Bortag's Curse

Neil Cladingboel

Equilibrium Books

Web: http://www.equilibriumbooks.com

A five thousand-year-old prophecy, which foretold the destruction or Bortag and genesis of Erebus, the astral hall of records, holds the key to a long-forgotten mystery of betrayal, tragedy and revenge in an ancient village. The ancient city of Bortag, home of the moon-worshipping Astronomers’ Guild, is the backdrop for this intriguing journey through Earth’s earliest history.

Jonathan Malone, exiled in Erebus has been assigned the task of researching this ancient culture and uncovering the secrets of Bortag’s Curse, along the way he finds much more than he expects.

This fascinating tale is a real page-turner, it mixes high fantasy with a “sword and sorcery” type story set in a imagined Sumer like village. What is especially impressive is the way in which in intertwines two seemingly distinct tales. As the book unfolds there is what seems to be a simple tale of love, hatred and revenge in an ancient village and at the same time there is another tale of a strange astral dimension where all records are kept are “souls” are sent into incarnation to guide and influence man’s evolution. Indeed, it seems that life on earth and many planets has been created through experimentation and through dubious direction from this other “reality”.

As these two stories intertwine, we come to see how the reality of this other world impinges on earth and the way in which these different realities affect each other. This is a masterfully written piece of fiction which brings together these different storylines into an intriguing tale. It is intelligent and engaging and mixes together different genres to create quite a unique tale. At times it reads like esoteric fiction with occult and spiritual themes, at other times it is more “sword and sorcery”, it unites these various themes into a work which keeps your attention right to the very last page.

Bortag's Curse is from the author of The Erebus Equilibrium series and can be enjoyed as a companion volume to the series or as a stand-alone volume. I hadn’t read The Erebus Equilibrium before Bortag’s Curse, so now having gained a taste I will be getting the series post haste !