The Hierophant’s Daughter eARC Review

Title: THE HIEROPHANT’S DAUGHTER (The Disgraced Martyr Trilogy #1)

Author: M.F. Sullivan

Pub. Date: May 19, 2019

Publisher: Painted Blind Publishing

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 286

NOT FOR YOUNG ADULTS, THE FAINT OF HEART, OR THOSE WITH WEAK WILLS

Race through the bloodbath in this first volume of a horrific cyberpunk tahgmahr you can’t afford to miss. What would you sacrifice to survive?

By 4042 CE, the Hierophant and his Church have risen to political dominance with his cannibalistic army of genetically modified humans: martyrs. In an era when mankind’s intergenerational cold wars against their long-lived predators seem close to running hot, the Holy Family is poised on the verge of complete planetary control. It will take a miracle to save humanity from extinction.

It will also take a miracle to resurrect the wife of 331-year-old General Dominia di Mephitoli, who defects during martyr year 1997 AL in search of Lazarus, the one man rumored to bring life to the dead. With the Hierophant’s Project Black Sun looming over her head, she has little choice but to believe this Lazarus is really all her new friends say he is–assuming he exists at all–and that these companions of hers are really able to help her. From the foulmouthed Japanese prostitute with a few secrets of her own to the outright sapient dog who seems to judge every move, they don’t inspire a lot of confidence, but the General has to take the help she can get.

After all, Dominia is no ordinary martyr. She is THE HIEROPHANT’S DAUGHTER, and her Father won’t let her switch sides without a fight. Not when she still has so much to learn.

The fast-paced first entry of an epic cyberpunk trilogy, THE HIEROPHANT’S DAUGHTER is a horror/sci-fi adventure sure to disturb yet inspire adult readers of all stripes. Be sure to keep an eye out for THE GENERAL’S BRIDE, available on August 14th, 2019!

“The Hierophant’s Daughter is a gripping read from start to finish. I highly recommend it.”-Tessa Dick, author of Philip K. Dick: Remembering Firebright & Conversations With Philip K. Dick

Find it: 

Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, TBD

My Review:

I loved the premise for this, but I think an important note to start off with is to read the timeline first otherwise the dates and events may be a tad confusing!

Dominia was a very interesting MC and I really appreciated the way she was written, there is a strength and a complexity to her and not everything is revealed about her in this book which means we just have to keep reading to find out more about this world and her journey within it.

I also always appreciate a different take on vampires and Martyrs are certainly a different take on them! We have a nice fusion of fantasy with sci-fi and it’s the sort of book I needed on blending the two differences into one book.

The Lamb was probably my favorite minor character and if you’ve read it we should definitely ‘talk shop.’ The intricate family that’s been created just has you curious to know more about them.

Cassandra is a tragic sort of tale for a Martyr conversion, you’ll see why if you read it, I’m not here to hand out spoilers and I felt that Dominia’s pain over her was just simply so sad, you felt for Dominia and you wanted her to be able to push through everything to get to her goal, which she never wavers from.

As for who my favorite character was overall. It’s Basil. Trust me, Basil is the MVP of this book, guys. Another plot thing I refuse to spoil for you all.

I really loved this book, it is certainly slow-paced and not a YA book though that’s not to say older teens can’t take part in reading an awesome and slightly gruesome tale. Any problems I have about it may be just one point about a potentially culturally sensitive issue, and it was something I didn’t notice until a friend mentioned it. I can’t really speak for it more than I can see it being an issue for some, I know that it had given me pause but I couldn’t articulate why until I read her review.

Honestly, though I thought this was, overall, a very well thought out novel and I cannot wait to read its sequel.

If you want amazingly neat technology including bionics, a dog that is the ultimate ‘sidekick,’ and a kick-ass female MC that gives LGBTQ rep (and so does one of her travel companions!) and you like fantasy or sci-fi, and intricate and slow-burning world-building, then I would recommend this.

About the Author:

M. F. Sullivan lives and works in Ashland, Oregon, having completed THE LIGHTNING STENOGRAPHY DEVICE, the psychedelic follow-up to the transgressive DELILAH, MY WOMAN. Her forthcoming series, THE DISGRACED MARTYR TRILOGY, will be released over nine months from May 2019 through January 2020.

Website |  Twitter | Facebook | Intstagram | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads

Redbubble Store

Giveaway:

2 winners will receive a Painted Blind Publishing/Holy Martyr Church logo t-shirt, US Only.

5 winners will receive an ARC of THE HIEROPHANT’S DAUGHTER, US Only.

Click on the link to enter for the shirt/ARC:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Painted Blind Publishing’s Twitch will be doing a tarot reading/book reading/giveaway on May 20th, 2019, one day after the book’s release.

The Twitch.tv account is: https://www.twitch.tv/paintedblindpublishing

Week One:

4/15/2019- BookHounds– Excerpt

4/15/2019- Two Chicks on Books– Excerpt

4/16/2019- Lone Tree Reviews– Excerpt

4/17/2019- Always Me– Excerpt

4/18/2019- Jaime’s World– Excerpt

4/19/2019- Reese’s Reviews– Review

4/19/2019- A Dream Within A Dream– Excerpt

Week Two:

4/22/2019- Taking It One Book at a time– Review

4/22/2019- A Gingerly Review– Excerpt

4/23/2019- Owl Always Be Reading– Excerpt

4/24/2019- Bluestocking Bookworm– Review

4/25/2019- wewhotellstories– Review

4/26/2019- Some Books & Ramblings– Excerpt

Week Three:

4/29/2019- Parajunkee– Excerpt

4/30/2019- The Caffeinated Reader– Review

4/30/2019- 4covert2overt ☼ A Place In The Spotlight ☼– Excerpt