What do you think?
Rate this book
Nihilian Effect Lore #2
Naming the Bane
A standalone story set in the world of Nihilian Effect.
Cursed from birth, Daggis travels with a caravan of misfits and outcasts, fleeing a goddess hellbent on their destruction. He does what he can to protect his family, but when the caravan is raided by the goddess's army, one man can only do so much.
This story is just a glimpse at the universe that is Nihilian Effect. Over the years, it has been expanding into something more compelling than I could ever have hoped for. I wrote this story in a way that it could be read standalone, but it is an introductory piece to a much larger puzzle. Expect much more to come. This universe is vast and still has plenty of room to grow.
Cursed from birth, Daggis travels with a caravan of misfits and outcasts, fleeing a goddess hellbent on their destruction. He does what he can to protect his family, but when the caravan is raided by the goddess's army, one man can only do so much.
This story is just a glimpse at the universe that is Nihilian Effect. Over the years, it has been expanding into something more compelling than I could ever have hoped for. I wrote this story in a way that it could be read standalone, but it is an introductory piece to a much larger puzzle. Expect much more to come. This universe is vast and still has plenty of room to grow.
78 pages, ebook
First published March 10, 2013
2 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Kal S. Davian
9 books26 followersKal S. Davian is an author, gamer, disc-golfer, and physics enthusiast. He grew up in Wisconsin's Fox Cities surrounded by science fiction and fantasy stories. When he isn't writing, he spends much of his time with his family or learning new things.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 28, 2018
Naming the Bane is part of the Nihilian Effect Lore; it was written by Kal S. Davian, and published in 2013. It is not the first of the series, but the novellas are all stand alone so far, so I started with Naming the Bane. The book follows Daggis as he is trying to survive being persecuted by the goddess for being one of the many cursed humans left after the war. The curse left different people with different features and abilities, from tails, to the ability to shadow walk, as Daggis can. This ability/curse comes in handy when the goddess’ army catches up to the caravan of the cursed outcasts. Unfortunately it is not enough to save everyone. Without giving too much away, Daggis is left with the seemingly impossible task of catching the Goddess’ army and confronting them. He gets help along the way, but things certainly do not always go smoothly; there is no way around it, the story starts in not the happiest of places or times, and goes rapidly downhill from there. It is a dark story. That being said, the story has some genuinely cool moments, and the darkness does not take away the fun.
The strength of the story is the setting. This is a world that I want to revisit. The caravan part of the story is over all to fast, but it lead on to us meeting some memorable characters, most of all the gloom-beast Namu. The story made a good Novella, but it could have easily been a full Novel. My only real complaint is that it felt a bit like more attention was given to the start of the story than to the last bit. Once the action began at the climax of the story, things started to feel a little rushed and chaotic. Granted, the story itself was chaotic at that point, so it reflects what is happening, but the denouement could have been cleaned up a little.
Overall, my chief complaint was that it was short. That shows the draw of the world that Davian has created: the couple of hours it takes to read the story is not enough! I want to spend weeks in that place getting to know Namu and Daggis more, hitching a ride with the Caravan, and chasing after the goddess for revenge! As you can see, it is a fun read, a good story, and best of all, a world you want to return to. I am excited to read more by Davian and look forward to coming Novels.
The strength of the story is the setting. This is a world that I want to revisit. The caravan part of the story is over all to fast, but it lead on to us meeting some memorable characters, most of all the gloom-beast Namu. The story made a good Novella, but it could have easily been a full Novel. My only real complaint is that it felt a bit like more attention was given to the start of the story than to the last bit. Once the action began at the climax of the story, things started to feel a little rushed and chaotic. Granted, the story itself was chaotic at that point, so it reflects what is happening, but the denouement could have been cleaned up a little.
Overall, my chief complaint was that it was short. That shows the draw of the world that Davian has created: the couple of hours it takes to read the story is not enough! I want to spend weeks in that place getting to know Namu and Daggis more, hitching a ride with the Caravan, and chasing after the goddess for revenge! As you can see, it is a fun read, a good story, and best of all, a world you want to return to. I am excited to read more by Davian and look forward to coming Novels.
February 24, 2015
I absolutely loved Naming the Bane. Unlike my review for Branding of a Heretic, I don't really have any gripes about this novelette. This time around, the book takes place roughly 2000 years before the first and still managed to link the stories together in a way. In the story, we meet a new hero, his friends, his family and the main villain. I wouldn't want to give anything away, but there is a lot of excitement in this installation and I am looking forward seeing more of the hero in the future as well as looking forward to the next book, Casting Rights. Naming the Bane is a book I definitely recommend.
September 6, 2016
This is considered Book II, coming after Branding of a Heretic. While I had a few issues with Book I, I absolutely adored this story! Daggis is a man fighting for control, but when the caravan he's traveling with is attacked by the army, he not only loses control, he revels in his anger.
Daggis is a likable character from the start. While he goes down a dark road and refuses to turn back, the things that he's gone through makes him way too sympathetic to dislike. In fact, I cheered him on!
I can't wait to read more! This has landed on my must-read list at kcgray (dot) com.
Daggis is a likable character from the start. While he goes down a dark road and refuses to turn back, the things that he's gone through makes him way too sympathetic to dislike. In fact, I cheered him on!
I can't wait to read more! This has landed on my must-read list at kcgray (dot) com.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews