Folklore is such a beautiful addition to any fantasy story. When properly used, you don't just have a tale with fantastical elements—now you have a tale that revolves around a people and their culture, their beliefs and practices, their fears and attempts to vanquish and conquer that fear, as well as the history of the lore itself and how it matured into the world of that story. That's what The Hollow Gods delivered.

First of all, A. J. Vrana has an ease to her writing style that made me get sucked into the book within a couple of chapters. Before I knew what hit me, I was fascinated and needed to know more. When given the time and attention that it deserves, The Hollow Gods flies by, and before you know it, you're done. There's more to this tale, there has to be, and I need to know it—that's how I find myself, abandoned after having finished.

With three POVs, we're given Kai, Emiliya and Mason to follow. Out of the three, Mason was the one that I had the most difficulty connecting to. There's a back and forth to his personality that got on my nerves sometimes, and I couldn't always pinpoint what he wanted. He clearly believes, despite what he says to himself, or he wouldn't be chasing around the town as he does. However, even when truth smacks him in the face he continues to deny that he should continue on the path that he's started traveling. Putting myself in his shoes, I would be slightly terrified, sure. But given the opportunity to delve into an in-depth world, curse, and myth, how could I not jump at the chance to follow that road and know more?

Kai and Miya are so much easier to become acquainted with. Kai has the sort of personality that I sometimes wish I owned in certain situations: he doesn't give a damn about appearances, could not care less about what people have to say or think about him, and he doesn't mince words. He's just absolutely brutal about it all, and for that I give him props. He doesn't live in a world in which he would survive were he any different. There is never an ounce of doubt on where Kai stands or how I felt about him. And Miya is rather similar. There's a slight ambivalence to her at the start, while dreams plague her and the Dreamwalker stalks, until she comes to terms with the fact that she simply does not belong where she is and needs to explore that. Taking Kai's hand and following him into the forest begins her and our awareness into who she is and where she should stand.

There seems to be an insta-love between these two, but that's smoke and mirrors (and that's not simply due to their past in other lives). Miya isn't so much blindly trusting of Kai as she is curious, and that curiosity leads her to see past his facade and into someone who slowly unfolds to accepting her back. There are two meetings between them before she moves fully into his domain, but they're well developed enough that I didn't feel them rushing into anything. From the get-go there's an obvious attraction, and if anything, I'm thankful for the fact that it's not surrendered to right away. Vrana portrays the warmth and heat in their relationship without making it the sole focus of the book. Thank you.

Where the meat really rests in this novel, however, is the legend surrounding Black Hollow.

Please be aware that things are not always going to be clear to the reader, and I don't think that they're meant to be. This is a fable that unfolds in the subconscious for a good portion of it, and as such, it is written to be full of meanings that do not easily pinpoint to answers unless we go further. This is, I think, my favorite part of this book: how real the mind of a person is written. The complexity and hesitancy that wraps around us in dreams—and for some, visions—only makes sense when we are willing to dig deeper. And the deeper you dig, oxymoronically, the more lost you become even as you find yourself in the end. That's the weaving of the story of the Dreamwalker and the plague that has owned Black Hollow and its people for years.

The Hollow Gods isn't “scary” or “horrific” in the common sense of the word. There are monsters, sure. And there are moments of terror, yes. But these are things that exist within the self a lot more so than outside of it. It's a theoretical sort of horror that deals with who one is and becomes very relatable a lot of the time. It's something that Emiliya has to experience for herself, and a quest on which we follow her from the start of the book.

A mystical forest, malevolent spirits, werewolves, dream-walkers, disappearing girls and a small town caught in a frenzy of witch-hunts. Sounds good?


This is a unique kind of novel, drawing from multiple myths and lores. It doesn’t have the usual storytelling style. There are 3 POVs: Miya – the girl who couldn’t leave her town
Mason – the tourist running from his past
Kai – the tormented guy who just wants to be left alone.


There was a clinicalness to the writing, sometimes poetic and sometimes dull. It wasn’t very consistent. Kai’s odd usage of curse words bordered on hilarity which made it difficult for me to take him seriously. None of the characters were very likeable but it’s the first book of a new series so I hope they will have growth. But the atmosphere of the town, the misty forest and the dreamscape were winning points for me.

What I liked: plot, premise, setting, the dreams

What I didn’t: odd writing, repetitiveness of Miya’s dreams, the abrupt ending

I ended up giving it an almost Switzerland rating.
So overall it was a really interesting read, fast paced and action-packed. Recommended if you are looking for a light fantasy to read over the weekend.
Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC.

So I went into this book expecting your standard dark fantasy fare. What I got was a fantastic genre blending book that kept me on the edge of my seat.
As someone who suffers from extreme anxiety, i really love the mental health themes woven in the book.

I usually don't read horror books but this book got my attention. I am really glad that i gave this book a chance. It has definitely a unique storyline and strong characters. I can't wait to read more of this story.

If I could describe this book with one word,that would be "Unique".For me this was one of the most interesting contemporary-fantasy books I have ever read.Despite the book being created on folklore,fairy-tales and legends I can confirm that The Hollow Gods is far more complicated than a standard fairy-tale based book.The characters became more and more interesting as the story progressed and the little romance included was a very nice touch(this is coming from someone who isn't a huge fan of romance overall).The world building was decent although sometimes it got confusing.which is something natural in multi-realm worlds in my opinion.The whole "Dreamwalker" thing is explained very vaguely at first(which I think the author did on purpose) but gets sorted out in a very beautiful way.One thing that annoyed me from time to time was the continuous use of curse-words and odd depictions,usually found in Kai.'s POV.While it was ok and understandable at times,sometimes it wasn't necessary at all.The writing was also beautiful and rich.At last,I appreciated the name of the character we would be following during a chapter typed on top of the chapter;it really helped and made things less confusing,
Overall this was a very good book,.with a rather okayish to weak start and a very nice ending.I'd recommend it to most fantasy readers,especially to ones who love fairy-tales and legends!

Copied from my Goodreads:

1.5/5 rounded up to 2.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher through Netgalley.

I'd like to start out by saying that I feel this was labelled as horror and sci-fi/fantasy. I would like to add that this read like a YA urban fantasy mystery, and would probably find a much better audience if it was marketed as such. Yes, all the main characters are adults (in their 20s, I think?), but the story elements follow a YA formula far more than an adult fantasy mystery.

The things I really enjoyed were the folkloric and fairy tale elements, as well as Mason's very relatable struggles with grief and self-doubt. The cover is gorgeous, as well, and I think most of us appreciate a handsome cover.

But. I wanted to like this book, but it's been a while since I was so irritated with a novel; probably because a lot of the plot was solved with a deus ex machina. The language attempts to be poetic, but often ends up feeling forced. Some of the dialogue didn't really read as actual people talking, which pulled me out of immersion. The relationship that happens felt unnecessary and as though it was added to fill out specific plot-points. The ending worked with the build-up, but I'm not sure what the next book will cover, and I'm fairly certain I won't be picking it up.

Unfortunately, I felt a little misled by the short description. If my store decides to stock this title, I might recommend it to readers looking for a YA mystery story set in a modern setting with some fantasy/fairy tale vibes.

eARC provided by NetGalley , thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial. All opinions are my own.

Want something different? Check out this contemporary wicked fairy-tale/ horror smash up.

The Hollow Gods by A.J. Vrana (spoiler free reviews)
Book 1 in a Duology
Publish Date: July 28th 2020
Cover Rating: 5/10
Adult - Fantasy –Fiction –Fairy Tale Twist - Horror

EXPLAIN THE BOOK IN ONE ACCURATE SENTENCE:
Three people come together to fight an ancient evil in a town called Black Hollow

WHAT WAS RIGHT AND WHAT WAS WRONG?
Well there are a lot of sides to this novel. Told from Mia, Mason and Kai’s point of view it was slightly difficult for me to form a close bond to either of them, I felt like every time I started to get into the characters mind, the point of view was abruptly changed.
I loved that there were several different things going on story wise but I did not really enjoy the “wicked fairy-tale” aspect which felt very juvenile at times, especially the first 20 %.

I think that would have worked better as a YA novel (if you take out the swearing) but I just could not get invested into the story and believe it. It was very childlike its description of the “evil legend of Black Hollow” and that for me that just didn’t work. If I want a fairy-tale I will pick up YA, this I thought would be more adult but again, just my opinion. I know a lot of people that love this troupe.

IT’S SOMEONES CUP OF TEA

One thing you need to know, if this is your cup of tea. The writing, tone, atmosphere – IT’S FUGGIN PERFECTION. Flawless transitions and descriptions (and all the different story lines) kept me interested throughout and that is why I finished this novel.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR:
It wasn’t really for me, it could be for you. I think if you like fairy-tale/fable and folklore and some horror with a touch of romance– this is your perfect cup of tea.
Rating: 2.9

<b>4 stars</b>

Not what I expected yet what I expected at the same time.

