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The Horns of Ruin

by Tim Akers (Goodreads Author)

3.42 of 5 stars 3.42 · rating details · 276 ratings · 54 reviews

Eva Forge is the last paladin of a dead God. Morgan, God of battle and champion of the Fraterdom, was assassinated by his jealous brother, Amon. Over time, the Cult of Morgan has been surpassed by other gods, his blessings ignored in favor of brighter technologies and more mechanical miracles. Eva was the last child dedicated to the Cult of Morgan, forsaken by her parents...more

Paperback, 268 pages

Published November 30th 2010 by Pyr (first published November 2nd 2010)

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Jan 24, 2013 Felix Zilich rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk, fantasy

Пересказать Муркока языком Джима Батчера – это нужно иметь определенную наглость. У Тима Акерса её навалом. Он, как и Гарри Дрезден, парень из Чикаго, любит собак, боевую магию и прочую лабуду, поэтому даже из стимпанкового романа сделал не викторианское чаепитие, а богоборческую одиссею с револьвером за поясом.

Несколько столетий назад три брата – Амон Созидатель, Морган Воитель и Александр Целитель – возглавили человечество, сокрушили древнюю империю фейри и построили на её руинах грандиозный м...more Пересказать Муркока языком Джима Батчера – это нужно иметь определенную наглость. У Тима Акерса её навалом. Он, как и Гарри Дрезден, парень из Чикаго, любит собак, боевую магию и прочую лабуду, поэтому даже из стимпанкового романа сделал не викторианское чаепитие, а богоборческую одиссею с револьвером за поясом.

Несколько столетий назад три брата – Амон Созидатель, Морган Воитель и Александр Целитель – возглавили человечество, сокрушили древнюю империю фейри и построили на её руинах грандиозный мегаполис под названием Пепел. Город парил на импеллерах над поверхностью черного озера, в глубинах, которого по преданиям было заточено древнее зло, но это никого не беспокоило, потому что братья уже обрели божественную силу и перестали быть людьми. Амон Инженер создавал для своих подданных гениальные машины – от пулеметов до монорельсов; Морган Воитель сокрушал в степях орды рептилий-ретари и прочих врагов человечества, а Александр – отвечал за работу всей инфраструктуры, от полиции до “скорой помощи”. Эта идиллия продолжалась до тех пор, пока не случилась трагедия: Амон предательски убил своего брата Моргана, за что был схвачен и казнён толпой морганитов. Обезумевшие от горя последователи умершего бога были готовы вырезать всех аммонитов, но Александр, опасаясь, что город останется без инженеров и людей науки, запретил геноцид и попытался восстановить баланс.

Прошло двести лет. Александр – единовластный богоправитель Пепла. Культы его мертвых братьев функционируют и по сей день, но это скорее формальность, чем реальный порядок вещей. Амониты живут в городе на положении рабов. Под пристальным надзором вертухаев они обслуживают все машины и механизмы города. Морганиты, число которых уменьшается с каждым днем, по прежнему бряцают оружием, но это уже никого не впечатляет. Эпоха великих завоеваний ушла в прошлое, а великий Морган давно издох… кому теперь нужны мертвые боги и их шавки?

Ева Форж – последний паладин мертвого бога. “Последний” – потому что никто уже много лет не отдаёт своих детей в храм морганитов. Ева была последней, поэтому она безупречно владеет не только револьвером и клинком, но также рунической боевой магией своего культа. Книга начинается с того, что героиня отправляется в качестве телохранителя главы морганистского братства во время его выхода в город. На обратном пути её подопечного атакует группа киборгов-колдменов и, пока героиня эпически машет мечом и фигачит рунами, старика под шумок похищают.

Через пару часов выясняется, что неизвестные силы пытаются истребить всех оставшихся морганитов. Паладину хочется думать, что это проклятые ученики Амона Предателя, но расследование, проведенное в паре с алексианцем-юстикаром Оуэном Лафеем показывает, что в деле замешаны не только люди, фейри и ретари, но даже вымершие много тысячелетий назад титаны.

Написано простенько - без британских вейрдовых изысков - но зато очень бодряще и борзо. Главная интрига просчитывается на раз-два, но Батчера с Дрезденом я поминал не случайно. Героиня прёт танком на всех, кто встречается по пути, хамит, унижает, выёбывается, обливает своим сектантским рейджем с головы до ног. Я, признаться, боялся, что к финалу героиня либо перебьет всех богов, либо сама станет богом, либо автор придумает еще какую-то дурацкую пошлость. Но Акерс оказался куда умнее. Он мастерски показал путь трансформации героини от слепой фанатички в трушного паладина (что, в принципе, куда страшнее и опаснее)(less)

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Sep 23, 2012 Cheryl Gatling added it

Once upon a time, in a world that wasn't ours, because it also included a race of small gnome-like creatures called the Feyr, and reptilian creatures called the Rethari, there were three brothers, Amon the Scholar (who might better be called Amon the Engineer, because he built complex machines), Morgan the Warrior, and Alexander the Healer. They started out as men, but became gods. Each had his own cult of followers who practiced their leader's special arts. Then the god Amon killed his brother...more Once upon a time, in a world that wasn't ours, because it also included a race of small gnome-like creatures called the Feyr, and reptilian creatures called the Rethari, there were three brothers, Amon the Scholar (who might better be called Amon the Engineer, because he built complex machines), Morgan the Warrior, and Alexander the Healer. They started out as men, but became gods. Each had his own cult of followers who practiced their leader's special arts. Then the god Amon killed his brother Morgan. He was then executed by Alexander, who became sole ruler of the city of Ash. The followers of Amon were imprisoned, but were still used to maintain the machines that Ash depended on. Ash floated on the surface of a lake, and was connected by monotrains that ran on circular paths powered by impellors. The followers of Morgan are dwindling in number. Eva, our heroine is the last Paladin. She is trained in special skills with both sword and gun, but also in "noetic" powers. She, and others who have been trained, can call up power, and do apparent magic, by chanting spells that recite the past deeds of the god. During these chants, the runic characters of the words seem to roll around visibly in the air. But that's all background. Tim Akers manages a great deal of complicated exposition much more smoothly than I have done. The story begins when Eva is escorting the Fratriarch Barnabas through the city streets, and he is kidnapped. She makes it her business to find him if possible, avenge him if necessary, and find out what the heck is going on. Naturally, everyone has secrets, and almost everyone is trying to kill someone else. Eva is a hot-blooded, trigger-happy, fiercely-loyal, trash-talking, independent woman, unable to sit still. Wherever she goes, you can bet it's going to be interesting. As I neared the end I read faster and faster to find out what was going to happen, but at the same time the plot became more and more complex. I couldn't read too fast or I would miss something important. I did say, "Huh?" a few times. But I had picked up this book because I had wanted an escape from depressing current events and history, and that it is. That it is. There is enough shattering glass, buildings falling apart, sword-swinging, fire fights and near-drownings to distract from any number of real troubles. And it just might have something significant to say about the uses and abuses of power in our own world.(less)

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Dec 07, 2010 Ben rated it 4 of 5 stars

The star of this book is the setting, more specifically the world. I can't even begin to tell you the volumes upon volumes of text that I would read if they were set in the world where the city of Ash resides. I don't want to go into too much detail, because part of the fun is discovering all of it yourself, but if you like weird, slightly pulpy but generally awesome world-building, you'll probably like this.

