A CONSUMING FIRE

Kill or be killed.

Romans were driven from Britain, now called Albion, by the rise of a fierce and fiery god. To sate him, young women are sent up his mountain as living sacrifices and returned after the god takes his due—hands, eyes, memory. When willing sacrifice Ilva is instead rejected and killed by the god, her twin, Anya, puts herself forward as a replacement. She actually plans to kill the god. Vivid writing, a righteous cause, and a cast of interesting side characters—corrupt religious figures, nomadic rebels, a boy with mysterious gifts—make for an engrossing journey. Anya draws strength from Ilva’s ghost, which appears to her, and her own conviction that the god is wrong. In her willingness to break rules (including physical intimacy with the aforementioned boy), she discovers truths that further her determination. A small pendant with Christian imagery plays a small but vital role; the god’s holy book, the Cataclysm, has passages with a biblical feel; and the wicked god looks not unlike conventional representations of the devil. But at the same time, this is a tale of female empowerment for Anya and all the women she represents as she fights against the god’s demands, making for unclear deeper metaphoric and thematic meaning; fortunately, the surface-level historical fantasy makes for a satisfying read apart from the deeper messages. Albion is depicted with some racial and sexual diversity; the twins are White.

Absorbing.