Admittedly, it was a little slow at the beginning but then the pace did get better.

However, there were some issues. As there were three main characters, I expected all of them to play an equal role in the plot. But like with another book with three main characters, the female main character ended up being the main and there was an aspect of the "special snowflake" trope which I hated.
I'm also very confused as from one POV, it seemed there would be a sequel and from another, it seemed to be a closed ending?

Title: The Hollow Gods
Author: A.J. Varna
Pub. Date: July 28, 2020
Rating: 3

This will be a spoiler free review. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been sitting on writing the review for this book for days, because honestly, I don’t know how I feel.

This book was just…I must be missing something.

I don’t understand how it has over a 4.0 rating on Goodreads. I don’t get what people see in this book. Between the weirdly formal, trying to be intelligent, stiff writing, the unlikable characters, and feeling like this was like 5 different story ideas rolled into one, it just didn’t do it for me.

Like, at all.

I thought that maybe sitting on it for a couple days, my opinion would change, but honestly, I’m still just like,

I found that as I was reading, I was barely retaining any information from prior chapters. I just kept reading – an upside to this book is that it’s a quick read, despite the weird formal AF writing. It felt really Purple Prose-y, with big words, big adjectives, but what I don’t understand is the lack of atmosphere. For all these descriptors, the world felt plain, and the town felt spooky because we’re told it’s spooky, not because the image created lends towards actually spookiness – does that make sense?

My brain can’t make sense of this book. I’m actually a bit frustrated because wtf, it shouldn’t be this hard to write a review for this book.

This book tried to combine wolf shifters, reincarnation, dream realities, alternate realities and God/Godlike beings and evil spirit possessions, but that’s a lot. And all while being this weird mix of contemporary, fantasy and paranormal, and I don’t think it really worked. It’s just so much to pack into a 400-page story, where plot elements introduced in the beginning, play no large roll to the story at hand. All while trying to sound intelligent, formal and stiff, where we’re told everything and shown very little. This book felt like it was written, as if the author was being paid more for each convoluted adjective used in this book.

I don’t think the author executed this as well as it could have been, and it just leaves you confused.

Don’t even get my started on the cast of characters. Other than the freaking crazy ass town people, you have the 3 main POV’s, Miya, Kai and Mason, and none are incredibly likeable. Their feelings, fears and other emotions might be grounded in a real exploration of emotions, but I just couldn’t connect.

Miya is pretty annoying. I didn’t really care for her POV. She felt like a child pretending to be a grown up, but not willing to accept responsibility, or even try to be a contributing member of society. Her whole personality felt like a teenager rebelling against her parents and it grated. A lot of the information we’re given about her in the beginning of the book plays like no part to the overall story, so what’s the point in including it? Also, I have a hard time believing that no one was willing to help out Miya as she was struggling, except for her landlady, who was there for her, but also vaguely threatening to kick her out? Miya spends so much time alone, left with her thoughts and her fears and her perceived failings, and no one offers to help her.

As much as I didn’t like her, Mason was by far the worst of the POVs.

Like, holy hell.

He was a pretentious know it all who was condescending and demeaning towards people. He thought himself elevated because “I’m a Doctor”. The way he thought and viewed the world bordered on obnoxious and a little sexist. I think you’re supposed to feel sorry for him, because he wanted to try and save a terminal cancer patient, and he ultimately killed her, but in reality, I didn’t. I’m also assuming this guy is maybe in his late 20’s early 30’s, it’s never really specified – he’s however (on average) you have to be to be in your last year of an Oncology Fellowship – but the way he talks, and his internal monologue feels decades older? But physically, he’s supposed to look young and handsome, which makes me think he’s supposed to be a young adult. I just don’t know.

The medical terminology used in this book felt like it came right out of an episode of Grey’s Anatomy – a lot of big, pretty, official words that felt like they had no meaning. It just felt like a reiteration of medical jargon being used to sound professional, without feeling professional.

And then we have Kai, a wolf shifter – which I’ll come back to in a moment – and his crass, dangerous, leave me alone attitude. I didn’t hate Kai’s POVs, and he’s probably my favorite in this book, but the bar’s pretty low. He’s legit a Lone Wolf – figuratively and literally. He does whatever he can to survive, and that often means hurting others. Then there’s the relationship between Kai and Miya and it was cringe – lots of awkward dialogue and insta-love connection bs. I mean, I get it with the overarching plot of the story, why they have such a connection, but half of their interactions felt like dialogue from those fake porn movies you see in movies. It just left you with secondhand embarrassment and so much cringe.

Usually I’m all for moody, bad boy types, and if they’re in Paranormal books, throw in a shifter ability that turns them into the Protective Alpha, but shit, every time Kai did that, it felt awkward as hell, and the growling…yeah, no.

But let’s touch on the wolf-shifter element of the story. In a world that seems to be plagued by a Dreamwalker, who apparently steals young women over the course of this town’s history, how do we get wolf-shifters?

I’m going to apologize for this one spoiler, but there’s a moment where Kai is telling Miya about his past, and how he comes from Scandinavia or something, and he says something like, “we’re not accepted there”…so are wolf shifter’s like public, common knowledge? And if they are, then how the fuck does he stay secret? I don’t understand!

Honestly, I don’t know what else to say, because I’m still so fucking confused about this book. I want to understand what I’m missing, but on the other hand, I’m ready to put this in my review as a book that just wasn’t for me. If you think you might like it, feel free to check it out, but I’m not outright recommending this. So, I’m ending this here, and maybe I’ll read book 2, just to see how it ends (even though I don’t know how there can be a second one with the way this ended), but I’m not holding my breath or anxiously anticipating it or anything.

Every once in a while, I encounter a book everyone seems to love, while I cannot, for the life of me, manage to muster any excitement for. This is one of those instances.

I think one of my biggest issues with it, was that it didn’t seem to stick to any genre. At times it was too mundane, and the next chapter there was a guy transforming into a wolf, and I was left reeling and confused. It was Contemporary, Fantasy and Paranormal, but the blending between the three wasn’t all the way there.

Even now, I’m still not sure I actually understood the plot. Werepeople, past lives, reincarnation, alternate realities, dreamworlds, evil spirits or gods(?), possession. It was just too much. The execution wasn’t on par with the level of ambition of the author. That’s not to say the writing was bad. It wasn’t. It’s just the flow was all wrong and the plot was too convoluted. And to me, it’s still unclear how it all happened and the reason for the resentment, and hate that led to the legend in the first place.

I could not get into the story. For me, the first half dragged a lot, and when I was, maybe, getting a little bit interested, we switched characters. The change in pacing was very jarring.

Of the three main characters, I’m still not sure what the point of giving Mason, the doctor, such a huge role really was. Most of the time, he was just there, being annoying and breaking up the main story. If Miya had been born in Black Hollow, left as a kid, forgotten everything, and then come back, we could, perhaps, have fused her and Mason into the same character and achieved a much smoother flow of the story. A more consistent pacing.

Also, this story is categorized as new adult and horror. I disagree with both. Maybe mature YA and mystery would be more appropriate. There’s some violence, but there’s nothing scary about this story at all. Sadly, I don't think I'll be reading any more books from this saga. This just wasn't the story for me,.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

As a girl who grew up daydreaming of monsters in the forest, this novel gripped me from the start. A woman with her heart in the woods, a man wrestling with demons, and other man running from his past. If you like fantasy and intrigue, this book is for you.

I will say that I had a hard time getting into this book at the beginning. I am not sure if it is because I was coming off of the high that follows me after every Jennifer Armentrout book I read, or if it was just confusing at first though. The confusion lifts after the first few chapters, though, and the book really comes into its own.

The folklore was fascinating. (I do wish the backstory was explained a little more or fleshed out better, but I expect that it will be addressed more in book two, so maybe I’m just impatient.) There are mystical forces at work in this not-so-normal town. Is it faeries, is it a scientific phenomena, or is it perhaps something even larger and more sinister? The answer may not be as clear-cut as you would think.

There are 3 main characters, and I thoroughly enjoyed 2/3 of them. The novel is told from their three alternating perspectives, giving this book more depth and making things more uncertain. Sometimes I find changing perspectives to be jumpy or difficult to follow, but A.J Vrana did not fall into this. The switching narratives ends up tying the story more together.

Creepy, mysterious, and intriguing, Hollow Gods will leave you wanting the next book in this duology.

4.5 stars

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Guys, this book was so good though! Think a much darker Linger series by Maggie Stiefvater meets The Near Witch by V. E. Schwab. I Loved it!

What I liked

I loved the characters, their internal struggles, their parts to play in a story that was also sort of reminiscent of the movie Inception.

Reading this story was like walking through a dense fog in the not quite night and not quite day. The way the past and the present collide. The way shame and guilt and fear collide. The way light and dark, sleep and wake, life and death all collide. It's honestly a difficult book to really even describe. At it's core, it is the story of a werewolf and a girl. Or perhaps it is the story of a girl who is lost and then found. Or perhaps it is the story of a history that is doomed to repeat itself over and over again. I think it is absolutely a story of redemption.

The way the author was able to create this air of suspense throughout the entire novel is incredible and definitely transported to me a world far away from my own (which of course is what a story is supposed to do). I was immersed and I never wanted it to end.

The characters are complex, shaded in tones of gray. Broken and battling with demons within and without ... and perhaps in this way, this story is one giant metaphor.

What I did not like

What keeps a book at a 4.5 vs. a 5 star for me really just comes down to the book's ability to be MORE. Pull my emotions MORE. Connect me to the characters MORE. Connect me to the world MORE. And while this book had everything that a great story has ... it just didn't quite yet push that limit that I know this story can have. I hope to see this continue to develop in the next book in this series.

In Conclusion

A truly wonderful debut! I can't wait to see MORE.

This book blew my mind. With it’s amazing storyline, legends and magical feel to it it was just what I needed (and I want more!).

To be honest the reason why I picked this up was because the author is Serbian and I believe she moved to Canada and I always like to support my fellow compatriots and I’m glad I did because now I won’t stop talking about it! The cover doesn’t do this book the justice because the story behind it is just something different truly.

The book tells a story of Black Hollow, the town where every now and then girls go missing in the woods, and when they come back their family members are driven to madness and kill them. Everyone thinks it’s the doing of Dreamwalker, a girl who was outcasted a long time ago and by killing the girls she seeks her revenge. It follows three perspectives: Miya – a young girl who has always been drawn to the woods until she realizes she may be the next Dreamwalker’s victim, Kai – a shapeshifting wolf who is fighting literal demons inside his head and Mason – an oncologist who has just moved to the town and wants to uncover it’s scary legends. I loved the three-perspective narration and how every character was totally different from the other in terms of language, feelings and story-telling.

As soon as I got into the story a bit more I realized I had the same feelings I had while reading The Raven boys by Maggie Stiefvater (my favorite book, by the way). The similarity comes from the legends and quite peculiar but captivating and a sometimes a bit scary plotline that it totally blew my mind.

The legend of wolves, woods and the Dreamwalker were the most interesting part because it felt like a real-life legend. The author presents us with so many details that all we want to do is Google it and see if it’s real (I had to do it just to be sure).

The characters are all so different but I loved all of them. I loved how raw and unfiltered Kai was and how he talks about his primal instincts although it might seem brutish, but because he is a werewolf those are normal feelings. Miya is a very likeable character because she’s brave but loving and I loved that the romance wasn’t the main part of the story, although I liked it and it gave it an interesting twist. Although the history keeps repeating itself it must come to an end at once, and Miya is determined to end it.

The fantasy was also very interesting, and I loved reading about dreamwalking as well as the power of mind in all of this. The fate plays the biggest role in this as it brings all of our characters together in the end.

All in all this was so interesting and it makes me want to read a lot more paranormal stuff. The mixture of paranormal and legends was something I’ve never read before but I truly loved it. This is a masterpiece and I’m hoping it will be a series because I want more of it and that ending just didn’t cut it for me.

I’m hoping this will get the praise it deserves once it’s out because it truly is a gem. If you like The Raven Boys I’m pretty sure you’ll love this book and if you love magical realism and legends this is a perfect book for you.

I think I was really unsure about how I felt while reading this book. Overall, I loved the idea of it. A small town completely revoked around this fairy tale and believing that the dreamwalker was responsible for all the disappearing girls. This is the kind of stuff I love to read about.

Right off the bat the writing was great. I loved reading the chapters from Kai and Miya. I loved their characters and the relationship they were building. I also loved how completely different their points of view were, but then we got to our third main character, Mason. He just didn’t hold my attention as much as the other two. I liked the fact that it was a point of view who didn’t grow up in this town. Mason completely thinks the town folk are a little crazy and odd for believing in such things. It got to the point where I was just wishing Mason's part would go by faster so I could get to Miya and Kai.

Overall, it's a great story, I just wished I would have enjoyed Mason's part a little more. Then this probably would have been a five star book for me.

The Hollow Gods is about a folklore gone crazy. A small town has a kind of boogeyman story to keep everyone out of the woods. You'd think in the 21st century they'd dismiss it for what it is, just a story, but not this town. They still hold on to the myth that was started when the town was new. A visiting doctor is determined to prove them right, but can he in time to save them? This was an interesting story. It has folklore, romance, mystery, suspense and a bit of horror thrown in for good measure. The characters are fully fleshed, including flaws, which add to the realism. I enjoyed the story and the descriptions allowed me to see the story play out in my head like a movie. There was symbolism peppered throughout the story that makes the reader think.

The Hollow Gods is a dark dream like story of small town secrets playing out on a grand scale. The world building was excellent, Weaving folk tales with a gritty realism, the multiple points of view of the three main characters was well done and they sat well within the world. The pacing of the plot was good and has mystery and twists that has me eager to read the next book

So to be honest this book did not go the way I thought it would. I was expecting a "Little Red Riding Hood" type story but you get so much more in this book. The plot lines were a little hard to follow and I had to go back a few times to get back on the right plot line, but it was not horrible to go back. I normally found something I missed when I went back and that was why it was not making senses.

For this story you need to have an open mind about what nature can and will do. You will also find the issue of human mob mentality a cause in this book. It showcases the, sometimes, horrible aspect of human mob mentality. The villagers are a prime example of the bad side of mob mentality, in my opinion. The way they decide to do the things they do and all of it out of sheer terror without taking the time to determine what the actual cause was or is.

I am interested to see what the next book in the series is going to be about. The author left enough open to continue the story line yet at the same time closed the important ones to this book. I am curious to find out more back story to the main and secondary characters. I feel their stories need to be known and I hope we find them out.

This ARC book was granted to me by NetGalley for an honest opinion and review.

This sure wasn't what I thought it was going to be. It turned out to be a YA dark fantasy......which I hate reading. This book deals with the town of Black Hollow, and the supposedly real Dreamwalker who steals then kills girls and leaves them in the town. Kai, the lead Male finds himself waking in weird places next to the dead girls. So what. This has the wanna be creepy woods, the shape shifting werewolf, the ghostly or was she supposed to be witchy woman who swings on the eerie swing......blah,, blah, blah,.
It wasn't that this book was poorly written, it wasn't, it just wasn't anything new or scary at all, let alone even suspenseful to me. The characters were shallow and I really could not connect with or even care about what happened to them. It read like a re telling of Little Red Riding Hood, but just more convoluted and boringly stiff. And the fact it's the first in a series? Nope, not for me.

Black Hollow ist nicht, was es scheint. Das verschlafene Dörfchen im kanadischen British Columbia wirkt auf den ersten Blick wie der perfekte Ort, um alle Sorgen hinter sich zu lassen: ruhige Landbewohner, ein Markt am Rand des Waldes, der Wald selbst ... Doch was im Wald angeblich lauert, das ist eine ganz andere Geschichte.

The Hollow Gods ist der erste Teil der Chaos Cycle Duologie von A.J. Vrana und versetzt uns in die Fußstapfen nicht eines, sondern gleich von drei Hauptcharakteren: Da wäre zum einen Miya, eine junge College-Studentin, die nach einigen Rückschlägen eigentlich bloß versucht, ihr Leben wieder auf die Reihe zu bekommen – wäre da nicht auch die Erinnerung an ihr Kindheitstreffen mit einem Wolf am Rande des Waldes von Black Hollow und die Geschichten rund um die Dreamwalkerin, die Wölfe nutzt, um junge Mädchen in den Wald zu locken.

Kai muss sich indessen nicht erst fragen, ob es so etwas wie übersinnliche Geschöpfe tatsächlich gibt – immerhin ist er selbst eines. Der Halbwolf hat andere Probleme: einen Dämon, der seinen Geist heimsucht, und eine Serie an unliebsamen Erwachen im Wald neben den Leichen junger Frauen – ohne Erinnerung daran, wie genau es dazu kam.

Und dann wäre da noch Arzt Mason, dessen fatale Fehlentscheidung über die Therapie seiner Patientin ihr Leben frühzeitig beendete, und der in Black Hollow eigentlich bloß eine Auszeit plant – nur um dann doch in die verworrenen Mythen und Legenden der Stadt gezogen zu werden. Umso mehr, da die Bewohner des Ortes bloß äußerst wenig Interesse daran zu hegen scheinen, ihre Sagen offen zu teilen – selbst dann, wenn diese zu einem schier unglaublichen Mord von einem ehemals liebenden Vater an seiner aus dem Wald zurückgekehrten Tochter führt.

The Hollow Gods spielt auf der einen Seite mit der Frage, wie sehr Mythen und Legenden unser Dasein prägen bzw. wie viel Wahrheit in ihnen tatsächlich steckt, wirft aber auf der anderen Seite auch jene Frage in den Raum, ob wir unserem eigenen Geist wirklich immer trauen können. Ist die Dreamwalkerin real? Oder vielleicht doch nur die Ausrede eines hysterischen Dorfes, ihren dunkelsten Seiten freien Lauf zu lassen? Kann man seinen eigenen Gedanken trauen, wenn diese von der Stimme eines Dämons heimgesucht werden? Sind Träume Portale in andere Realitäten oder doch nur ein Symptom des eigenen Wahnsinns? Und warum scheint ein ganzer Ort regelrecht darauf zu warten, vom Unheil heimgesucht zu werden?

Auch wenn die Story, die in The Hollow Gods erzählt wird, durchaus Essenz hat und vor allem gegen Ende hin so manche offene Frage beantwortet, liegt ihre größte Stärke dennoch darin, um die von der Autorin geschickt gesponnenen Mythen und Legenden eher herumzutanzen und nur hie und da handfeste Fakten zu liefern. Als Leser folgt man abwechselnd drei Charaktere mit drei vollkommen unterschiedlichen Blickwinkeln auf das Geschehen und weiß so stets mehr als diese selbst – und kennt dennoch nur einen Teil des gesamten Mysteriums. Das Spannende an der Geschichte ist somit vor allem, genau wie Miya, Kai und Mason selbst, mehr über die Dreamwalkerin und die Sagen von Black Hollow zu erfahren, um nach und nach herauszufinden, was real ist und was nicht bzw. wie alles miteinander verbunden ist. Der flotte Stil, den die Autorin A.J. Vrana dabei an den Tag legt, hält das gesamte Buch über bei Trab und sorgt dafür, dass man The Hollow Gods so schnell nicht weglegen möchte. Schön ist auch, dass sich der Stil mit jedem Charakter entsprechend ändert und man so nicht nur unterschiedliche Blickwinkel erhält, sondern auch die unterschiedlichen Persönlichkeiten der drei durchwegs gut geschriebenen Protagonisten beim Lesen wunderbar fühlen kann.

Der einzige kleine Wermutstropfen an The Hollow Gods ist, dass einem gegen Ende hin ein riesiger Berg an losen (aber doch durchaus spannenden) Infos geboten wird, die einen zwar näher an die Lösung von allem bringen, aber dennoch etliche Fragen offenlassen und letztendlich vor allem verwirren – aber auch das ist in Ordnung, handelt es sich schließlich um den ersten Band einer Duologie, die in Teil zwei hoffentlich noch weitere Antworten liefern wird.

Zwischen Mystik und Wahnsinn
The Hollow Gods hat eine ungewöhnliche und genau deshalb so spannende Erzählweise: Zum einen lässt das Buch von Minute eins an keinen Zweifel daran, dass Übersinnliches in der Story tatsächlich existiert, auf der anderen Seite wirft es aber durch die gesamte Geschichte hindurch immer wieder die Frage auf, wie viel von dem, was Übersinnlich ist, tatsächlich auch das ist, was die zugehörigen Sagen und Legenden vermuten lassen. A.J. Vranas Werk liefert dabei eher Indizien als handfeste Fakten und lässt die Leser somit in einem befriedigenden Limbo aus Erkenntnis und Neugier zurück – der im zweiten Teil der Duologie wohl noch seine tatsächliche Auflösung finden wird. Für alle Fans von Dark Fantasy bekommt The Hollow Gods von uns eine eindeutige Empfehlung.

Review published in Unaltered Magazine: https://unaltered.at/2020/06/02/review-the-hollow-gods/

Rich in myth, a wonderful tapestry of solid characters, great storylines and just overall amazing. This is, so far, my book of the year. I'll be writing more about it later on my blog, so will update the blog and this review as I go through it at https://reviewimiss.com

Thank you to Netgalley for connecting me with the publisher and giving me the chance to review the book.