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Looking Glass Gods #1
Idol of Bone
One stranger seeks to claim her heart…another is destined to destroy her.
Looking Glass Gods, Book 1
Ra. Just two letters. Barely a breath. When she stumbles into the frozen Haethfalt highlands, her name is all she has—the last remnant of a past she’s managed to keep hidden, even from herself. Her magic, however, isn’t so easy to conceal—magic that’s the province of the Meer, an illicit race to which she can’t possibly belong.
The eccentric carpenter who takes her in provides a welcome distraction from the puzzle of herself. Though Jak refuses to identify as either male or female, the unmistakable spark of desire between them leaves Ra determined to find out what lies beneath the enigmatic exterior.
But more dangerous secrets are brewing underneath the wintry moors. Jak’s closest friend, Ahr, is haunted by his own unspeakable past. Bounty hunters seeking fugitive Meer refuse to leave him in peace.
Harboring feelings for both Ra and Ahr, Jak nonetheless struggles to keep them apart. Because like the sun and the moon coming together, their inevitable reunion has the potential to destroy Jak’s whole world.
Warning: Shape-shifting? That’s so last millennium. Reincarnation? Yawn. Get ready for a gender-bending fantasy that will fire your imagination and haunt your dreams.
Looking Glass Gods, Book 1
Ra. Just two letters. Barely a breath. When she stumbles into the frozen Haethfalt highlands, her name is all she has—the last remnant of a past she’s managed to keep hidden, even from herself. Her magic, however, isn’t so easy to conceal—magic that’s the province of the Meer, an illicit race to which she can’t possibly belong.
The eccentric carpenter who takes her in provides a welcome distraction from the puzzle of herself. Though Jak refuses to identify as either male or female, the unmistakable spark of desire between them leaves Ra determined to find out what lies beneath the enigmatic exterior.
But more dangerous secrets are brewing underneath the wintry moors. Jak’s closest friend, Ahr, is haunted by his own unspeakable past. Bounty hunters seeking fugitive Meer refuse to leave him in peace.
Harboring feelings for both Ra and Ahr, Jak nonetheless struggles to keep them apart. Because like the sun and the moon coming together, their inevitable reunion has the potential to destroy Jak’s whole world.
Warning: Shape-shifting? That’s so last millennium. Reincarnation? Yawn. Get ready for a gender-bending fantasy that will fire your imagination and haunt your dreams.
306 pages, Paperback
First published February 24, 2015
2 people are currently reading
554 people want to read
About the author
Jane Kindred
33 books179 followersJane Kindred is the author of epic fantasy series The House of Arkhangel’sk, Demons of Elysium, and Looking Glass Gods. She spent her formative years ruining her eyes reading romance novels in the Tucson sun and watching Star Trek marathons in the dark. She now writes to the sound of San Francisco foghorns while two cats slowly but surely edge her off the side of the bed.
You can find Jane on Facebook, Twitter, and her website, www.janekindred.com.
You can find Jane on Facebook, Twitter, and her website, www.janekindred.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 4, 2015
REVIEWED BY DAN
I’m truly at a loss of where to start on this one. Did I like it? Yes. Was it a good story? Yes. Did it confuse the everlasting HELL out of me? Yes. I was so confused, as the author intended, on what gender most of the characters were that at times I had to actually stop and think about it for a minute! And that didn’t include the character of Jak, who refuses to identify as either gender.
When the book begins, we meet a woman named Ra. She awakens naked, in a snow storm, not having any idea where she is. The only thing she does know was that it was a lot warmer when she died. So ok, with that line, I was kind of hooked.
Ra, it turns out is some sort of sorceress because she conjures up a fur coat and boots before she heads for the lights she can see in the distance. Getting to the village she meets Jak, who as I mentioned above, refuses to identify as either gender, and is currently celibate. Jak takes Ra home to the shared, mainly underground, home of Jak’s family, where Ra is accepted. But strange things happen when Ra conjures other items. Jak tells her to stop because the only people with those sorts of powers are the Meer, a race that was wiped out thirteen years before in a massacre, known as “The Expurgation”. Meer hunters still search for any remaining members of the race that escaped.
