The second in a series, ‘(Im)Mortal Earth’ by J.J.Faulks sees Piprin and Orleigh set off to find the Seer in the hopes of a cure for Piprin’s sick mother. This journey raises more questions than answers and sends the pair of friends on a quest to save the Key of Life. I would recommend starting with ‘The Seer’s Curse’ to get to know Orleigh and Piprin properly, and understand the opening of ‘(Im)Mortal Earth’ and their previous quests. In a world of mythology, where suspicion of outsiders runs rife, the same suspicions that were directed at Orleigh in the first book are turned against those seeking asylum from the West, a land where crops are failing and famine runs rife.
This is a well-written story, with detailed world building, gods and mythology to entertain young fantasy readers. I liked the way the author manages to incorporate folklore while also making sure that the pace of the story isn’t affected. There’s lots of action and interference from the gods, who I would have liked to know more about and why I recommend any reader start with ‘The Seer’s Curse’. There is a satisfactory conclusion with plenty of scope for a third book and more challenges for the young friends.
Fourteen year old Piprin is falsely lauded as a hero for rescuing his childhood friend Orleigh from the Land of the Gods. When his mother becomes ill, Piprin and Orleigh set off to see the Seer to find a cure. Instead they discover the Seer’s cave has been abandoned and a message reveals the Key of Life is dying. The Seer has left a book of myths which sets Piprin and Orleigh on a quest to save the Key of Life and in doing so, cure his mother.
Piprin and Orleigh are taken on a journey across the bleak waters of Vol-Ibnio to the gates of the Afterworld, up the ice capped Mount Arcoel and to the hidden underwater caves at the Bay of Breath before heading to the Realm of the Sanctuary in the centre of the Great Forest.
Unbeknown to them, they are working against Emnei, the goddess of Vengeance and her lieutenants Vros, the god of Wrath, and Faes, the god of Treachery.
At the heart of the tale lies the story of Alea and Teymos.
