#BookReview-‘The Gutter Prayer’ by Gareth Hanrahan

About the book….

The city of Guerdon stands eternal. A refuge from the war that rages beyond its borders. But in the ancient tunnels deep beneath its streets, a malevolent power has begun to stir.

The fate of the city rests in the hands of three thieves. They alone stand against the coming darkness. As conspiracies unfold and secrets are revealed, their friendship will be tested to the limit. If they fail, all will be lost and the streets of Guerdon will run with blood.

Set in a world of dark gods and dangerous magic, The Gutter Prayer is an epic tale of sorcerers and thieves, treachery and revenge, from a remarkable new voice in fantasy.

So, ‘‘The Gutter Prayer’ by Gareth Hanrahan is a stonkingly excellent debut of epic fantasy.

The best bit? It’s Book 1.

Hurray!

This means there will be more in the series known to us mortals as ‘The Black Iron Legacy’.

It’s a genuinely different type of fantasy novel, you have Cari (Carillion Thay), sole survivor of a family massacre) who was missing, thought responsible for the deaths.

Spar, who is slowly turning to stone thanks to a plague and has become addicted to the hope that a drug called Alkahest will be enough to stop or reverse the disease.

And completing the trio from The Brotherhood of Thieves is Ray, a ghoul whose connection to the foundation of Guerdon City is the stuff of myths.

All three have been tasked by their leader, Henreil, to retrieve something from the libraries of The House of Law in the city of Guerdon.

But on the night that they steal inside, the House of Law is blown up by some kind of alchemical bomb meaning that they are blamed for the destruction, and  then they  split up running from security guards The Tallowmen, fearing they were set up.

The reader is immediately thrust into the action and the mythology of the city of Guerdon and it is thrilling.

It’s hard to talk about without resorting to BUY IT ALREADY  or revealing spoilers ,so I am not going to describe too much.

But I will say this-‘The Gutter Prayer’ is totally immersive, you are rooting for the thieves to clear their names, find each other and work out who set them up and why. The action set pieces are breathless in their execution. the relationships between species complex and rich and the created mythology totally original.

In the Tallowmen, Gareth Hanrahan has created a truly original, terrifying, monster and let’s not even get started on the Raveller, a creature worthy of ‘Weaveworld’/’Great and Secret Show’ era Clive Barker.

Shudders!

*whispers* buy the book 

About the author…

Gareth Hanrahan’s three-month break from computer programming to concentrate on writing has now lasted fifteen years and counting. He’s written more gaming books than he can readily recall, by virtue of the alchemical transmutation of tea and guilt into words. He lives in Ireland with his wife and twin sons.

Follow him on twitter @mytholder.

And click the link below for an exclusive interview with one of Orbit Book’s ‘Voices of 2019’!

https://civilianreader.com/2019/01/15/interview-with-gareth-hanrahan/

Links-http://garhanrahan.wordpress.com/