Also living in the village is Ahr, a man from the Delta region where the Meer lived. He isn’t a Meer, but what is he exactly? Ahr is hiding a huge secret, and the secret involves the former incarnation of Ra. And why are the Meer hunters visiting Ahr?
Jak takes Ahr to a close town to buy supplies. While there Ahr meets Cree a woman he knew in his past in the Delta. Cree and her female lover, Ume, have run from the horrors of the past and taken refuge in the far north as well. Cree and Ume are hiding a secret that few know about Ume as well. Something that would be illegal in the newly “Meer free” south.
When Ahr and Ra finally meet, sparks fly and Ra takes off into a snowstorm by herself. Her flight sets off a chain of events that will lead the length of the land and draw everyone back to the city that both Ra and Ahr have fled.
The book was well written and well edited. If you had asked me half way through if I was going to read the sequel, I more than likely would have said no. I was sooooo confused. Reading the end of the book, I’d have to change my answer to yes. If you’re looking for an m/m romance, skip this one because it won’t be what you’re looking for. There is even some talk about girly bits, though not a lot.
I recommend the book. If gender fluidity is your thing, it will be right up your alley. Be prepared to be confused, particularly in the first third of the book. But hold on, it all comes together eventually!
A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review. Please visit www.lovebytesreviews.com to see this and many more reviews, author interviews, guestposts and giveaways!
I’m truly at a loss of where to start on this one. Did I like it? Yes. Was it a good story? Yes. Did it confuse the everlasting HELL out of me? Yes. I was so confused, as the author intended, on what gender most of the characters were that at times I had to actually stop and think about it for a minute! And that didn’t include the character of Jak, who refuses to identify as either gender.
When the book begins, we meet a woman named Ra. She awakens naked, in a snow storm, not having any idea where she is. The only thing she does know was that it was a lot warmer when she died. So ok, with that line, I was kind of hooked.
Ra, it turns out is some sort of sorceress because she conjures up a fur coat and boots before she heads for the lights she can see in the distance. Getting to the village she meets Jak, who as I mentioned above, refuses to identify as either gender, and is currently celibate. Jak takes Ra home to the shared, mainly underground, home of Jak’s family, where Ra is accepted. But strange things happen when Ra conjures other items. Jak tells her to stop because the only people with those sorts of powers are the Meer, a race that was wiped out thirteen years before in a massacre, known as “The Expurgation”. Meer hunters still search for any remaining members of the race that escaped.
Also living in the village is Ahr, a man from the Delta region where the Meer lived. He isn’t a Meer, but what is he exactly? Ahr is hiding a huge secret, and the secret involves the former incarnation of Ra. And why are the Meer hunters visiting Ahr?
Jak takes Ahr to a close town to buy supplies. While there Ahr meets Cree a woman he knew in his past in the Delta. Cree and her female lover, Ume, have run from the horrors of the past and taken refuge in the far north as well. Cree and Ume are hiding a secret that few know about Ume as well. Something that would be illegal in the newly “Meer free” south.
When Ahr and Ra finally meet, sparks fly and Ra takes off into a snowstorm by herself. Her flight sets off a chain of events that will lead the length of the land and draw everyone back to the city that both Ra and Ahr have fled.
The book was well written and well edited. If you had asked me half way through if I was going to read the sequel, I more than likely would have said no. I was sooooo confused. Reading the end of the book, I’d have to change my answer to yes. If you’re looking for an m/m romance, skip this one because it won’t be what you’re looking for. There is even some talk about girly bits, though not a lot.
I recommend the book. If gender fluidity is your thing, it will be right up your alley. Be prepared to be confused, particularly in the first third of the book. But hold on, it all comes together eventually!
A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review. Please visit www.lovebytesreviews.com to see this and many more reviews, author interviews, guestposts and giveaways!
September 10, 2015
Featured on All Our Worlds!
Idol of Bone is a dark and complicated story set in places that span from rich temples to cozy underground villages to the hopeless shadowed streets.
Ra comes in existence on a snowy night. She is welcomed by the Moundholder villagers, including Jak, who rejects gender and doesn't use pronouns, and Ahr, who has a dark past of his own that intertwines with Ra's former life.
Ra is one of the Meer, a race once treated as gods for their ability to conjure matter out of thin air. The Meer were exterminated in an uprising by the Deltan people, and Meerhunters still roam the country looking for remainders- looking for Ra.
Delving any further into the plot would involve spoilers, so I'll move on to the gender diversity in the book.
Jak is agender and pansexual, and the Moundholders don't seem to object to any of that. They might think Jak's lack of gender is unusual, but they still respect it. The townspeople have stricter gender roles. When the lesbian couple in the book, Ume and Cree, are in public, Cree dresses as a man. Her partner, Ume, is trans, and apparently passes as a woman to most people. The people of the Delta, the society Ume and Cree fled from, have laws about gender presentation and treat any "transgression" as a crime.
Gender is treated as an important part of identity. The antagonist raises a child slave as "it", stealing the child's identity. Rediscovering gender is crucial to this character's development. But gender isn't required to be a person- Jak's choice to go without it is just as valid.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy and seeing where the characters go from here.
Idol of Bone is a dark and complicated story set in places that span from rich temples to cozy underground villages to the hopeless shadowed streets.
Ra comes in existence on a snowy night. She is welcomed by the Moundholder villagers, including Jak, who rejects gender and doesn't use pronouns, and Ahr, who has a dark past of his own that intertwines with Ra's former life.
Ra is one of the Meer, a race once treated as gods for their ability to conjure matter out of thin air. The Meer were exterminated in an uprising by the Deltan people, and Meerhunters still roam the country looking for remainders- looking for Ra.
Delving any further into the plot would involve spoilers, so I'll move on to the gender diversity in the book.
Jak is agender and pansexual, and the Moundholders don't seem to object to any of that. They might think Jak's lack of gender is unusual, but they still respect it. The townspeople have stricter gender roles. When the lesbian couple in the book, Ume and Cree, are in public, Cree dresses as a man. Her partner, Ume, is trans, and apparently passes as a woman to most people. The people of the Delta, the society Ume and Cree fled from, have laws about gender presentation and treat any "transgression" as a crime.
Gender is treated as an important part of identity. The antagonist raises a child slave as "it", stealing the child's identity. Rediscovering gender is crucial to this character's development. But gender isn't required to be a person- Jak's choice to go without it is just as valid.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy and seeing where the characters go from here.
March 7, 2015
Review can be read at It's About The Book
I don’t even know where to start. This was a complex fantasy tale of lust, love, heartbreak, and social upheaval. Ra came alive blissfully unaware of her past. Ahr was all too aware of his past. When they reunited it didn’t go well. They have ample reasons to hate each other, but they’re still drawn to each other. They are the most important people in each other’s lives and the reason is horrible. They shared a child and brought about their own ruinations. Of course, Jak likes both of them, and both of them like Jak in return. There is a bit of a love triangle going on there. As all that trauma is going on, we also learn of the hardships faced by Cree and Ume. Cree, Ume, and Ahr were revolutionaries. They helped bring down the Meerist governments. They didn’t realize how revolting revolution could be, nor did they realize the real power wasn’t really on the throne. What all these people still don’t realize is there is a young child in need of help who ties them all together.
It’s pretty safe to say I hated this book. And that’s a good thing. Had the characters been less well formed or situations less well described I would have shrugged off the murder of a child, the sort of rape of a young woman, the torture of another child, the persecution of people of varying sexualities, and genocide. I was left feeling I was bearing witness to a carnival of horrors. I didn’t enjoy it. Add to that I really hate love triangles. Like, seriously. So, I feel I need to explain that the very fact this book was well written was what made it so easy for me to hate. I hated this well crafted story.
What I found absolutely fascinating was the ways in which the power of words was explored in this story. The Meer could literally create and destroy with a simple word. They held the populace under their sway, knowing their whole lives could be changed on a whim. The flip side of the Meeric power with words is the way words fuel an angry and downtrodden populace. The words bolster the people and gradually become more extreme until both the words and the people are violent. That all made sense and in some ways I expected it. What I found very interesting was the regret. Ra and Ahr couldn’t take back the actions precipitated by their words. They had no choice but to live with their regret. It wasn’t pretty.
Overall this book was horribly depressing. I felt there was no respite from the horrible things the characters were experiencing or remembering. I imagine those will come in time, but I don’t think I’ll continue with the series to find out.
I don’t even know where to start. This was a complex fantasy tale of lust, love, heartbreak, and social upheaval. Ra came alive blissfully unaware of her past. Ahr was all too aware of his past. When they reunited it didn’t go well. They have ample reasons to hate each other, but they’re still drawn to each other. They are the most important people in each other’s lives and the reason is horrible. They shared a child and brought about their own ruinations. Of course, Jak likes both of them, and both of them like Jak in return. There is a bit of a love triangle going on there. As all that trauma is going on, we also learn of the hardships faced by Cree and Ume. Cree, Ume, and Ahr were revolutionaries. They helped bring down the Meerist governments. They didn’t realize how revolting revolution could be, nor did they realize the real power wasn’t really on the throne. What all these people still don’t realize is there is a young child in need of help who ties them all together.
It’s pretty safe to say I hated this book. And that’s a good thing. Had the characters been less well formed or situations less well described I would have shrugged off the murder of a child, the sort of rape of a young woman, the torture of another child, the persecution of people of varying sexualities, and genocide. I was left feeling I was bearing witness to a carnival of horrors. I didn’t enjoy it. Add to that I really hate love triangles. Like, seriously. So, I feel I need to explain that the very fact this book was well written was what made it so easy for me to hate. I hated this well crafted story.
What I found absolutely fascinating was the ways in which the power of words was explored in this story. The Meer could literally create and destroy with a simple word. They held the populace under their sway, knowing their whole lives could be changed on a whim. The flip side of the Meeric power with words is the way words fuel an angry and downtrodden populace. The words bolster the people and gradually become more extreme until both the words and the people are violent. That all made sense and in some ways I expected it. What I found very interesting was the regret. Ra and Ahr couldn’t take back the actions precipitated by their words. They had no choice but to live with their regret. It wasn’t pretty.
Overall this book was horribly depressing. I felt there was no respite from the horrible things the characters were experiencing or remembering. I imagine those will come in time, but I don’t think I’ll continue with the series to find out.
February 20, 2015
I found this book a little hard to get into at first. There are lots of short, sharp scenes that switched quickly from one character to another, making it a tricky to figure out what was happening at times, especially when two completely new characters seem thrown in without much reason. However, I stuck with it and I’m glad I did, because this is a complicated, clever fantasy tale where gender-bending is just the most obvious reason for not judging things as they appear on the surface.
Ra is a strange character, unformed and innocent in the beginning. She doesn’t know anything but her name and her ability to conjure things from thin air just by saying the word. Since there’s very little to her I didn’t much care what happened to her at the first, but as her memories start to return her story slowly reveals itself to be ever more intricate and troubled. There is so much potential in her and the many things she might do that she made a very compelling character to read about, even if I never felt able to like her. There’s always just something too other about her to ever warm to – for me, anyway.
Then there’s Ahr. Now he was complicated. His past, his present, his pain and guilt. Of all the characters he was the one I found most interesting. He’s not always the most likable, but I always wanted to know what would happen next and felt bad for the things that had happened to him. Except when it came to Jak.
