The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King || Military Fiction Meets Superpowers

The Lore of Prometheus

John Carver has three rules: Don't drink in the daytime, don't gamble when the luck has gone, and don't talk to the dead people who come to visit.

It has been almost five years since the incident in Kabul. Since the magic stirred within him and the stories began. Fleeing the army, running from the whispers, the guilt, and the fear he was losing his mind, Carver fell into addiction, dragging himself through life one day at a time.
Desperation has pulled him back to Afghanistan, back to the heat, the dust, and the truth he worked so hard to avoid. But there are others, obsessed with power and forbidden magics, who will stop at nothing to learn the truth of his gifts. Abducted and chained, Carver must break more than his own rules if he is to harness this power and survive.

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Military fiction filled with strategy, tactics, and lots of pew pew guns.
• Action that never stops once it gets going.
• High stakes and lots of thrilling risks.
• Superpowers of all different kinds!
• Urban fantasy set in Afghanistan.
• Main character coming to terms with his PTSD and survivor’s guilt.

Listen. If you had asked me last month if I enjoyed military fiction, I would’ve said nah, not my thing. But I had the pleasure of reading the first part of The Lore of Prometheus for BBNYA last year and enjoyed it, way before I realized it was military fiction. So when I had the chance to read the full thing, I jumped on it, and I loved it! Military fiction and all. So am I surprised that it actually placed FIRST in BBNYA last year? Not at all. It obviously deserves the recognition it’s getting.

The Lore of Prometheus combines military fiction with urban fantasy with a little superpowers sprinkled on top to create a fast-paced thriller that will take the characters to the edge of their breaking point and beyond. It’s filled with tough antiheroes, exciting powers, and a weird (yet adorable) meet cute.

I will say there were times when the pacing was a little off for me and it kind of dragged. I mean, military fiction still isn’t really my thing, and since the first half-ish of the book is heavily that, it dragged a little for me personally. There were also some typos and grammar mistakes that jumped out at me that may or may not be frustrating, depending on who you are. They didn’t bother my reading experience, but they were noticeable enough all the same.

As I said, this book placed first in BBNYA 2020. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors. 

If you are an author and wish to learn more about the 2021 BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website (https://www.bbnya.com/) or our Twitter account, @BBNYA_Official. If you would like to sign-up and enter your book, you can find the BBNYA 2021 AUTHOR SIGN UP FORM HERE. Please make sure to carefully read our terms and conditions before entering. 

If you are a book blogger or reviewer, you can apply to be part of BBNYA 2021 by filling out this form (also remember to read the terms and conditions before signing up)! 

BBNYA is brought to you in association with the Folio Society (If you love beautiful books you NEED to check out their website!) And the book blogger support group TheWriteReads.

Austin-King brings Afghanistan to life as the setting of The Lore of Prometheus. Even though I’ve never been there, it felt like I was experiencing the city with John Carver.

Now, since I haven’t actually been there, I can’t speak to the authenticity of Austin-King’s descriptions, of course. I sort of have to take them at face value. I definitely felt transported to Afghanistan, though, both the good and the bad of it. Given that Afghanistan in the book is in the midst of upheaval and unrest, it’s perhaps not a surprise that this book is filled with danger and action. Plus, John Carver is working security in a city filled with upheaval and unrest. Long story short, there’s plenty of action to pull a reader through this book and keep them turning pages.

For me, the slowest part of this book was the first half, which is mostly military fiction. I’m not big into military fiction, so that likely has something to do with it. Still, I never found myself bored, by any stretch of the imagination. There was always plenty going on that hooked my attention. The one big thing I’d say is even if you think military fiction isn’t for you, give this one a try anyway! You might just be surprised, as I was.

Our protagonist, John Carver, isn’t necessarily what you would call a “good guy.” He’s somewhat selfish, definitely brash, and not winning any Good Samaritan awards. Yet, he’s one heck of a main character!

If you like good guys, this one’s probably not for you. If you happen to like tough antiheroes with questionable morals who swear too much and default to sarcasm, like I do, you’re going to love John Carver. He’s smart and strategic and always quick with a quip. A sarcastic one, of course. He’s not a bad person, per se, but he also isn’t naive about who he is. He was a soldier and is good at what he does, and he’s not afraid to neutralize a threat if need be. He’s the perfect gray character.

John Carver is suffering from his own little slice of hell as he wrestles with his PTSD and his survivor’s guilt, which adds a unique level of depth to his character.

This is such a delicate subject, but I thought it was handled wonderfully in this book. Carver isn’t broken, per se, but he’s fractured, which is a reality he’s just come to accept but not quite deal with. I love the journey his character takes throughout this book, which is as much about healing and forgiveness as it is about realizing that being a bit broken isn’t always a bad thing.

Carver has his own little squad, and it’s not what you expect, but I grew to love them all just the same.

You know, mostly because they’re kind of dead. As it says in the blurb, don’t talk to the visitors. You might sum up Carver’s predicament by saying he’s haunted—metaphorically and literally. I don’t want to get too much into it, because the entire background unravels little by little as the story does, so I’ll just say that this isn’t necessarily a squad you would choose. Okay, it’s not at all the sort of squad you would willingly choose. Austin-King does some really unique things with this squad that I had not expected, though, and I absolutely loved it! I definitely need more of this squad!

I know I’m not usually one for romance, but there’s an unexpected sort of meet cute that is not at all what you might expect. But it was absolutely perfect, and I can’t wait to read more of these two!

You’ll meet Mackenzie after a few chapters, and she’s one tough lady. As John later notes, she’s no damsel in distress. Okay, she’s in distress, sure, but she’s not sitting around waiting for a white knight to save her. She’s smart and cunning and entirely unwilling to give up without a fight. You might even say she has … wait for it … a fiery spirit. It’s okay if you don’t get it now. It’ll hit you when you read the book and you’ll appreciate the joke, I promise. Or maybe you’ll roll your eyes and groan. That’s also a valid response. I just can’t help myself, though.

I wasn’t expecting romance in this book, and there really isn’t a whole lot. It’s brief and realistic and absolutely freaking perfect for my little black heart. If you like relationships between strong characters built on a somewhat precarious foundation, this will 100% appeal to you.

This book isn’t for the faint of heart. There are a lot of not-so-nice characters and scenes filled with explosions, torture, and death. If you can get past that, though, it is a freaking ride.

I just want to throw out there that there are definitely darker elements to this story. If you’re a fan of dark fantasy, this won’t shock you in the least bit. If you’re a little on the queasier side, though, this one may not be for you. Gray characters, the lot of them, except for the villains, which are just … ugh. I have no words for the villains in this. I thought the darker parts of the story were handled well, and a lot of soul-searching happens amongst the characters. The darker aspects of the plot aren’t used needlessly. They launch a lot of grand and important themes that really pull the story together and round out the characters, leaving readers with plenty to think about long after they’ve set the book down.

About Graham Austin-King

Graham Austin-King was born in the south of England and weaned on broken swords and half-forgotten spells.

A shortage of these forced him to consume fantasy novels at an ever-increasing rate, turning to computers and tabletop gaming between meals.

He experimented with writing at the beginning of an education that meandered through journalism, international relations, and law. To this day he is committed to never allowing those first efforts to reach public eyes.

After spending a decade in Canada learning what ‘cold’ really means, and being horrified by poutine, he settled once again in the UK with a seemingly endless horde of children.

To date he is the author of five novels, drawing on a foundation of literary influences ranging from David Eddings to Clive Barker.

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Other Reviews:

• Read to Ramble
• For Books Sake
• Lost in Neverland

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