The Memory in the Blood

by Ryan Van Loan

Overview

The Memory in the Blood is the pulse-pounding conclusion to Ryan Van Loan's The Fall of the Gods series, featuring sea battles, hidden libraries, warring deities, old enemies, and one woman's desire for liberation and revenge.

When her quest to destroy the Gods began, Buc was a child of the streets. Now she is a woman of steel, shaped by gaining and losing power, tempered by love and betrayal, and honed to a fine edge by grief and her desire for vengeance.

A perilous, clandestine mission to a hidden library uncovers information that is key to destroying both the Dead Gods and their enemy, the Goddess Ciris. Ciris's creation, Sin, who lives inside Buc, gives her superhuman abilities and tempts her with hints of even greater power. With that power, she could achieve almost anything—end the religious war tearing her world apart, remake society at a stroke—but the price would be the betrayal of everything she has fought for . . . and the man she loved would still be dead.

In the middle of this murderous, magical maelstrom, a coded message smuggled out of the heart of the Dead Gods' cathedral reveals that the Dead Gods intend to destroy Ciris—and much of the world with her.

This. Will. Not. Stand.

If Buc has to destroy all Gods, eat the rich, and break the world's economy to save the people, she will do it. Even if it costs her everything.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250222640
Publisher:	Tom Doherty Associates
Publication date:	07/12/2022
Series:	The Fall of the Gods , #3
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	198,337
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

RYAN VAN LOAN served six years in the U.S. Army Infantry, on the front lines of Afghanistan. He now works in healthcare innovation. His debut novel was The Sin in the Steel, the first volume in The Fall of the Gods series; it was followed by The Justice in Revenge. Van Loan and his wife live in Pennsylvania.

Editorial Reviews

06/20/2022

The satisfying conclusion to Van Loan’s Fall of the Gods trilogy (after The Justice in Revenge) sends its protagonists into a hopeless battle against impossible odds without ever losing sight of the more human elements. Months after street rat turned adventurer Sambuciña “Buc” Alhurra fell out with her partner, Eld, she continues her quest to free humanity from its invisible chains of servitude to the Gods. Having sparked an open war between the Sin Eaters of the goddess Ciris and the mages of the Dead Gods, and armed with the fragment of Sin lurking in her own mind, Buc’s plans march toward fruition. Then she discovers the Dead Gods’ scheme to unleash a plague upon the world, which will tip the scales in the Dead Gods’ favor and devastate society. Now Buc must rally a ragtag band of unlikely allies and former foes to save the world by destroying the Gods once and for all. The worldbuilding is as expansive as ever, but Van Loan grounds the epic adventure in Buc’s emotional growth as she gathers her friends and found family around her. Messy, bloody, and complex, this offers some serious payoff for both the characters and the reader. Agent: DongWon Song, Howard Morhaim Literary. (July)

Publishers Weekly

04/01/2022

Sambuciña "Buc" Servenza lived on the streets until taken in by former soldier Eld. After years of battling both the Dead Gods and the Goddess Ciris, Buc is now a woman who has gained the power of a demi-goddess, lost the man she loved, and is fueled by rage and vengeance. The sliver of Ciris that lives inside Buc tells her that her current power is just a fraction of what she could someday possess. Buc's power could help heal the world, but it would cost her the few friends and values she has, and Eld would still be dead. Buc's line is drawn: people live, but everything else—Gods, wealth, economy, herself—can burn. The book's economics and its magic detail a world of politics, classism, and the desire to break barriers. VERDICT Van Loan's conclusion to "The Fall of the Gods" trilogy is a fast-paced ride over high seas, through secret libraries and dark cathedrals, and into the heart of a volatile heroine.—Kristi Chadwick

Library Journal

The worldbuilding is as expansive as ever...Messy, bloody, and complex, this offers some serious payoff for both the characters and the reader.” —Publishers Weekly

“A fast-paced ride over high seas, through secret libraries and dark cathedrals, and into the heart of a volatile heroine. ” —Library Journal

From the Publisher