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The League of Elder #5
The Temple of the Exploding Head
A God In His Temple Is Invincible. An outlaw and evil spirit, the Horned God confronts the gods themselves. From his Temple deep in the ground he is finally ready to act.
Lord Kabyl of Blanchefort returns to his home with the pieces of The Machine in hand. He expects his love, Lady Sammidoran, will return to begin their life together as man and woman at last. However, the Horned God has other ideas and he pursues Lady Sammidoran without pause. As Lord Kabyl seeks to save his love from an insane god, all roads lead to the dreaded Temple of the Exploding Head, where none emerge alive. Elsewhere, Captain Davage and his Countess, Sygillis, find themselves lost deep in enemy territory where the Horned God's horrific servants hold sway. Even if the Captain and Countess manage to return home to Kana, what will they find when they arrive? The Temple of the Exploding Head saga concludes in this action-filled adventure of love and loss. In a place where even the gods fear to tread, how can naught but a tragedy be the outcome?
Lord Kabyl of Blanchefort returns to his home with the pieces of The Machine in hand. He expects his love, Lady Sammidoran, will return to begin their life together as man and woman at last. However, the Horned God has other ideas and he pursues Lady Sammidoran without pause. As Lord Kabyl seeks to save his love from an insane god, all roads lead to the dreaded Temple of the Exploding Head, where none emerge alive. Elsewhere, Captain Davage and his Countess, Sygillis, find themselves lost deep in enemy territory where the Horned God's horrific servants hold sway. Even if the Captain and Countess manage to return home to Kana, what will they find when they arrive? The Temple of the Exploding Head saga concludes in this action-filled adventure of love and loss. In a place where even the gods fear to tread, how can naught but a tragedy be the outcome?
300 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2012
45 people want to read
About the author
Ren Garcia
25 books145 followersRen Garcia, the author of the League of Elder Series, graduated from the Ohio State University with a degree in literature. He enjoys playing volleyball and ice hockey and lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife and their four dogs. You can check out Ren’s website at http://theleagueofelder.com/, or his blog at http://thetempleoftheexplodinghead.wo... .
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 27, 2012
Sometimes the anticipation of something is better than the actual results, but thankfully, this was not the case with Ren’s latest work. I had been looking forward to the third and final act in the courtship of Lord Kabyl and Lady Sammidoranand I wasn’t disappointed. Kay has met the challenges required to allow him to join with Sam and expects to return to his love, free to be with her, but it turns out that it’s not that simple. There is something more insidious to face, now, something that extends beyond the regular boundaries of time and space, something that intends on twisting our heroes’ fates to its own devices. Luckily, Kay is not alone in his struggles, with friends, family (his mother and father having strayed off into their own adventures before they reunite) and Carahil’s allies to support his cause. They find the best way to target their enemy at the source, gather their allies and set off to take a stand, with dire consequences. There will be casualties...
If you want to know how this chapter of the series ends, you’ll have to read it for yourself. This is another fantastic display of Ren’s wonderful world-building talents, but one he integrates seamlessly into the story, with great mastery. His descriptions are vivid and extreme, but not overwhelming, his characters are bold and dynamic, but still very human, and he offers all aspects of feeling, from hope to suffering – and back again. He gives you heroes you have to root for, even when they make mistakes or act a little selfish, and he adds just enough humour to get you past the parts that are horribly grim or bleak.
When anyone asks me to suggest a good read, this series has always been one of the top ones I list and it continues to be that way with every new addition, unlike some series that get tired or boring after stretching its ideas as far as they will go. Ren manages to keep adding new ideas, keeping the story fresh and novel.
If you want to know how this chapter of the series ends, you’ll have to read it for yourself. This is another fantastic display of Ren’s wonderful world-building talents, but one he integrates seamlessly into the story, with great mastery. His descriptions are vivid and extreme, but not overwhelming, his characters are bold and dynamic, but still very human, and he offers all aspects of feeling, from hope to suffering – and back again. He gives you heroes you have to root for, even when they make mistakes or act a little selfish, and he adds just enough humour to get you past the parts that are horribly grim or bleak.
When anyone asks me to suggest a good read, this series has always been one of the top ones I list and it continues to be that way with every new addition, unlike some series that get tired or boring after stretching its ideas as far as they will go. Ren manages to keep adding new ideas, keeping the story fresh and novel.
June 24, 2018
Monsters are always more of a believable matter when they are real and right there in front of you. What if you had to face monsters every day? Whether it be physical or mental, a monster isn’t always evil is it? It is human nature to throw around the term very loosely for something that is claimed to have a look or talent of monstrous proportions. Garcia brings all of his monsters into this novel, allowing his readers to fear the unknown. With space travel, creatures, death and so many creations within his world, this story is mesmerizing and something of vast originality.
