Mariana Palova's Lord of Sabbath is a darkly imagined work of art. She writes with such detail that her creatures jump off the page and Elisse's adventure becomes a movie inside one's mind. Beautifully written in dual first person with just a hint of second person in some chapters make for an interesting read.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review will appear on Goodreads.

Nation of the Beasts is a mysterious tale filled with New Orleans style voodoo and mythical ancestors. It is rich with a mix of history and fantasy that entertains any lover of dark tales. Elisse is on a journey to find a family of his own and to awaken the ancestor, a powerful creature that gives him strength and powers, within him. Mariana Palova weaves a wonderful coming of age story about our young hero who has to overcome his own weaknesses in order to embrace his destiny. Along the way, he learns about the true meaning of family and what sacrifices it takes in order to save the people he loves.

There are two protagonists in this story, Elisse, the young Indian-American who has just moved to the United States as an Indian born American and I think the second narrator is an unknown entity of some sort. It reminds me a lot of Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief which showcases many scenes from the point of view of Death. It’s an interesting take on being able to show multiple scenes which don’t involve Elisse and gives a lot of information and insight to the reader that we wouldn’t usually have. I’m not a fan of the second person point of view though as the character refers to everyone as “you”, “You try to take a sip of tea, but your hand trembles.”

“I want to let myself be overcome by my evilness”

Truly my favorite line of the book because it shows how human Elisse is even after all that he suffers. At times the book feels rushed and tends to vaguely skip over exposition and at other times the novel slows down to extend scenes of importance. While reading, there were several times when I started to get bored because of the slow pace but as soon as I thought of putting the book away for the night, a new, exciting moment would happen and I would be hooked again.

One thing that I was displeased with was how the narrator, Elisse, sometimes relayed information as if the reader hadn’t already been privy to the information. For instance, one scene where he is returning to the voodoo shop he states “I loathe this place, not only because of the eccentric owner, but also because it’s where I came across the bone monster for the first time” which we already read about earlier. There were several instances of this happening that stuck out to me. I also have mixed feelings about the emotional capacity of the main character. I’m not sure if this was lost in the translation of the book or possibly cultural differences between the native Mexican heritage and my own. Since this is the first novel in a series (duology? trilogy?), I think there will be more secrets revealed about the relationship between Elisse and the other tribe members.

Overall, Palova wrote an exciting tale about mythological ancestors and voodoo. I thought the book was a good read and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the darker tales.

This book was received as an ARC from The Mage's Lantern LLC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is basically Spanish mythology come to life. Elisse to me represents Odysseus and the weather and storms he brings across Spain torments the world and changes it forever. The book also had a Game of Thrones feel when it came to the war scenes but mostly I had a little Greek Mythology vibe while reading this book. While I was very invested in the story, I do say it did take a while into the book to really fully understand the plots and the motives of each character. That alone I know for our readers is a turn off because of the frustration it causes while reading a new book. Unless the book is beyond great that everyone will appeal to it.

We will consider adding this title to our Sci-Fi collection at our library. That is why we give this book 4 stars.

Nation of the Beasts is a compelling reading. I loved every part of it and I could not wait to go back to it every time I had to put the book down. I'm actually glad that someone did the translation from Spanish or I would've missed this amazing book as I'm not a Spanish native.

It reminded me a lot of Caraval meets Game of Thrones somehow. It's quite dark and the characters are well developed. I'd suggest this read to anyone who love dark stories!

Nation of the Beasts is the first fantasy novel from Mexico that I've read. The translation is well done. No holes or hard to understand phrases. Intriguing story with engaging characters. Overall a good read. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I originally read this in Spanish, as I'm bilingual, and was so excited to see it would be available in English! It was enchanting in every way possible, and as definitely been added onto my preorder list! It's very rare for a full on Fantasy novel coming from Mexico, but this definitely sets the bar high! It's one I would recommend to everyone, and it should definitely be advertised more.

I'm so happy I requested this ARC because it's amazing.
It's a wonderful fantasy, well written and entralling.
I look forward to reading other books in this series.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC