A Man With An Agenda

Csorwe has been raised as the chosen bride of her god. Every 14 years the Bride enters the shrine and is never seen again. She knows she is a sacrifice, but sees it as her duty and has no other option until someone appears in the shrine on her last day and offers her another option: work. Belthandros Sethennai is a mage looking to reclaim his homeland and find an artifact lost for millennia. From priestess and maiden sacrifice this grey-skinned and tusked girl is going to transform into a warrior. Csorwe's rescue and mission with Sethennai is only the beginning.

This is an expansive world, but Larkwood moves the story on at an accelerated pace without eliminating a sense of history and wonder. Many of the more fantastic elements of the setting are left to the reader's imagination. 'The Unspoken Name' delivers a universe of worlds connected by Gates to the Echo Maze, rising and lost civilizations, dangerous magic, desire, love and humor.

Csorwe is the center of this novel, but many other characters share their perspective. Larkwood is a marvel, she uses the fuel for a dozen books in this debut and there will be two more!

The Serpent Gates

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