Keren is a sworn knight of Iomedae, proper and disciplined in every way. Her partner, Zae, is the opposite—a curious gnome priestess of the clockwork goddess, who loves nothing more than the chaos of her makeshift hospitals. When a powerful evil artifact is stolen from a crusader stronghold, both knight and gnome are sent to the great city of Absalom and immediately drawn into the clandestine search for the stolen Bloodstone. Sure, they may not be the most powerful or experienced members of their organizations, but that's the whole point—with legendary champions and undead graveknights battling in their race to recover the stone, who’ll notice one young knight and a gnome healer? All they have to do is stay alive long enough to outsmart a thief capable of evading both gods and heroes. No big deal, right?
From author Gabrielle Harbowy comes a novel of love, faith, and undead espionage, set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
When Keren, Zae, and Appleslayer first showed up, there was a great deal of excitement and asking for more. This novel did not disappoint!
It's also one of the only bits of fiction actually set in the City at the Center of the World, Absalom. Harbowy provides a fascinating look that really shows just how big a city Absalom is, as well as one of the most iconic events that happens there - "Ascension".
Wow, my review was eliminated after only working on it for 5 minutes. Shame on you Paizo for a website glitch like that. Regardless, I won't take out that frustration on the review.
I guess this will be a shorter review. An enjoyable book about a Knight of Ozem and her companion, a gnome priestess of Brigh, that plays out mainly in Absalom. Part mystery, part adventure, part travelogue I guess. Some nice lore thrown in to the mix, a good pace, above-average editing (not perfect), all in all enjoyable.
I would love to see more adventures w/ these 2 protagonists should the Tales line ever be revived.
Knights,villians and magic artifacts that can change the World
I just got done reading the newest addition to the Pathfinder tales: Gear of Faith. First let me start by saying this book is very different from the rest of the series. Yes there is adventure but what i love above all the great Background history revealed. The book is written around the 2 main characters Keren a human knight of Iomedae and Zae( her Girlfriend) a Gnome cleric of Brigh ( god of invention).They are summoned to Absalom and get more than they bargain for...
Now Sadly i cant give too much away. But I promise you it is a great story. There is also a ton of valuable information for GM's and players on everyday life in the city of Absalom . You will learn about how certain merchants treat visitors, all about what the Starstone Cathedral looks like, and how the locals feel about it. There are other Golarion Historical references but I must keep them to myself until you read the book.
If you'd like to learn more about the worshipers of Iomedae you are in luck. You will see the inner workings of the church, how they train and learn their views on certain rivals.
There is also some great references to mechanical works, constructs and magical practices in the novel. These I feel are a great addition for GM and player alike.
Kudos to the Author for being so inventive and giving such a great Story wrapped within so much flavorful History.
I have also included the link to the video review for those who are interested.
Excellent! I've been waiting for this since before it was a thing and I can't wait to hold and read this!
Also! Physical copies of Gabrielle's (first?) Hellmaw novel, "Of the Essence" are now available on hersite. They're both gorgeous, but the hard cover is amazing.
Thanks so much for the update, I was a little concerned! Franchise fiction is usually a no-no for me, but the Tales consistently punch above their weight; I'd be really sad trying to find something similar. Sword and Sorcery with decent writing, worldbuilding, and one-shottedness is really tough to source!
This story meandered between plot-driven and character-driven and the pacing suffered for it, never building up any real tension.
The relationship between Keren and Zae was an interesting and bold choice. I was surprised that they didn't argue about faith, considering that Brigh and Iomedae have very different philosophies. I was even more surprised that the whole inter-species aspect of their relationship didn't seem to matter a lot (aside from Keren's anxiety of not being interesting enough for her gnome lover, which was a nice touch). While reading, I asked myself constantly "wouldn't the size difference make a lot of things akward?" I had to check my CRB to find out that it wasn't as extreme as I had imagined (a female gnome has an average size of 3'3" and a female human 5'4". There are 'odd couples' like this in real life.) Still, I would expect that even in an openminded metropolis like Absalom, relationships between humans and small folk would be seen as somewhat scandalous (I recall that relationships between humans and halflings were a thing in Kaer Maga, but I'm not aware of any other).
I don't suppose there is any new word on an Audible release for this? I quite enjoyed the first outing for these characters in the web stories, and want to check this one out, but sadly Audio books are really the only way I can get through a novel recently.
I don't suppose there is any new word on an Audible release for this? I quite enjoyed the first outing for these characters in the web stories, and want to check this one out, but sadly Audio books are really the only way I can get through a novel recently.
Also something I want! I played a Warpriest of Brigh in our Iron Gods game, and a war-wizard of Iomadae in our Wrath of the Righteous game. This book appeals to both of my interests!