Seventh Decimate

Stephen R. Donaldson

Nov 2017 · The Great God's War Book 1 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

The acclaimed author of the Thomas Covenant Chronicles launches a powerful new trilogy about a prince’s desperate quest for a sorcerous library to save his people.

Fire. Wind. Pestilence. Earthquake. Drought. Lightning.
These are the six Decimates, wielded by sorcerers for both good and evil.

But a seventh Decimate exists—the most devastating one of all...

For centuries, the realms of Belleger and Amika have been at war, with sorcerers from both sides harnessing the Decimates to rain blood and pain upon their enemy. But somehow, in some way, the Amikans have discovered and invoked a seventh Decimate, one that strips all lesser sorcery of its power. And now the Bellegerins stand defenseless.
 
Prince Bifalt, eldest son of the Bellegerin King, would like to see the world wiped free of sorcerers. But it is he who is charged with finding the repository of all of their knowledge, to locate the book of the seventh Decimate—and reverse the fate of his land.
 
All hope rests with Prince Bifalt. But the legendary library, which may or may not exist, lies beyond an unforgiving desert and treacherous mountains—and beyond the borders of his own experience. Wracked by hunger and fatigue, sacrificing loyal men along the way, Prince Bifalt will discover that there is a game being played by those far more powerful than he could ever imagine. And that he is nothing but a pawn...

Ratings and reviews

Seventh Decimate is a new book by Stephen R. Donaldson and is the first book in the Great God's War series. I am a longtime fan of his Thomas Covenant series so I was looking forward to reading this book. It can be read as a standalone but it is open-ended for the next book and it is clear that the story doesn't end here. There is violence, this is a story about war after all. The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat all of that info here. The author does a good job of describing the countries and what is going on between them. This is not fast paced with a lot of action. It is worth reading but you have to be willing to stick with it. I plan on reading the next book once it is published, but I'm not going to rush to read it like I did when the next Thomas Covenant book came out.

By keeping you locked in the flawed protagonist's perspective you are better able to appreciate the patience and goodness of the supporting characters.

It wasn't at the caliber I have come to expect from Donaldson.

About the author

Stephen R. Donaldson is the author of the original six volumes of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, a landmark in modern fantasy. Every volume, beginning with Lord Foul’s Bane in 1977, has been an international bestseller. Donaldson returned to the series with the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, comprising The Runes of the Earth, Fatal Revenant, Against All Things Ending, and The Last Dark. Donaldson lives in New Mexico.