments ago, everything else following suit. That was it, she was wiped from this wretched earth, no longer able to dessimate the poor little children. The two hundred and fifity pound mecha kitty was now nothing more than a rag doll in Sol's hand.

[2009/08/26 1:44] Solrana Zagato growls as the girl goes limp her grasp, the air getting chillier as the shadows around them deepen. She barely acknowledges that Masha and Brendan left, finally knowing what she should do. She leans forward, her tongue briefly lapping at one of the few strands of untainted blood flowing from her mouth before she just presses the body back against the wall, her injured arm moving out to press the hand against the corner of the wall where the shadows lay deepest. It almost looks like she hooks her fingers there, the air dropping in temperature to where you could almost see her breath. "You're not through yet. Master gets to play with you.

This smart Queen Anne style villa is built on a tree lined street in the Melbourne suburb of Travancore.

Built between Federation (1901) and the Great War (1914), the wattle and daub barge board beneath the eaves of the finial tipped gables is very Arts and Crafts inspired. The wonderful wooden fretwork along the verandah and under the awning of the front window, and the stained glass windows with stylised floral designs in them are obviously more Art Nouveau influenced.

Queen Anne style was most popular around the time of Federation. With complex roofline structures and undulating facades, many Queen Anne houses fell out of fashion at the beginning of the modern era, and were demolished.

Travancore is a bijou suburb named after a beautiful Victorian mansion erected in 1863. The mansion's grounds were subdivided in the late 1890s to form the new suburb, which consists only of only about five streets. With commanding views of Royal Park, the area was much sought after by aspiring middle and upper middle-class citizens. This spacious stand alone double brick residence would have been acquired by the latter of these groups. Houses like these would have suited a medium sized Edwardian family, and would have required a small retinue of servants to maintain.

The whole house, which has a large street frontage, is surrounded by a well established garden.