The Islands of the Sixteen Gods Series by Stephen Symons
All Edrun and Jina ever wanted was to get married, raise children and have a long, happy and uneventful life in their native village, at the very last walking together hand in hand through the Gate of the Sixth Path into eternity. But the Gods of the Kalion Islands have other plans for Edrun and Jina.
Dark forces are stirring up strife and discord that threatens to explode into destruction even more terrible than the chaos of the Temple Wars, still a bitter memory. Neither Edrun nor Jina alone can stop that. But together…?
Book 1: The Amulet of the Hunter God
The last thing Edrun Jaranacad saw of his beloved Jina was an arm desperately waving from the raging waters of the flood bearing her away. Heartbroken, he decided to leave the safety of his quiet little village to travel the outside world.
The discovery of a small golden jewel, an amulet of Shegadin the Hunter God, convinces Edrun the Gods are indeed watching over him, guiding him toward an end he could never have foreseen.
GENRE: Fantasy Word Count: 97, 070
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I wouldn't normally read this kind of fantasy book but was invited to read it so I thought I would go outside my comfort zone and give it a go. I'm glad I did. The depictions of place are great. It's an imaginary world, but to me it felt more real than real. I still retained strong images and feelings for the places and situations depicted in the story a week or so after finishing the book. I also loved the names of the people and places. They greatly added to the flavour of the story. Given the many stories and films being produced at the moment, I think it amazing to have a story with so many original and good sounding names. I would almost recommend reading this story for that reason alone. The story was fast moving which I like. I didn't so much like the fighting scenes but I didn't linger on those pages for long. The only thing I really didn't like was depiction of the female lover and maid ... which would have been written for the male audience. That said I'm sufficiently curious to be interested in reading the sequels which I understand will be coming soon. 
Rating
4.0 out of 5 stars amazing world
Brook
September 20, 2013
Book 2: Beloved of the River Goddess
After a year of torment and pursuit halfway across northwest Kalion, Edrun and Jina have finally found themselves both safe and well-funded. They decide to take a much-deserved holiday in the fascinating Temple-City of Hazek while they decide on their future.
While enjoying a lazy lunch outside a tavern, to his horror, Edrun finds himself publically hailed as a Lord of the Gathering. The warrior aristocracy of the Islands of the Sixteen Gods are very protective of their status and privileges and are swift to inflict punishments upon those who would usurp their position. Moments later, Edrun and Jina discover a former nemesis is also in Hazek and has in mind a sadistic revenge against them for the trouble they caused him in the past.
Making for a citadel that was once a safe haven for them, their plans are soon cast into disarray when they’re forced to rescue the fiery daughter of a wealthy merchant from attacking brigands. Once more Edrun and Jina find themselves in a fight for their lives.
Word Count: 88, 599
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Book 3: The Stones of the Sleeping God
Edrun and Jina travel to the Kalalutorm Citadel of Amronulu, where they’re greeted like long-lost relatives and offered the hospitality of the house for as long as they want. Now accepted as Lords of the Gathering, members of the ruling aristocracy of the Kalion Islands, Jina begins to heal rapidly but Edrun, plagued by questions and doubts, becomes morose and taciturn.
To help jolly Edrun along, an expedition to the nearby Forest of Rabti where they can spend a few days hunting, drinking, and chasing milkmaids is suggested by friends. Once there, they’re invited to spend the night in a stone ring sacred to the ancient Forest God but are ambushed and Edrun captured by Lord Garin, a chieftain. Garin has heard that Edrun enjoys the favour of the Gods and wants him to join with him in a war to re-conquer the wide lands his people once ruled without rival. This alliance would involve Edrun marrying Garin’s daughter Taren…
Word Count: 97, 047
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Book 4: The City of the Swan Goddess
Edrun, Jina and the council agree that something needs to be done about the mysterious disappearances of young women of the Clans of the DrummGrissa. But late that night, before a plan of action can be agreed, a local guest-house becomes a raging inferno. All within perish; amongst them Harane, a Princess of a powerful clan and a Priestess of the Goddess Lute who was travelling to Hazek. Is there a conspiracy at work, one that extends into the highest echelons of both the Clans and the Temples? Digging too deeply might set the whole of the Kalion Islands alight with civil war. One man, it seems, is the key to everything–Edrun’s old enemy Halgar Rassvorea, who’s determined to finish Edrun off once and for all.
Word Count: 108, 299
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Book 5: The Sons of the Silent God
No longer does the threat of civil war hang over the Island of the Sixteen Gods. Edrun and his companions can relax for a while before returning to their homes. But the High Priest and Priestess complain that brigands are causing trouble in one of the more remote corners of the territory of the Lute. Edrun and his companions offer to eradicate this menace, but instead Edrun ends up stumbling in the dark with a crack on the head, lost in a storm. When he awakes, he is still in the land of Lute…or is he? Where are his friends? Where is the Inn of the Stranger Maiden? And who are these men–the sinister Brotherhood of the Sword? Edrun is forced to wonder if he is, in fact, dead, journeying on the path of the Sixth Stage, and, if so, can he ever get back again?
Word Count: 103,758
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(ebooks are available from all sites, and print is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and some on Angus & Robertson)
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