The writing itself is serviceable, and does manage to avoid a number of the idiotic tur...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Dustin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk, fantasy, library-borrowed

Tim Akers creates the world of a dead city seething with life in The Horns of Ruin. The story begins as Eva Forge, the last paladin of the dead god Morgan, escorts the leader of her cult to an appointment which marks the beginning of a quest to fulfill her oath to defend her Order against those who would destroy the last remnants of the dead warrior god's servants. Her quest leads her through the world of Ash, a world of magic and engineering that fuses steampunk and fantasy. And through this re...more Tim Akers creates the world of a dead city seething with life in The Horns of Ruin. The story begins as Eva Forge, the last paladin of the dead god Morgan, escorts the leader of her cult to an appointment which marks the beginning of a quest to fulfill her oath to defend her Order against those who would destroy the last remnants of the dead warrior god's servants. Her quest leads her through the world of Ash, a world of magic and engineering that fuses steampunk and fantasy. And through this realm Eva is hacking, slashing, dodging, and creating a ruckus that would make her god proud.

It is the ruckus Eva creates that evinces she is by far the most fully developed character. The story is told through her eyes and her perspective creates a very believable bias of the world, even if that bias starts to wear thin after a time. She is the stereotypical headstrong sword-leading-the-way warrior - which works for a while but can become tiresome when character development fails to occur. This blade first perception helps provide great focus on the battle scenes and descriptions of warrior mentality but Eva does not show an evolving humanity when interacting with the main supporting characters. The supporting characters suffer from the same flaw to an even greater extent. It seems as if they were pulled out of a bag labeled "Stereotypes" and woven into the story to provide a vessel to contain the theme of the book.

It was the theme which made the book worthwhile. The depictions of battle that fill the book are entertaining and provide great imagery but the meat of the book is the history of the three brothers who became gods and the scions (such as Eva) of those gods. The scions get their magic from the gods as best explained by Barnabas, the Elder of the House of Morgan, when correcting Eva about how her armor works [Eva said the symbol of the armor was the armor]:

"The idea of the armor, you mean. The soul of the armor," he corrected. "We draw on the noetic power of Morgan's armor, and it protects us. We draw on the noetic power of his strength, the greatness of his deeds, the collective memory of his courage."

And there lies the focus of the book. Akers describes himself as the only son of a theologian and that is where his strength lies. The theogony of the three brothers and the world they created is the essence of the story. The political intrigue and fights Eva encounters help to enhance the understanding of the city of Ash and the code of the warrior to which she is bound.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who finds new worlds, new mythologies, and new magics intriguing. It is also a good read for plot hounds but those who cherish character development may be left wanting more. (less)

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Nov 06, 2012 Anyssia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk, mystery-crime-detective, ebook

At first, I wasn't really taken by the book. The first part of it is very wordy, with complicated turn of phrases. Since it's a completely new universe, it's already difficult enough to take in all the new informations, without needing to parse through the metaphors used.

On the other side, there are some very, very nice sentences. Also, the way the religion and magic are created is brilliant. I love (view spoiler)...more

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Feb 14, 2012 Sherie Davis rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the world building in this book. I think most authors would have tried to make this a series and really this book could have been more flushed out and the author could have gone all standard trilogy with it. But he didn't and it was awesome. There were a few things that were difficult like, and this might just be my problem, it took me a while to really get a good feel for what the city Ash looked like. I found myself picturing something in my head only to have it described in a...more

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Aug 26, 2010 Liviu rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010_release_read, genre-fantasy, read_2010

Very disappointing; I had so high hopes for this one after the wonderful Veridon novel and the Horns of Ruin was so linear, unsubtle, lacking nuance, predictable and with a heroine that is "wonder woman on steroids", untouchable and unbeatable with the often repeated "magical" invocations that became so annoying that I would shudder and skip when i encountered them...

Basically Horns of Ruin is a comic strip disguised as a novel and set in a steampunk/fantasy world and the inventiveness of the...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Emily Leathers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, fiction, mvpl, steampunk

Eva is the last Paladin of Morgan, and quite a hand with a full sword. But that's where the connections to typical fantasy end. Eva's world is full of monotrains and guns, and a very enlightened understanding of arcane power.

The book starts off slowly, and with long, long, long descriptions of battle. But it starts and ends in the right places - on the day that changed Eva's life, and right as she resolves that challenge. On a whole I enjoyed the writing style, and the world building was unique...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Michelle rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: books, owned

The Horns of Ruin could have been a fantastic tale of revenge and theological theory in a steampunk world--instead it's a paltry, careless foray into a partial steampunk, magic tinged world that mostly leaves the reader with the question, "Who decided Eva Forge was qualified to be a savior at all?"

I think what I'm most disappointed with in this book is the careless feeling of it--Eva Forge feels like a concoction of a all-powerful female brute and teenage attempts at bad-assery. She doesn't feel...more The Horns of Ruin could have been a fantastic tale of revenge and theological theory in a steampunk world--instead it's a paltry, careless foray into a partial steampunk, magic tinged world that mostly leaves the reader with the question, "Who decided Eva Forge was qualified to be a savior at all?"

I think what I'm most disappointed with in this book is the careless feeling of it--Eva Forge feels like a concoction of a all-powerful female brute and teenage attempts at bad-assery. She doesn't feel realistic or sympathetic or even worth empathy--its as if she's been distilled from a teenagers desperate need for a female warrior without bothering to discover what could lie beneath her shiny, overblown armor. Her hatred, initially justifiable, becomes a hallmark of her character (what little there is). One of the most often used and most often bungled character histories is to have them hate something to the extent of it blindly dictating their actions. While this can be a perfectly relevant character trait, it should never be the only one and it should never be the pervading motive for a character for over half a book. Eva hates the disciples of the God who killed her God, that's fine, but blindly hating them when there is so clearly something else afoot is just poor quality.

Even her back story is uninteresting and unworthy of direct sympathy; what friends she has are never mentioned by name and never appear to show us something more than what Eva appears. She is haughty, arrogant and unwilling to accept help without complaining or lamenting or acting as if she doesn't need it at all while she has it. There's nothing about her to make her more than a teenager in action. As a consequence she lacks the necessary depth to make the reader care for her predicament, her trials and even her eventual triumph. Her fellow characters are similarly challenged and ill-fitted to bring out any further characterization. I, as a reader, simply do not care what happens to her.

What this book does have is pretty writing and an interesting world built about it. Tim Akers is nothing if not good at writing scenic portraits and describing battle sequences with relative dexterity. What he lacks, however, is the necessary depth in his dialog and character interaction to make this novel truly enjoyable. Conversation, when it occurs, feels very much like it was placed only to hurry the story to its next dramatic battle sequence, rather than interwoven with each other. It is as if it is some sort of grand tale wherein only the battle aspects are important and the rest shoved in for page numbers. But dialog is incredibly important in establishing characters and the tone of the story and this is where the book truly suffers. Eva is a battle-maiden and only a battle-maiden; what you see is what you get, and what you get isn't worth the time.

I highly suggest looking elsewhere for your steampunk fix. In The Horns of Ruin, Tim Akers disappoints.(less)

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Jan 14, 2012 Elizabeth Fitzgerald rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed

Ostensibly, this book is steampunk but the technology and the feel didn’t quite match up. It follows the story of Eva Forge, last Paladin of the slain god Morgan, as she battles against the extinction of her religion at the hands of an unknown enemy.

There was quite a bit to like about this book. I found the setting quite vivid and it was easy to picture the individual locations as well as the city of Ash as a whole. The action scenes were also well written. I found they were clear and held suita...more Ostensibly, this book is steampunk but the technology and the feel didn’t quite match up. It follows the story of Eva Forge, last Paladin of the slain god Morgan, as she battles against the extinction of her religion at the hands of an unknown enemy.

There was quite a bit to like about this book. I found the setting quite vivid and it was easy to picture the individual locations as well as the city of Ash as a whole. The action scenes were also well written. I found they were clear and held suitable tension. The concept of the invocations—the remembering of legends of Morgan as a way of invoking his power in specific ways—appealed to me and I particularly liked the way Eva’s later ones changed and grew. Overall, the pace was pretty good and the hooks the author used worked well, for the most part.

