Synopsis
The gods went to war. Humanity almost didn’t survive.
After a cataclysmic war among a thousand pantheons, the last of humanity clings to life in Bastion — a colossal ringed city carved from a single piece of stone, surrounded by an endless desert haunted by the dead. The surviving gods rule through a rigid caste system, feeding on the worship of the mortals they “saved.” The rich rings thrive. The outer rings starve. And the peace is a lie held together by fear, faith, and public sacrifice.
Nuru is a street sorcerer from the outer ring — a gang member, a survivor, and an untrained talent who fuels her magic with narcotics and sheer will. When a banished god contacts her from beyond the wall, she sees a chance to change everything. She has no idea what she’s agreeing to.
Akachi is a priest of Cloud Serpent, born to privilege in the inner rings. Sent to bring order to the outer ring, he discovers that everything he was taught about Bastion — its gods, its history, its justice — may be a carefully constructed lie.
Their paths collide as Mother Death claws her way back into the city, and the war of the gods begins again — with Bastion’s last humans caught in the middle.
“The fertile soil of Mesoamerican mythology, warped through the lens of Fletcher’s hyperkinetic imagination, yields hypnotic, terrifying results.” — Brian Staveley
“Deranged. Bleak. Brilliant.” — JamReads
City of Sacrifice is a complete trilogy.
Review
"Gritty and unrelenting. A great read."--Petros Triantafylou- Booknest.eu
"The fertile soil of Mesoamerican mythology, warped through the lens of Fletcher's hyperkinetic imagination, yields hypnotic, terrifying results."--Brian Staveley, author of THE EMPEROR'S BLADES
"Ancient, bloodthirsty gods, street sorcerers, rival gangs, faith, and sacrifice all come to play a part is this dark and original tale from one of the best in the biz. It's bloody, enthralling, and grimdark as f*ck. "--fanfiaddict.com
"Michael R. Fletcher has written an amazing book about the devastation left by a war of gods. Filled with forced oppression, and the sacrifice of millions. Gods, who in desperation to save their worshipers, created a city in which the remains of mankind dwell. Strangely enough, it's weirdly magical. There's a haunting feeling of both hopelessness and possibilities."--grimmedian.com
"Set in a unique and finely crafted world decimated by war, rich in both history and beliefs evocative of Mesoamerican culture, this story is suffused with ageless deities of endless monikers determined to topple the current structure of the pantheon. These renewed and ongoing battles between fickle gods threaten to trigger bloodshed between men, revealing well-kept secrets that will surely shatter the fabric of society. Devoted priesthoods and heretical assassins,savage street-magic fueled by carefully formulated concoctions of narcotics and divine will, public sacrificial rituals to appease blood-thirsty gods, the world-building in this book is both astonishing and impeccable."--whispersandwonder.com
"Smoke and Stone is post-apocalyptic fantasy magnificence..."--novelnotions.net
"It's unapologetic. It will make you uncomfortable. It might even offend you. Please don't let that stop you. Art shouldn't be comfortable. Good art should be the exact opposite, and this book delivers."--bookwormblues.net
"It is a dark tale full of unconventional ideas with that special kind of madness that only Fletcher can provide. "--fantasybookreview.com
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