Burning Bright by Megan Derr

Title: Burning Bright

Series: The Lost Gods

Author: Megan Derr

Genre: Fantasy

Length: Novel (194pgs)

Publisher: Less Than Three Press (14th March 2012)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Nine gods ruled the world until the ultimate betrayal resulted in their destruction. Now, the world is dying, and only by restoring the Lost Gods can it be saved.

In the land of Pozhar, the people fear the return of Zhar Ptitsa, the god of souls and rebirth who nearly destroyed them nine hundred years ago in a terrible rage. To prevent his rebirth, the people hunt down and sacrifice Vessels, those born with a piece of Zhar Ptitsa’s soul within them.

The Sacred Texts say that one thousand such Vessels will be born and all must be sacrificed to destroy Zhar Ptitsa once and for all. Now, only two pieces remain in the bodies of two thieves who will not go to the Flames without a fight.

Purchase Link: http://www.lessthanthreepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=92&products_id=282

Review: Oohh. What can I say to this one except Ooohhh? This is again a revised edition of an original that was posted on Megan Derr’s website and she has changed it up a bit so that even though it still has the original plot and characters the storyline is completely different. High Priest Dym has spent his entire life searching for the Vessels who carry pieces of Zhar Ptitsa’s soul. Now, finally there are only two left. Raz and Pechal are thieves and when the hunt for the new vessel begins Raz is determined that his friend will not be sacrificed and with the help of friends he sets out to avoid the sacrifices.

This is a brilliantly written fantasy that has mystery, intrigue, hunts, twists, danger and a couple of romances. Dym is in charge of the sacrifices to prevent the return of their God Zhar Ptitsa to Pozhar, but everything isn’t as it seems and a faction is trying to prevent the sacrifices from going to the Sacred Fire. Raz is one who doesn’t want to lose his friend to those fires, but even he ends up in danger when he comes face to face with Dym. There is a lot going on, as there are slightly overlapping stories as some actions in this book help with the progress of future books.

The characters in this book are great. There are quite a few of them and some of them are from future books which whets your appetite for those stories. we see Duke Krasny, Lord Ailill (a White Beast of Verde), Shio and Shinju (the mermaid sisters from the end of Treasure), we have new characters Raz, Dym, Zholty and Ivan and his gang and they make it an interesting story with quite a bit of action. Zholty is a sneaky character and is one to keep an eye on, but that isn’t to say that you should take your eyes off the others. There is again as always with Megan Derr inferred sex and we see the relationships building, but the focus is on the fantasy storyline. Can I say any more about this story? Well. Yes. But, then I might give it away and I would hate to ruin the discovery for you, so you really do need to read this book.

What can I say about this one except…damn? I have to read the next books in this series. For those of you who read the original then I say you have GOT to read this book, because there are some significant changes for some characters that will make interesting reading in the future books and it will be interesting to see how these changes affect books 4 and 5. And for those of you who haven’t read this book then what are you waiting for? If you love fantasy, danger, intrigue and a great storyline then you shouldn’t miss this book.