However, there were some things that really let this book down. The major one was character. The voices of the different characters were almost indistinguishable; there were times I had to read again to figure out who was saying what. All of them seemed to have the same wise-guy sense of humour. Several characters seemed more a function of the plot than proper three-dimensional people, with a number of them seeming all too willing to trust and forgive Eva despite circumstances. The female characters were unconvincing as females. Yes, Eva was practically raised in a monastery in a warrior tradition by mostly males, but I would have liked to see some vestige of femininity in her, particularly since physical strength is not really an issue. Cassandra was no better, despite her different background and relative passivity—the two of them might just as well have been men.

The plot was somewhat predictable in places; I saw some twists coming from a mile off. And yet there were some parts towards the end that I struggled with the author’s concept of divinity and with what was going on in the grand scheme of things.

Nevertheless, I rather enjoyed the book. The ending was satisfying without being the end; several major threads were left loose for future books. I’m still on the fence as to whether I liked it enough to read any future sequels.
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May 07, 2011 Gina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, steampunk, science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 28, 2011 Amanda rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk

I receieved this book as a thank you gift for being a panelist at the Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition, and to be honest, I expected more. The story was a rather standard pulp fantasy; enjoyable as such, but nothing special. However, I can barely manage to give it the label "steampunk". There was a slight technofantasy aesthetic influence, but beyond that it was all swords, sorcery and monk robes. The writing also irked me: pairing high fantasy language with modern slang and having four de...more

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Mar 20, 2011 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general

I almost gave this book 3 stars instead of 4, but honestly there's something sort of pure and powerful about the story despite the simplicity and occasional awkwardness of the writing. I had to give it more.

It's a full-bore hard-boiled action story set against a backdrop of a world where men became gods and gods were betrayed by their own blood, with steampunk and divine swordplay clashing violently, the story of a dead god's last champion as she struggles to save the remnants of the brotherhood...more

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Dec 31, 2010 Relstuart rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, steampunk

An odd little book I read in an afternoon a last week. I picked it up at the story because the cover art was interesting and bought it on a whim. Story is really a cross between fantasy and Sci-Fi though more fantasy that Sci-Fi. Steam-punk fiction is Victorian alternate reality where Victorian era technology (like Steam power) has been used to create new or current technology in a different way.

This tale follows the last survivor of the followers of Morgan. Someone is out to end their line and...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Adam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, cool-magic, steampunk

Pretty fun, a very fast read. It almost has the feel of a videogame from the 80's; the story is there, the fun is there, but I have no idea what is going on when I come in because no one reads manuals. There's even mention of 'buffing' and such, so the language makes that connection pretty easily. Descriptions are a bit minimal, and sometimes I had trouble getting the right picture in my head of what was going on. Lots of action, with a blurring over of most location descriptions. The magic syst...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Ahimsa rated it 5 of 5 stars

This had all I want in a fantasy book. Good characters, some intrigue, a plot that isn't entirely predictable, a unique setting, and a set up for future happening all add up to a superb story. The best part is the narrative voice. It's told in third person, and the protagonist's voice is consistent and distinctive. Reading this as an adult is like reading David Eddings as a child--it's the same sense of immersion and fun in a new world. I think this book would appeal to those who like Martin, Ro...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Abhinav rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: pyr-books, fantasy, steampunk

Shadowhawk reviews his first ever steampunk-fantasy read and comes away with an interest in reading more.

“Relatively fast paced with some really vivid world-building, this is a novel with a compelling complexity to it that just makes you want to go on reading and not stop.” ~The Founding Fields

The Horns of Ruin is the second novel published by Pyr Books that I’ve read this year and another one that I quite enjoyed reading. When I requested review copies from them, I mostly went by the cover art...more Shadowhawk reviews his first ever steampunk-fantasy read and comes away with an interest in reading more.

“Relatively fast paced with some really vivid world-building, this is a novel with a compelling complexity to it that just makes you want to go on reading and not stop.” ~The Founding Fields

The Horns of Ruin is the second novel published by Pyr Books that I’ve read this year and another one that I quite enjoyed reading. When I requested review copies from them, I mostly went by the cover art of their titles and I really liked Benjamin Carre’s illustration for The Horns of Ruin: it depicts a no-nonsense female protagonist wearing a sheer-cut dress with a sword in one hand and a pistol in another with a couple rocketing bad guys in the background. What’s not to love?

This was a great novel to end my March reading with given how the entire narrative unfolds. Tim Akers was never on my radar before this, but now he most certainly is!

What I really enjoyed, and had great fun reading was the novel’s female protagonist, Eva Forge, the last living Paladin of Morgan, a champion of her god. And the world’s magic system which, hand-in-hand with Eva, really drew me in. Eva is one of the strongest female characters I’ve read ever, such as Arista Essendon from Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations novels, or Jane Carver from Nathan Long’s Jane Carver of Waar. She has a really tough, admirable edge to her and we get to see it aplenty throughout the novel. Perhaps being raised from birth to be a warrior has something to do with it, but in the final count, Eva is as Eva is. She can certainly give the others a run for their money when things get down and dirty and that’s one deathmatch I’d love to see! Sometimes however, she appears a little too masculine for my liking but those parts are very few and far in between. Her boundless energy, and her faith in herself makes her stand apart from the rest of the characters that populate the aptly-named city of Ash.

In terms of characterisation, there aren’t very many memorable characters, although I did like Barnabas who is the Fratriarch of Morgan, and Owen, a Justicar of Alexander who is the only remaining sibling of the three brothers Morgan, Amon and himself. They were both fairly strong in their own ways, with Barnabas being the aged mentor to Eva and Owen being one of her trusted (fairly) allies who learns the truth of things alongside her. But most of the characters did indeed suffer from not being distinct enough from each other. While I enjoyed the novel overall, the characterisation did leave me wanting more because it was one of the weaknesses of it. Good strong protagonists can only take a novel so far before the minor characters have to stand either on their own or support them.

The magic-system that Tim Akers employs is, as far as I know, extremely unique in written fiction. It involves characters such as Eva, Barnabas and the others speaking words or phrases that echo the teachings of their god, one of the three aforementioned brothers, or their histories and then buffing themselves up. I really, really liked that part of the novel. It was like I was playing an RPG while reading a novel! A very unique experience indeed. And Tim keeps it very varied from fight to fight, scene to scene. There are incantations for a lot of different situations for a lot of different purposes. With Morgan being very akin to a war-god, Eva’s buffs were certainly a treat to read and experience. They added a real depth to her scenes whenever she is fighting against the bad guys.

Speaking of action scenes, there was a good variety in them too. No two scenes were alike in that Eva, and her allies when she fights alongside them, are always shown fighting in different environments and against an assortment of foes, many of which are quite deadly and very easily the match for her. They are also described in great detail, which made for a great change of pace from most other novels I’ve read this year. The brutality of those scenes was not ignored either and some of the scenes are really “forceful”. Jane Carver should take not!

You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:

http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/05/...(less)

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Feb 05, 2012 Arati rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: definite-winners

an unexpectedly good read from a new author. The beginning read like the script for a Hollywood action movie...maybe Underworld or something with a mythological theme - all slashing swords and leaps and kicks and multiple fighters.....but Akers managed to hook me, so much so that I found myself skimming over the fight descriptions to know what happened to a key character.

