COVER REVEAL
LEGACY OF A HATED GOD by Patrick Samphire
Nik Thorn should know better than to get involved with gods.
But when a priest of a hated god asks Nik to save his life, Nik can hardly refuse, particularly when the priest knows exactly how, where, when, and why he is going to be killed.
How hard can it be?
Of course, that’s not Nik’s only problem. When is it ever? A god has been murdered, the city’s high mages are about to go to war, and fury is rising in the streets.
Agatos will burn.
The Before We Go Team is delighted to host another stunning cover reveal, this time for SPFBO Finalist and BBNYA Finalist Patrick Samphire and his Mennik Thorn series! I asked Patrick if he wanted to add a few words about this fourth instalment in his series and now that I know the ups and downs of Patrick’s journey to bring Nik to live, I have to say I’m humbled and honoured to be a part of this final instalment. But I’ll let Patrick speak for himself:
Legacy of a Hated God is the final book in the series that launched with Shadow of a Dead God in May 2020, just as the pandemic was really hitting home for the first (but not last) time. In fact, I did the final edit of Shadow while feverish with a Covid infection that, a week later, saw me off to hospital in the back of an ambulance. Dramatic times. All I can say is that I would not have chosen to launch a book in this way or at that time. The following books, Nectar for the God and Strange Cargo, were written during lockdowns and illnesses. Legacy of a Hated God, in fact, has the distinction of being the only book in the series to be written during relatively normal times.
Those were the downs, and they were downs for all of us, with many people suffering far more than I did. At least I got to escape into a world of fantasy, channelling myself into a snarky, doing-his-best, second-rate mage.
When I decided to publish these books myself, I didn’t really know anyone in the self-publishing community. I didn’t know many reviewers or bloggers or readers or indie writers. But over the last three or four years, they’ve become my people, a great community full of mutual support, encouragement, and frequently obscene senses of humour. I’m tempted to end this by saying that this parallels Nik’s journey across the books, from a lone, mostly friendless mage not doing well in his world, to one who is part of a supportive community, but that’s stretching it a bit, and I can’t quite bring myself to go there.
Shadow of a Dead God and its sequels have received an awful lot of love from an awful lot of people, which is something I really didn’t expect, and which started when Shadow reached the finals of the SPFBO contest. I’m sad in many ways to bring Nik’s journey to an end. But there are more stories to tell, and I think Legacy of a Hated God is a good place to end this one. I hope you’ll agree, too.
I’ll go there. Patrick, we are lucky to have you in this community as a writer and someone who supports the people around him. We are made stronger richer by your generosity and your determination. I’m going to get emotional, so back to this gorgeous cover! Ready? Let’s go!
Isn’t it amazing?! LEGACY OF A HATED GOD is the fourth and final book in the Mennik Thorn series, which started with SHADOW OF A DEAD GOD, then continued with NECTAR FOR THE GOD, then STRANGE CARGO.
Publication date: November 2, 2023 – be sure to add it on Goodreads!
Preorder link: https://books2read.com/LegacyGod
Cover artist: Ömer Burak Önal (https://www.artstation.com/equin0)
Cover design: 50 Seconds North (https://www.50secondsnorth.com/)