Sam has been taken by the Horned God and Lord Kabyl and friends are desperate to find answers so that they can save her. With Captain Davage and Countess Sygillis missing with the New Faith, Kay turns to a Professor in Tusck who also happens to be Lt. Kilos’ husband. With his vast knowledge, they are able to determine the location of where the Horned God’s temple may be, but they still have a lot of work to do in order to find it and once they find it, how will they save Sam? There are pieces missing from the story, like why does the Horned God want Sam? How are the Killanjo, the Golden People, and the Horned God connected? How do the sisters not know about an evil so great, they are readily willing to have the Monomas wiped out under false pretense? So many questions and so little time. Can Kay save his family and his lady before imminent danger threatens to destroy it all?
Garcia has a superb story-line and complex characters that are unbelievably creative and strong. The content is truly amazing by the sheer originality and descriptiveness, while the pace is fast and easy to read. There are a few spelling and grammatical errors throughout the read, but this should not hinder enjoyment of the novel at all. If you are a reader of fantasy and science fiction, this may be perfect for you. It is strongly advised that since this is classified as dark fantasy, it is not recommended for children or teens due to content. This is also the fifth installment in the League of Elder series and can be read as a standalone, but the information does follow a chronological sequence of events beginning with the first book, Sygillis of Metatron.
This book was purchased by Turning Another Page and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a five-star rating for The Temple of the Exploding Head by Ren Garcia.
Sam has been taken by the Horned God and Lord Kabyl and friends are desperate to find answers so that they can save her. With Captain Davage and Countess Sygillis missing with the New Faith, Kay turns to a Professor in Tusck who also happens to be Lt. Kilos’ husband. With his vast knowledge, they are able to determine the location of where the Horned God’s temple may be, but they still have a lot of work to do in order to find it and once they find it, how will they save Sam? There are pieces missing from the story, like why does the Horned God want Sam? How are the Killanjo, the Golden People, and the Horned God connected? How do the sisters not know about an evil so great, they are readily willing to have the Monomas wiped out under false pretense? So many questions and so little time. Can Kay save his family and his lady before imminent danger threatens to destroy it all?
Garcia has a superb story-line and complex characters that are unbelievably creative and strong. The content is truly amazing by the sheer originality and descriptiveness, while the pace is fast and easy to read. There are a few spelling and grammatical errors throughout the read, but this should not hinder enjoyment of the novel at all. If you are a reader of fantasy and science fiction, this may be perfect for you. It is strongly advised that since this is classified as dark fantasy, it is not recommended for children or teens due to content. This is also the fifth installment in the League of Elder series and can be read as a standalone, but the information does follow a chronological sequence of events beginning with the first book, Sygillis of Metatron.
This book was purchased by Turning Another Page and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a five-star rating for The Temple of the Exploding Head by Ren Garcia.
October 26, 2016
A simply wonderful ending to the trilogy. Do not be deceived by the first book, which is slow paced and little action. The second and third books made up for it either great sequences of events, fun developing characters, a great ending battle, and happy resolution. It truly creates a fascinating fantasy world.
I like all the different storyline and how they connect together. I felt it had a great resolution for all the characters. I had hoped to see more involvement with the younger sister, Hath. She seemed to have such a great build-up but it felt to me like she was left hanging with development possibilities.
I can't decide if I am happy or disappointed that this had a happy ending. I am quite the sucker for a happy ending, but it almost felt a bit too convenient that everything so easily could be fixed. But it was a challenge to finally get to that point so it all makes sense.
Unfortunately, I don't think I could recommend this to my family and some of my friends to read because of the references to sex, sexual organs, and descriptive violence/gore. The people I associate with are mainly the conservative dress/language/content types. There are some friends I could consider recommending it to, but I feel I need to discuss their tastes in fantasy fiction first - just to make sure I don't offend them by making such a suggestion. But even with the content, I really liked it and hope readers are willing to look past some of the sexual/violent content to appreciate the fantasy world and enjoy the adventurous storyline.
I like all the different storyline and how they connect together. I felt it had a great resolution for all the characters. I had hoped to see more involvement with the younger sister, Hath. She seemed to have such a great build-up but it felt to me like she was left hanging with development possibilities.
I can't decide if I am happy or disappointed that this had a happy ending. I am quite the sucker for a happy ending, but it almost felt a bit too convenient that everything so easily could be fixed. But it was a challenge to finally get to that point so it all makes sense.
Unfortunately, I don't think I could recommend this to my family and some of my friends to read because of the references to sex, sexual organs, and descriptive violence/gore. The people I associate with are mainly the conservative dress/language/content types. There are some friends I could consider recommending it to, but I feel I need to discuss their tastes in fantasy fiction first - just to make sure I don't offend them by making such a suggestion. But even with the content, I really liked it and hope readers are willing to look past some of the sexual/violent content to appreciate the fantasy world and enjoy the adventurous storyline.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews