Hessa is an Eangi: a warrior priestess of the Goddess of War, with the power to turn an enemy’s bones to dust with a scream. Banished for disobeying her goddess’s command to murder a traveller, she prays for forgiveness alone on a mountainside.
While she is gone, raiders raze her village and obliterate the Eangi priesthood. Grieving and alone, Hessa – the last Eangi – must find the traveller, atone for her weakness and secure her place with her loved ones in the High Halls. As clans from the north and legionaries from the south tear through her homeland, slaughtering everyone in their path, Hessa strives to win back her goddess’ favour.
Beset by zealot soldiers, deceitful gods, and newly-awakened demons at every turn, Hessa burns her path towards redemption and revenge. But her journey reveals a harrowing truth: the gods are dying and the High Halls of the afterlife are fading. Soon Hessa’s trust in her goddess weakens with every unheeded prayer.
Thrust into a battle between the gods of the Old World and the New, Hessa realizes there is far more on the line than securing a life beyond her own death. Bigger, older powers slumber beneath the surface of her world. And they’re about to wake up.
Hall of Smoke (The Four Pillars #1) by H.M. Long
Narrators: Samara Naeymi
My Rating: 4.5/5?
Goodreads Rating: 3.76?
Storygraph Rating: 4.15?Length: 14hrs 28mins / 432pgs
Fantasy | Mythology | Epic | Adventure | Viking
Pacing: Slow
Spice: None
Gore: Low – medium
I really REALLY liked this one. It took me by complete surprise. For starters I chose it primarily because I liked the cover of book #2, so I had to go back and find #1. It is a story of faith, growth after tragedy, and strength both physically and mentally.
Hessa has been outcast by her tribe after not completing an order given by the high priestess as part of a vision and given only one chance to pray to her patron Goddess of War for forgiveness. While she is in isolation praying to her goddess, her tribe is set upon by an enemy tribe and completely decimated. She returns to find she is the last remaining of her tribe so believing this is because she did not fulfill the task given to her by the goddess she vows to complete it now so she can one day join her loved ones in the High Halls after death. Her quest is twisted by the power struggle between the new and the old gods, and her decisions will decide the fate of the world as she knows it.
The first thing I loved about this book was the main character Hessa is not immediately overpowered. Yes, she is blessed with the power of war by her Goddess but she is not the strongest or highest ranked in her clan. She is plagued with very relatable feelings of grief, doubt and frustration along her journey rather than the blind optimism that is often portrayed in heroes of epic quests. She makes mistakes and has failures but I also don’t feel that her ‘errors’ are stupid and eye-roll worthy.
I’ve seen other reviews who are disappointed in the character work, specifically that side characters don’t appear to have the depth that Hessa does as the main character. Usually this is a big downer for me but I have to say I disagree in this case. This journey is for Hessa alone, it is her task and her responsibility and though there are side characters (which I thought were developed enough) they don’t take away from her as the focus. I think it was deliberate and appropriate given the storyline.
The pacing is slower than I usually prefer but I found it to be perfect as I was able to really enjoy the exquisite world-building. It was lyrical, detailed and so beautifully done that I didn’t feel like I was being beaten over the head.
Finally, there was no romance in this one which was a particular surprise, and a refreshing one at that, especially as the main character is a lone female. Every male character she encountered I was expecting to be bashed around with a romantic subplot but what I actually got was friendship, community and belonging (at least from some). I have nothing at all against romance but I loved the lack of it in this case.
My verdict, this is criminally underrated on Goodreads and Storygraph and if you like an epic quest plagued by the machinations of multiple gods with the fate of the world resting on the shoulders of a very relatable female main character then please give this one a shot.
Julia Kitvaria Sarene