Servant of a Dark God by John Brown

Brown, John Servant of a Dark God, 442 p. TOR, 2009.  $25.99.  Violence: PG-13 (on par with most fantasy novels).  Talen – half Mokkadian (the rulers) and half Koramite (the ruled) - has always lived his life divided between his two worlds.  Since his Mokaddian mother died, however, things have become a little less ordered and alot more stressed.  When evidence of soul-eaters is discovered, Talen is very eager to prove his worth to the community and clear his family of blame by catching the dark servants.  Instead, however, he will find that life is many shades of grey and there are more enemies than anyone knew existed – and friends in unexpected places.  Brown is a welcome addition to the fantasy genre – his writing contains depths akin to Modesitt, Brooks and Michelle West.  This looks to be part of a series – I can only hope that Brown’s imagination is prolific – as I very much look forward to reading his work for years to come.  (Confession – I actually read this through twice in a row, because there were so many details to enjoy and absorb). HS – ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher