Ben Henare has forsaken his Maori heritage: choosing the modern world over a life following the old ways. His best friend, Lucy Champion, is a woman of logic: training to become a doctor, she believes only in science. Neither of them has room in their lives for the fantastic, the unexplained, or the supernatural.
But when a tsunami floods their city, killing Lucy's parents and endangering Ben's people, their beliefs must change. The tsunami has awakened powers, ancient and deadly. The old gods have risen.
Long have they watched people's abuse of each other and the natural world; at last the gods have had enough. They will protect the world... by destroying all humankind.
Now, Ben and Lucy have only days left. To fight their way across a country shattered by devastation. To protect the magic artefacts now entrusted to their care. And to deliver those artefacts to the gods themselves: offerings that might - just might - appease the powers of destruction.
Pursued by human traffickers who have kidnapped Lucy's sister, hunted by the gods' warrior spirits and supernatural assassins, Ben and Lucy must forget all they know, and sacrifice everything they love to protect their country from the greatest threat ever known: the wrath of the Risen Gods.
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A sudden gust of wind blew and Ben Henare tightened the guide rope, pulling the sail inwards to catch the draught. 1
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(Independently Published, 23 November 2015, ebook, 288 pages, freebie from @JFPennAuthor)
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I'm a huge fan of J F Penn and still have a lot of her books to read. Risen Gods stands alone as it's not part of a series and has a co-author. I thought this was a terrific read. The book opens with a bang and the momentum and suspension builds and builds until the final page. I was gripped from start to finish. I also really enjoyed learning about Maori myths and beliefs.
