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Serpentine Recommendations

Vigor Mortis by Thundamoo (Amazon, Audible)

This is my favorite story I’ve ever read.

An orphan starving on the street gets the power to consume souls and bring the dead back to life to serve her. Not just the power, but the instincts — it feels good. It’s murder, it’s a violation, it’s heresy.

Heresy to what? In this world, humans worship the Mistwatcher, the vast eldritch being of eyes and tentacles around. They live upon one of thousands of skylands orbiting this creature. On these skylands, night only falls when a higher skyland drapes yours in shadow.

There’s magic to wield and monsters to slay, but Vigor Mortis is at its strongest when it’s writing the inner conflict of monstrous characters at war with their instincts and worst natures.

The plotting is tight, with constant anticipation and payoff. When I started reading, for the next six days I didn’t do much but read it all in a big binge.

But it’s not just the plotting, the characterization, the themes… I’ve never read a story that gets me as much as this one does. Most chapters I couldn’t help but have a big grin on my face, wiggling and vibrating with enjoyment. I cried, multiple times — by the end I was outright sobbing.

_9MOTHER9HORSE9EYES9

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