I never did understand why everyone fell in love with Jak. Of all the characters Jak is the one who seems to have struggled the least, for all that Jak refuses to be assigned a gender, which has mostly been met with acceptance amongst the people Jak knows. Instead it’s Jak who seems to have caused others pain by messing around, bed-hopping and announcing sudden celibacy vows, but only when it suits Jak. Everyone else seems more concerned about Jak’s feelings than the pain Jak causes by constantly switching affections and setting sudden limits on various relationships. I don’t think Jak treats Ahr very well at all, which was yet another reason for me to like Ahr more and Jak less.
Luckily away from that angry, guilt and grief-ridden triangle of friendships and relationships, there was Ume and Cree. Although at first they seemed like a random inclusion at best, only brushing against the other characters in the briefest of encounters, as their story unfurled it slowly wove into the wider plot and became fascinating. Best of all, though, is their relationship – so sweet and lovely. In a book where sex seems to be largely destructive or empty, their relationship is uncomplicated and strong. While Jak’s running around confessing love to all and sundry, and hearing it in return, it was Ume and Cree’s love that actually felt real. It’s far from straightforward, of course, because nothing in this book is as it seems, but that doesn’t mean it was any less lovely. They were the ones I worried about and cared if they made it through to the end.
Add in the mysterious Meerchild, the creepy Shiva and some other extra nasties and this story becomes about so much more than a lost woman found in the snow. Instead it has politics, machinations, uprisings and manipulations, bad decisions, dangerous lust and a crushing loss of innocence, not to mention a surfeit of guilt, anger and major consequences, with the added perils of love, loss and longing. I actually liked few of the characters, but the action and plot was so fascinating I just had to keep reading, wanting to see what would happen, who would succeed, who would fail and whether retribution and revenge would truly be gained.
A compelling read in a clever fantasy world. I’m definitely intrigued enough to read more, if only to see how things with Pearl turn out. If you like complicated plots that might start small, but end up big and bold, set in a detailed world and that isn’t afraid to view things from many different angles and in many different ways, then you will probably like this.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)
Ra is a strange character, unformed and innocent in the beginning. She doesn’t know anything but her name and her ability to conjure things from thin air just by saying the word. Since there’s very little to her I didn’t much care what happened to her at the first, but as her memories start to return her story slowly reveals itself to be ever more intricate and troubled. There is so much potential in her and the many things she might do that she made a very compelling character to read about, even if I never felt able to like her. There’s always just something too other about her to ever warm to – for me, anyway.
Then there’s Ahr. Now he was complicated. His past, his present, his pain and guilt. Of all the characters he was the one I found most interesting. He’s not always the most likable, but I always wanted to know what would happen next and felt bad for the things that had happened to him. Except when it came to Jak.
I never did understand why everyone fell in love with Jak. Of all the characters Jak is the one who seems to have struggled the least, for all that Jak refuses to be assigned a gender, which has mostly been met with acceptance amongst the people Jak knows. Instead it’s Jak who seems to have caused others pain by messing around, bed-hopping and announcing sudden celibacy vows, but only when it suits Jak. Everyone else seems more concerned about Jak’s feelings than the pain Jak causes by constantly switching affections and setting sudden limits on various relationships. I don’t think Jak treats Ahr very well at all, which was yet another reason for me to like Ahr more and Jak less.
Luckily away from that angry, guilt and grief-ridden triangle of friendships and relationships, there was Ume and Cree. Although at first they seemed like a random inclusion at best, only brushing against the other characters in the briefest of encounters, as their story unfurled it slowly wove into the wider plot and became fascinating. Best of all, though, is their relationship – so sweet and lovely. In a book where sex seems to be largely destructive or empty, their relationship is uncomplicated and strong. While Jak’s running around confessing love to all and sundry, and hearing it in return, it was Ume and Cree’s love that actually felt real. It’s far from straightforward, of course, because nothing in this book is as it seems, but that doesn’t mean it was any less lovely. They were the ones I worried about and cared if they made it through to the end.
