Temple of No God by H M Long

I would like to thank Titan Books for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Titan

Published – 25/1

Price – £8.99 paperback £6.64 kindle eBook

After a brutal war between the gods, Hessa – High Priestess of the Eangen – has brokered a fragile peace. Through great sacrifice, she has forged an alliance between warring tribes and introduced her people to the true god.

But a new threat is growing across the southern border. In the remnants of the once-great Arpa Empire, three factions are vying for the imperial throne, and the vast well of raw magical power only accessible to the Arpa Emperor. Already beating back former Arpa legionaries at her borders, Hessa knows she cannot let this chance slip by. She must intervene, for the safety of her people.

With the peace she has sacrificed so much for at stake, Hessa must venture into the heart of enemy territory, where warring Arpa factions are not the only danger she must face. A sinister new cult is on the rise, one with the power to suck the life from everything it touches. With enemies on every side and her fragile alliance beginning to waver, Hessa must decide who to trust – no matter what it may cost her…

For many years Fantasy has had a standard format a giant story split into normally at least three volumes but all giving just one sequential tale. But series can mean different things. Terry Pratchett’s discworld is a more gently evolving world with long-standing characters but rarely connected storylines; while in Adrian Selby’s fantasy series has decade long time jumps between books exploring long term im pact on a world. Last year I was amazingly wowed by Hall of Smoke by H M Long with a tale of warring clans that turned into battling empires and overturning of various gods. Now we return to the world ten years later in Temple of No God to see how this world has moved on since.

We first met Hessia in Hall of Smoke as a young warrior/priestess finding her entire clan either dead or imprisoned but after leading a rebellion she managed to unite the long warring Algatt and Eangen people against the southern Arpan empire. (Imagine a fantasy version of northern Vikings versus Romans but each side had their own feuding Gods too). Now a decade has passed, and the northern people have prospered and become a force to be reckoned with. Hessia is now a leader in an alliance of a marriage with Algatt priest Imnir (although the relationship is a often frosty one). Hessia though gets two signs that all is not well in the world, A raid reveals some sinister priests with their own magic and a mysterious new god known as Laru in Arpa is supporting them; then Hessia is offered to do a deal with one of three feuding groups in Arpa battling to be Emperor – secure the seat of power and they could be left alone by the Empire as well as get more power for their own people. Hessia, Inmir and a small group of warriors, head into danger where further surprises are in store.

I’m going to say I’m not convinced this could work completely as a great starting point for new readers. A lot of the story calls straight back to the events of ten years earlier. There is a regular recap of key points, but it may feel for a new reader a little confusing. However, Hall of Smoke was one of the best debuts of 2021 so if you did get around to it there is a huge amount to enjoy; and this establishes H M Long as a name to watch in the fantasy genre.

The centre piece is Hessia and here we get something we just don’t have enough of in fantasy a mature leading female character and she is a breath of fresh air. If in the first story she was a warrior learning about the world we now have a character who is listened to, feared and commands as well as fights. The northern people do not have issues with women fighting so she is equally as deadly as any men with her two axes and various weapons on top of that the ability to break any magical curse. She is smart, capable, flexible when circumstances change and brave leading her warrior’s attacks from the front. What I really did appreciate is you can definitely tell this is Hessia from the book, but you can feel the years and weight of responsibility has changed her and in particular she is confident rather than cocky – be that with her peers in the North or negotiating with soldiers and would be emperors in the South. More characters like this please in fantasy.

The other key aspect is if Hall of Smoke was about a revolution and war of the gods this deals with upheaval and the intrigues that spring up. In a fantasy world where most gods were killed what comes next? Prepare for demons, vengeful gods, and creepy child ghosts. Long has built this world where the magical world and the physical overlap and impact each other be it strange areas of dead land or mysterious powers gained if you cross into the realm of the gods. It’s a world where the humans are still unsure of the rules now that their gods no longer have full control and that does create uncertainty for everyone trying to work out who is pulling the strings and Long gives these scenes a nice eerie ethereal feel to them.

The intrigue is also with the politics – can these southern lands be trusted and also has the peace Hessia and Inmir negotiated still solid ten years into it? It’s bad enough knowing your enemies are in front of you but they could also be armed and right next to you. It creates the air of a fledgling new world that could easily go wrong for this small expedition. While last time Hessia at least knew the land and her people’s ways but with Arpa it is all quite unfamiliar, and this is where the story does aid new readers as they feel Hessia’s confusion and suspicion on top. But of course talking isn’t aways likely to end things in fantasy and then we get raids, battles and hand to hand combat. Long writes action scenes with energy, tactics and blood which keep you engaged and gives us a pacy read.

Temple of No God is a well plotted and refreshing adventure with a definitely engaging and fascinating lead in the form of Hessia. This near familiar version of ancient Europe subtly altered with different traditions, magics and gods is inventive and full of wonder. There are hints more stories in this world could come to pass but whatever comes next I think Long is now definitely established in modern fantasy and I advise you to give these books your attention if you’ve not yet realised what you’re missing! Recommended!