_Faithless_ is to me many things, all interesting. It is well described fantasy medieval setting, one not like any I have read before, a place that to the outside world is the above ground church of the Forgefather, a once powerful faith centered around a blacksmith god. The church has fallen on harder times but is still a force to be reckoned with, though little known (or perhaps little questioned by outsiders, who may not really want to know), is also a church that sets atop a gritty, vividly described underground city know as Aspiration, one populated by practically slave labor that tunnel into deep, dark tunnels (not of their own making) to feed the church’s endless appetite for coal and metal, especially precious metals.
_Faithless_ is a book on faith, the lack of faith, and perceptions of what faith means, as the church of the Forgefather doesn’t really hear their god anymore, to an extent coasting on physical resources (the mines and the skill of those in the church at metal work is of considerable value) and also on what latent magic survived from the heydays of the church (though the reader questions through most of the book the rituals and songs using in metal working, wondering if they are just tradition, perhaps ways of marking time or keeping focused on the task at hand, or if they really contain power). Does one need to really believe in the Forgefather to live and work in the church, to use the rituals, to reap the benefits? Or as the miners and craftsmen of Aspiration show, is it just more about at the end of the day survival? Is faith just belief in a god, is it also not just knowing a god exists but believing in what that god stands for, can one have true faith in a god’s beliefs if one sees or knows only a limited amount of information about that (was the Forgefather just a god of the blacksmith and metalworker, or was he more), or can faith also mean keeping the faith with one’s beliefs, in standing up for what is right and opposing what is wrong, no matter the cost? Is a person who just does whatever it takes to survive, no matter who it hurts, the man or woman who is truly faithless?
_Faithless_ is a book about hidden threats, hiding in either the literal dark (the seductive, whispering Utterdark deep in the caverns, tempting miners to their doom, never to be seen again, a phantom creature that may or may not exist, though the people who disappear are definitely gone) or figurative dark (the hidden secrets of the church, hollow as it may no longer believe in the deity they claim to serve, a church also hiding deep sins like slavery, sexual assault, and murder).
_Faithless_ is also, perhaps most importantly, a story of two people caught in the world of the church of the Forgefather and the mines and town of Aspiration, dealing with mining accidents, rival mining gangs, rebellions against the rule of the church and the authorities in Aspiration, conspiracies, the whispering temptations of the Utterdark, and a murderous pedophile priest who offers on one hand power, knowledge, influence, and a way out of the mines (for a very, very few people are chosen from Aspiration to become novices and enter the church, having to make their way up its various hierarchical rungs to become a full priest) and on the other abuse or worse (as those who displease him can be sent back to the mines or made to disappear in the deep dark caverns). One individual the reader gets to follow is young Wynn, a former farm boy apparently sold into slavery to the church by his father (whom we never really even see to any extent), who discovers the harsh realities of being a miner, of life in Aspiration with its many unwritten rules, and of testing to become a novice in the church. Another individual is an older, bitter, broken man, not as hopeful, much more prone to do whatever it takes to get out of the mines, a place he had left once before, a man by the name of Kharios. Wynn and Kharios provide some vivid contrasts; Wynn, still learning, Kharios quite knowledaglbe about how this world works, Wynn filled with hope, believing in much of what he is told, Kharios much more cynical and distrusting, his conscience and concern for others buried under layers of abuse and painful lessons, some from what was done to him, some from things he failed to do.
The town of Aspiration, the mines they work, the personalities of both the town and the church were very vividly described and sucked me right in. The descriptions of the activity of mining itself, of blacksmithing, felt real and definitely had a palpable weight of authenticity without being in any ponderous or “info dumps,” with the very acts of mining and metalworking being use to explore the thoughts and actions of the individuals in the book and the nature of the setting, be it the Utterdark, the faith of the Forgefather, or of magic in this world; it was never “fantasy setting with well described mining and metal working scenes” but rather “the mining and metal working scenes, even the physical acts of using the hammer or working the forge had deeper meanings that were surprisingly revealed later in the book.”
The book has one of the biggest twists I have seen in any fantasy setting, maybe about the 60% mark, where the entire tone and definitely the plot radically changes. At first it was jarring, it felt like a different book at times entirely (but it was quite exciting) but the author very skillfully shows it isn’t anywhere near as divergent as it first appears and is quite logical and thought out in terms of the setting. I will admit now quite getting how well grounded it was may have contributed a bit to how exciting it was, as the change was quite surprising though in retrospect, logical.
Well written book, It stands out from all the fantasy I have read in recent years.
OR
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Reviews with images
It didn't grab me
Faithless by Graham Austin-King is one of those books that I didn’t necessarily expect greatness from, but where I was really hoping for an engaging story, some competent writing, and maybe even a handful of moments where I could look back on the reading experience with some fondness. Unfortunately, the author did not deliver on my expectations on enough counts for me to continue reading past about 20%. I do thank the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review Faithless, but a combination of flat writing and flatter characters made for a generally unengaging experience.The premise wasn’t half bad. There’s a temple with mines underneath. People are called to service, presumably to the temple but, in actuality, to work in the mines. But if one makes their tally so many times in a row, that person has the chance to go before the priests and serve them instead of toiling away in the mines. We are introduced to one such character who was sold into service by his father and another who worked his way out of the mines to serve the priests, but who came back to the mines under mysterious circumstances.The problem is that neither character is particularly interesting. They’re actually quite ordinary, with no special aptitudes or skills, and nothing about them really grabbed me. Same for the writing. It’s competent enough, but couldn’t make up for the other shortcomings that ultimately led me to put this one down.I almost feel as if I could give Faithless a higher mark than a single rocket because some people will like it. But I also can’t recommend a book that I couldn’t finish, so one rocket it is.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2017
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Top reviews from other countries
Lynn Worton
Fantastic Book and A Must Read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 1, 2017
ValleK
I really enjoyed this right until the final third
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2018Annette Gisby
Gripping, unique fantasy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2017