Add in the mysterious Meerchild, the creepy Shiva and some other extra nasties and this story becomes about so much more than a lost woman found in the snow. Instead it has politics, machinations, uprisings and manipulations, bad decisions, dangerous lust and a crushing loss of innocence, not to mention a surfeit of guilt, anger and major consequences, with the added perils of love, loss and longing. I actually liked few of the characters, but the action and plot was so fascinating I just had to keep reading, wanting to see what would happen, who would succeed, who would fail and whether retribution and revenge would truly be gained.
A compelling read in a clever fantasy world. I’m definitely intrigued enough to read more, if only to see how things with Pearl turn out. If you like complicated plots that might start small, but end up big and bold, set in a detailed world and that isn’t afraid to view things from many different angles and in many different ways, then you will probably like this.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)
June 3, 2015
>Book Review – Idol of Bone –
>This is the first book in the Looking Glass Gods series. This story takes place in a strange land after the gods, or Meers, are supposedly all destroyed.
>Ra shows up with no memory and meets cave dwellers Jak and family and Ahr. There is a lot of sexual attraction in this story and a lot of gender trickery. The author goes to great lengths to make this novel gender free, but the story just ends up confusing as a “he” becomes a “she” and vice versa.
>The plot is complex, involving the politics of this strange land, the god-Meer character’s powers and half of the characters changing their gender. The complexity in the plot caused it to drag. The story was not fast moving and began to be tedious. The story is very well written, though. The descriptions and imagery are vivid.
>The book is appropriate for an adult audience to a lot of sexual activity and descriptions.
>Reviewer for Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock.
>This is the first book in the Looking Glass Gods series. This story takes place in a strange land after the gods, or Meers, are supposedly all destroyed.
>Ra shows up with no memory and meets cave dwellers Jak and family and Ahr. There is a lot of sexual attraction in this story and a lot of gender trickery. The author goes to great lengths to make this novel gender free, but the story just ends up confusing as a “he” becomes a “she” and vice versa.
>The plot is complex, involving the politics of this strange land, the god-Meer character’s powers and half of the characters changing their gender. The complexity in the plot caused it to drag. The story was not fast moving and began to be tedious. The story is very well written, though. The descriptions and imagery are vivid.
>The book is appropriate for an adult audience to a lot of sexual activity and descriptions.
>Reviewer for Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock.
July 2, 2015
Hi everybody. I was lucky enough to win a copy of this awesome book. Special thanks to the author for running this giveaway and also to goodreads.
I LOVED THIS! I have to say that i am biased as i love reading fantasy books and this was certainly a fantastic book! I felt that although it was a little bit strange to begin with, it finished quite well. I really recommend just having an open mind and YOU WILL BE REWARDED! I think that this book would work as a tv show :)
I think that the character's have great names and they are so unusual that it helps take you to this realm.
I LOVED THIS! I have to say that i am biased as i love reading fantasy books and this was certainly a fantastic book! I felt that although it was a little bit strange to begin with, it finished quite well. I really recommend just having an open mind and YOU WILL BE REWARDED! I think that this book would work as a tv show :)
I think that the character's have great names and they are so unusual that it helps take you to this realm.
June 25, 2015
What a delightful story on a clever fantasy tale. Yes, it was complicated with gender-bending; but I will say don't judge what you are reading because nothing appears on the surface until it's final.
I enjoyed all the bad decisions, politics, machinations, uprisings and manipulations, as well as the romance. This is a great adventure story with a lot of action.
I enjoyed all the bad decisions, politics, machinations, uprisings and manipulations, as well as the romance. This is a great adventure story with a lot of action.
October 23, 2016
Beautiful Non-binary Gender Fiction
This is one of a few well written fantasy /romance books that feature main characters that don't fit into the binary genders. I can't wait to read the next two.
This is one of a few well written fantasy /romance books that feature main characters that don't fit into the binary genders. I can't wait to read the next two.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews