The Breath of God, Harry Turtledove
The Breath of God, Harry Turtledove
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The Breath of God
A Novel of the Opening of the World

Author: Harry Turtledove

Narrator: William Dufris

Unabridged: 15 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 01/06/2009

Synopsis

Once the great Glacier enclosed the Raumsdalian Empire. Now it has broken open, and Count Hamnet Thyssen faces a new world. With the wisecracking Ulric Skakki, the neighboring clan leader Trasamund (politely addressed as "Your Ferocity"), and his lover, the shaman Liv, Hamnet leads an exploration of the new territory in hopes of finding the legendary Golden Shrine.

But dangers abound. A violent and implacable group known as the Rulers has already killed many, and now they attack again. Riding deer and woolly mammoths and using powerful magic, the Rulers triumph and force the Raumsdalians to flee.

In the spring, another battle ends even more badly for Hamnet's side, but the Glacier is also retreating, so they are able to escape. Meeting a tribe whose desperate living conditions have led them to overcome the Raumsdalian taboo against eating fallen foes, they find unexpected allies. Now, returning to the capital city and its intrigues, Hamnet prepares to lead an army against the merciless Rulers. The world, once so bounded and comprehensible, will never be the same.

About Harry Turtledove

Harry Turtledove (he/him) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer whom Publishers Weekly has called the "Master of Alternate History." He has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Hugo Award for Best Novella, the HOMer Award for Short story, and the John Esthen Cook Award for Southern Fiction. Turtledove's works include the Crosstime Traffic, Worldwar, Darkness, and Opening of the World series; the stand-alone novels The House of Daniel, Fort Pillow, and Give Me Back My Legions!; and over a dozen short stories available on Tor.com. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, novelist Laura Frankos, and their four daughters.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Dirk on February 06, 2015

I wasn’t aware when I started reading this that it is actually the second book in a series. The author does fill the reader in, but I can’t help but wonder how much this affected my reading experience. For one thing, the character development here is rather lacking, and it is possible that the autho......more

Goodreads review by Clay on April 29, 2010

There’s plenty of skilled writing in “The Breath of God” (Tor, $24.95, 335 pages), which is true of all of Harry Turtledove’s books. That said, Turtledove is not a “great” author, and you won’t get long descriptions of tea coming to a boil, or paragraph-long sentences that precisely describe the men......more

Goodreads review by Nick on January 26, 2009

This series isn't quite like his others, in that it is farther from any specific historical model than most, but it is still historically based, sort of. It takes place as an ice age is ending, and the change has reconnected lands that have been separated for many years by glaciers. Unfortunately, o......more

Goodreads review by Mark on November 09, 2019

Having read the first book, I was interested in what would happen next. Turtledove builds a world, with interesting characters, well-developed culture, easy to visualize landscapes. The story is unusual, and unpredictable. Set in a sort of alternate ice age, it is a fun romp through politics and war......more

Goodreads review by Ken on May 08, 2022

Okay, so I finally got around to reading the follow up to "Beyond the gap" and....it's another mixed bag. I had the same criticisms of the first book as nearly everyone else that has read it: There was entirely too much walking from point A to B to C and then for some reason, right back again. To no......more

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