Deathless
Seven were the Godless Kings who took their war to Heaven.
King Ertide Hostain was once known as the Crimson Prince. He fought side by side with angels and pegasi and defended the Sant Dien Empire against monsters. But his pact with Heaven has become strained. He has grown old, his body rots, and he has yet to choose which squabbling prince will be his heir.
The Hostain dynasty has ruled over the empire for millennia, but when Ertide finds cryptic notes from his dead father, he realises not all is as it seems. Has history been rewritten? And if so, what is heaven hiding?
Immortality has a price, and it is paid in blood.
-Goodreads
Title: Deathless
Series: Annals of the God Eater #1
Author: Rob J. Hayes
Page Count: 196
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Date Read: February 20th, 2025
Opening
Deathless by Rob J Hayes is my second read from the God Eater Saga (Herald being the first). This is still such a unique release as he released three book ones from different trilogies but all connected to the same world. This truly baffled me until I read Deathless. Now I'm settling in and things are actually working for me.
Each of the first books are from the same world but separated by generations worth of time. Now I'm starting to see how they are connecting and as I said, I'm rather liking it.
Pacing
The pacing worked really well for me. This was a very quick and easy read. There is of course the fact it's only around 200 pages which helped. But the fact I visually read this one rather than audio like I did Herald, it definitely allowed me to hyper focus on the read and really enjoy it. As usual I didn't find any glaring editing issues during my read through.
There is a good number of characters to keep track of especially if you already read either Herald or Demon before Deathless. It shouldn't take long to notice those connections between each of the books. For me this was another thing that helped me stay focused as I wanted to catch those as they popped up.
World Building
The world building continues to be great in the God Eater Saga. The relationships between the humans and angels is intriguing but for me it was the history that unfolds in this one. Not only due to the fact this book is history on its own compared to Herald but during this story, our characters uncover even more history of this amazingly dark yet interesting world.
There is plenty of magic within this world along with plenty of political intrigue extending not only across human empires but when you factor in that relationship with the angels as well.
Character Development
The character development was on full display with this short read. This really put things into a different perspective and understanding of the Hostain family. There are a lot of potential spoilers on the tip of my tongue that I want to mention here but I'll just say the Hostain family tree has a lot of different individuals that we see grow. And how some of them interact with the different angels also makes me want to go back and experience Herald again knowing what I do now.
Closing
I still have single book one remaining to get to for this saga which I believe goes in further back in time which should shed more light on this story. I'm not sure when Rob anticipates to get the second installment for each of this out but I'll be waiting as patiently as I can. I will more than likely also give Herald another listen leading up to that release to experience it all again with the new knowledge and prepare for the continuation of things.
I would certainly recommend both Herald and Deathless to readers of fantasy. They are on the darker side of tales at times so be prepared for that. This author is not afraid to kill characters. I will also confirm the reading order of Herald, Deathless and Demon comes from the authors recommendation upon release and I can see why.
Scoring
Pacing 5.0 / 5.0
Worldbuilding 5.0 / 5.0
Character Development 5.0 / 5.0