It took me some time to warm to Eva, the main character who is a Paladin of a dead god named Morgan. I found her a bit too stu...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Joe rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steampunk

I did not like this story - I wanted to - and I stuck with it, but it bored me to tears - i kept putting it down - doing something else - and then picking it up again - this is not something I want to try to finish though - one quarter of the book read, and I am bored - I wish that this was a more interesting read - the reviews made it sound great, and I am sure that there is a story in there somewhere, but it seems sporadic and all action without purpose - I must pass on the rest of Tim Akers b...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Bonnie Snowden rated it 3 of 5 stars

In general I liked this book. The voice was unique and a bit short and sometimes hard to understand, but I love the pictures it called to mind. I felt very one with the character. I think with the world and voice of this book it would make a very good movie or miniseries. Very visually impressive. Overall very fun, quick read. People that like this voice should try reading a similar new voice: Ankh, Dunpeal [Generation III]. Its a fantasy about vampires but has a similar voice and visual quality...more

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Jan 04, 2011 Al Billings rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A decent sophomore effort from Tim Akers (I enjoyed his first novel as well). I found the fantasy setting with some steampunk elements interesting, as I did his notion of how the gods and their servants' powers work. That said, the plot was a little predictable and the end did not hold as many surprises as I would like. He seems to be setting up for further books as well. That said, it was still a fun book.

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May 24, 2012 Meaghan rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was actually pretty difficult to get through, but I found it pretty interesting overall. The writing during the action scenes was a bit jumbled, so those were not my favorite parts. I kind of liked Cassandra and Eva, but other than that, the other characters weren't really interesting. I wanted to like this so much more than I actually did, but I'd still like to see what the author comes up with in the future.

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Mar 03, 2012 Allison rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk

I thought this was a really cool premise, but the way the characters talked just struck me weird sometimes... It's written in first person, and there are some references that I think were more the author talking than Eva. The ones I remember most were clothing related -- it just didn't seem to me like the setting was the kind of place to have zippers and t-shirts.

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Jan 01, 2013 Jemima rated it 5 of 5 stars

Picked this up at a book fair, didn't expect much of it. Boy was I wrong. Tim Akers manages to build a detailed, magical steampunk world that's utterly believable. The action never stops, the characters are heroic, but also very honest and have human flaws just the same. You don't want to put this book down up until the last word of the unexpected plot.

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May 14, 2011 ♦Jennifer♦ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, le

Even though it took me awhile to get into The Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers, towards the middle and through to the end I couldn’t get enough. I love the idea of invocations and found it a unique and interesting way for people to be connected to their particular god. What it comes down to, I think, is that Steampunk isn’t nearly as bad as I originally thought it was. Maybe when I next come across a steampunk novel I won’t be so quick to dismiss it.

see the full review at Literary Escapism

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May 17, 2012 Bob rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a pretty neat vision of a world where each civilization builds upon the past. For the mystery involved, I could see some of the big twists ahead of time, but not others. From a fantasy perspective, I especially liked the notion of summoning power based on the tales /exploits of the patron deity.

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Jun 20, 2011 Ryan rated it 3 of 5 stars

An interesting view on the Paladin. Imagine your gods were men once only to ascend and when your god dies: well things get rough. Set in a steam punk fantasy world the last Paladin of the god of war must use her sword and gun to save the city along side unlikely allies.

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Aug 16, 2012 Psychophant rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, reviewed

This is an excellent book, much more to my liking than the Veridon series.

It reminded me of Zelazny in having human/superhuman characters, and yet letting us relate to them. It is also a well rounded tale, leaving matters open but answering all the important questions.

The only nitpick, almost unimportant but more noticeable due to the excellent writing are the names. The naming convention seems random, with no concern to their origin or meaning. That annoys me excessively.

The worldbuilding is im...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Ashley rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 07, 2011 Jen Schiller rated it 3 of 5 stars

I loved the concept of this book, and I really, really, really wanted to love the book. Unfortunately, I just didn't. I was about 2/3 of the way through it before the story/characters grabbed me, and then it was over--leaving an obvious cliffhanger for a sequel. Think I'll skip it, though.

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About Tim Akers

Tim Akers was born in deeply rural North Carolina, the only son of a theologian. He moved to Chicago for college, where he lives with his wife of thirteen years and their German shepherd. He splits his time between databases and fountain pens.
- PyrSF

More about Tim Akers...

Books by Tim Akers

Dark Kingdom of Jade Adventures (Wraith - the Oblivion)

Short Stories for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context and Criticism on Commonly Studied Short Stories

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