Blackgod [Paperback]

Greg Keyes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 1998

The River flowed from the mountains to the distant sea, and everywhere he touched, he ruled. And his blood ran thick in the veins of Nhol's Royal Family. But the god's power had a price: some members of the Family were never seen after puberty, and dark rumours abounded concerning their fate. When the magic woke in her, Princess Hezhi fled for her life into the lands beyond the River's reach. With Perkar, a youth in search of honour, and loyal Tsem, her half-Giant bodyguard, she sought refuge among the barbarian Mang. But in those demon-infested hinterlands, until she learned to wield the powers of her birthright, her sanity and her soul would be at risk. And grisly danger pursued her - the River bent all his might and slumbrous cunning to the task of finding his wayward child. Only the Blackgod knew how to defeat the River. But the Blackgod was a creature of guile and limitless duplicity; to trust him might be the most perilous move she could make ...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Blackgod brings the tale begun in The Waterborn to a satisfying conclusion. J. Gregory Keyes continues the adventures of Princess Hehzi of Nhol and her unwilling champion, Perkar of the Cattle People, as they struggle to survive the machinations of both the insatiable River God and his brother, the trickster Blackgod, Karak. This is epic fantasy at its best--original, richly textured, and filled with compelling characters.

Hehzi and Perkar are with the Mang, nomadic, horse-worshiping people. Under the protection and guidance of a shaman, Brother Horse, Hehzi learns to control and use her ability to manipulate the spirit world. But Ghe, the priestly assassin Perkar beheaded in The Waterborn, has been restored by the River and sent after Hehzi, and another clan of the Mang has declared war on Perkar's people. Their shaman has had a vision that demands Perkar's death. And the Blackgod wants them to journey to the River's source and slay him. People who don't read epic fantasy can enjoy this high adventure. Fans of the genre may be reminded of Kate Elliott's Jaran series and Philip José Farmer's Riverworld saga. Don't be put off by the size of these books; Keyes has the storytelling power to carry you swiftly through them. --Nona Vero --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

In this sequel to The Waterborn (LJ 6/15/96) Hezhi, the daughter of the powerful River that flows throughout the land, escapes from the imperial palace in Nhol and her destiny to join with the River. Hiding among the Mang horsemen with her bodyguard, Hezhi must learn to wield her waterborn power. Blackgod, the Raven, reveals how she can defeat the River with the help of Perkar, a cattleman, by traveling to the headwaters in the mountains. Enriched by spiritualism, mystery, and cultural detail, this fantasy belongs in most collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Time Warner Abacus & Orbit (September 3, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857236637
• ISBN-13: 978-1857236637
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,321,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great ending to an awesome story!!, August 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Blackgod (Chosen of the Changeling) (Mass Market Paperback)

I read the previous reviews on this book before I decided to write one of my own, and the review that stated that the sequel was poor compared with The Waterborn was very different (not wrong-everyone's entitled to their own opinion)than what I concluded about The Blackgod. It was as good-if not better-than The Waterborn. For one thing- it was easy to pick up on after reading The Waterborn--only a few months had passed. The characters start out as being the same people you remember-but they change dramatically by story's end. Hezhi begins to grow into womanhood and starts to notice her physical and emotional changes. She also realizes her childhood is gone and that she has been robbed of the one place she felt she belonged-by her own father, the River. Perkar begins to understand that the mistakes he made--the people killed and the lives ruined--has forever severed him from the life he would have had among his people. But he also learns that pity and remorse for himself and the people deceased will do nothing but prevent him from moving on. This book is definite "gotta read" for people 13 (like me) to 99. If you like this book you gotta check out Philip Pullman's Dark Materials Series, Andre Norton's "Imperial Lady", and Jane Routley's "Mage Heart" and it's sequel, "Fire Angels".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mature epic fantasy brought to a thrilling conclusion!, July 18, 2005

By 

Paul Weiss (Dundas, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blackgod (Chosen of the Changeling, Bk 2) (Hardcover)

Perkar's rash, ham-handed efforts to respond to Hezhi's almost unwitting call for help have opened a hornet's nest of trouble. Their flight from the city of Nohl to escape the Changeling has left behind them a trail of mayhem, death and destruction - Perkar's people, the cattle farmers, and the Mang, accomplished horse breeders, riders and worshippers are now at war; Perkar has slain and beheaded Ghe, the Jik assassin, but through the intervention of the Changeling's power, Ghe has been resurrected as a powerful ghoul who now claims to "love" Hezhi; and, in the fashion of the Greek and Roman pantheon, gods and half-gods squabble and tamper with the lives of man but their motives are murky, confusing and a good deal less than altruistic. Karak, the Raven, or the Blackgod, seems to have developed a particular fondness for Perkar, Hezhi and their small band of travelers. Much to Hezhi's utter dismay, fear and anger, he discloses to her that her destiny is at She'leng, the source of the River, where she will find the power to defeat the Changeling. But all Hezhi really wants is to be left alone. As the story unfolds, the gods' relentless tinkering with the world results in nobody knowing who to believe in or who to trust.

In The Blackgod, Keyes has moved well beyond The Waterborn and expanded Chosen of the Changeling into a truly mature epic fantasy with amazing breadth and scope. The animist pagan theology introduced in The Waterborn is explored in wonderful depth and detail. In a concept strikingly reminiscent of the Christian idea of Trinity and yet still wonderfully original and imaginative, Perkar's and Hezhi's gods - Balati the One-Eyed Lord, Karak the Raven, Ekama the Horse Mother and the Huntress - are revealed as manifestations of a single god united in their quest to eliminate the incessant, overpowering evil of the Changeling. As the war between them advances to a climax, the Mang and Perkar's people, the cattle farmers, come alive with rich and colourful detail including traditions and beliefs, costumes, history and language. Questions about the history and meaning of the priesthood and their temple in Nhol left unanswered at the end of The Waterborn are resolved with a dazzling twist. Heroes, heroines and villains alike are well-constructed, realistic and are allowed to develop and mature into different characters with strengths, weaknesses and human frailties.

Although we are reasonably certain of the eventual "winner" of the conflict, the story-telling never becomes maudlin or trite and remains entirely unpredictable and compelling. Of course, that has a great deal to do with the fact that until the very end, we're not really certain of who the bad guy really is. I said it about The Waterborn and I'm thrilled to be able to say it again for The Blackgod: "An unforgettable fantasy replete with all the requisite elements - a pretty damsel in distress, heroes and their sagas, gods, battles, good and evil, with lots of credible dialogue to bring it home! Did I mention a couple of plot twists that would make the most jaded thriller or mystery reader's eyes light up?"

If you enjoy an epic fantasy, you won't want to miss The Blackgod, second entry in The Chosen of the Changeling.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Rivergod begins his inexorable pursuit of Hezhi., June 25, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Blackgod (Chosen of the Changeling, Bk 2) (Hardcover)

After reading The Waterborn you think you understand the world of the Changling, but then The Blackgod reveals secrets you didn't suspect in the first book, and suddently the lines between friend and foe become blurred and you don't know who to trust. This is the experience of the heroine, Princess Hezhi, in The Blackgod. As she learns to wield her power it seems that everyone is trying to influence her. She even grows unsure of Perkar, the warrior from the cattle lands that she unwittingly summonned to aid her escape from the city of Nohl in the first book.

Against Hezhi and Perkar there are a huge range of powers: a mysterious Mang shaman, various warriors trying to enhance their reputation, and, rising from the beheaded corpse of a man that Hezhi once considered a friend, comes a monstrous avatar of the River god; a being powerful enough to consume gods; a man who does not remember his own past; the man formerly known as Ghe.

Keyes manages to introduce new twists and interpretations to the beliefs and social systems of this fantasy world. We learn that the priests are not what they seemed, and, as the Changling rises from his muddy bed and begins his inexorable passage across the land in pursuit of Hezhi, we see the hand the Blackgod has played in the saga, and learn why only Hezhi can defeat the Changling.

This is even more of a page turner than The Waterborn. But, don't worry if you (shock, horror!) haven't read the first book, Keyes re-visits the formers' climactic battle to present us with the re-birth of Ghe and proceeds from there to take the story through new locations to the birthplace of the Rivergod--the only place he can be killed. Of course, readers of The Waterborn will enjoy meeting old friends such as Ghan and Brother Horse again.

In short, Hezhi, a fourteen-year-old one-time princess, is truly one of the most interesting heroines in fantasy fiction, and the world Keyes has created is striking in its originality.