The Blackgod (Chosen of the Changeling)

In this “strikingly imaginative” sequel to The Waterborn, an emperor’s daughter flees into the wasteland, pursued by an angry god (Kirkus Reviews). The daughter of the emperor, Hezhi has been blessed with untold strength: powers that could change the world. Fearful of this teenage upstart, the god known as the River demands that she be brought in line—or put to death, as all who challenge the River must be. He sends an assassin to follow her, but with the help of a barbarian named Perkar, Hezhi fights back—and nearly destroys the River altogether. She flees the city, striking out into the wilderness in hopes of finding a safe haven beyond the reach of the River’s agents. But no matter where she goes, Hezhi cannot find peace. When she meets the River’s brother, the trickster known as the Blackgod, he offers a way to destroy the River at the source. Caught between two warring deities, Hezhi must learn to master her power—or watch as the world is consumed by water.

Amazon.com Review

The Blackgod brings the tale begun in The Waterborn to a satisfying conclusion. J. Gregory Keyes continues the adventures of Princess Hehzi of Nhol and her unwilling champion, Perkar of the Cattle People, as they struggle to survive the machinations of both the insatiable River God and his brother, the trickster Blackgod, Karak. This is epic fantasy at its best--original, richly textured, and filled with compelling characters. Hehzi and Perkar are with the Mang, nomadic, horse-worshiping people. Under the protection and guidance of a shaman, Brother Horse, Hehzi learns to control and use her ability to manipulate the spirit world. But Ghe, the priestly assassin Perkar beheaded in The Waterborn, has been restored by the River and sent after Hehzi, and another clan of the Mang has declared war on Perkar's people. Their shaman has had a vision that demands Perkar's death. And the Blackgod wants them to journey to the River's source and slay him. People who don't read epic fantasy can enjoy this high adventure. Fans of the genre may be reminded of Kate Elliott's Jaran series and Philip José Farmer's Riverworld saga. Don't be put off by the size of these books; Keyes has the storytelling power to carry you swiftly through them. --Nona Vero

From Library Journal

In this sequel to The Waterborn (LJ 6/15/96) Hezhi, the daughter of the powerful River that flows throughout the land, escapes from the imperial palace in Nhol and her destiny to join with the River. Hiding among the Mang horsemen with her bodyguard, Hezhi must learn to wield her waterborn power. Blackgod, the Raven, reveals how she can defeat the River with the help of Perkar, a cattleman, by traveling to the headwaters in the mountains. Enriched by spiritualism, mystery, and cultural detail, this fantasy belongs in most collections.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In the sequel to The Waterborn , the awakened River God searches for Hezhi, daughter of the emperor and, hence, daughter of the god. Hezhi has vanished from the River's lands to a distant waste, where, with Perkar and her devoted half-giant bodyguard, she takes refuge with the barbarian Mangs. The River God creates a ghoul out of an assassin killed by Perkar as he and Hezhi fled the great city, and he charges the creature to capture and return Hezhi. The continued growth of Hezhi's power threatens to drive her mad, unless she submits to the training, which she fears, that will make her a shaman. According to the Blackgod, only Hezhi has the means to defeat the River, but can the Blackgod be trusted? Even more complex in plot and characterization than its predecessor, this novel sees Hezhi not only struggling to control her magic powers but also, when she attempts to work a cure for a mortally injured Perkar, entering the otherworld, where the gods reside. On a broad canvas, peopled with humans, half-humans, a Machiavellian priesthood, intertribal war, gods, demons, and more, including the ghoul, whose tiny spark of past humanness plays a great role, an epic battle rages and makes this a richly developed page-turner for the fantasy cognoscenti. Sally Estes

From Kirkus Reviews

Sequel to The Waterborn (1996), Keyes's fantasy about water- gods, magic, and destiny. The Changeling is the god of the River and the city Nhol with its royal family. Though most of the time slumbering, he wakes occasionally to arrange for the breeding of a human whose body he can inhabit. That body is presently occupied also by young Princess Hezhi of Nhol, but she's fled to the horse- warrior Mang, along with her protector, Perkar, and his magic sword, Harka. Hezhi's only hope of long-term survival is to kill the River, but to do this she must reach his source beneath the remote mountain She'leng; offering assistance is the powerful but untrustworthy Blackgod. The River, however, is determined to recapture Hezhi and send forth Ghe, an assassin once slain by Perkar, now reanimated and given magic powers to absorb ghosts and gods. To complicate matters, other parties have their own agendas. Eventually, She'leng is the scene of a mighty but baffling struggle in which various entities die, though some come back to life, and everything is resolved--to the author's satisfaction if not the reader's. An often strikingly imaginative but unedifyingly overcomplicated yarn that could've used a vigorous pruning and a stiff dose of logic; still, Waterborn fans will be jubilant. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From the Publisher

True story: my sister, Joan Narvaez (you can call her and ask if this isn't the truth), had really enjoyed THE WATERBORN, Book One of this two-book series. So naturally, I let her know when THE BLACKGOD was coming out. Now, Joan is a good sister and normally insists on buying our books, but in this case, she begged me to get her one of the advance reading copies we were doing for THE BLACKGOD--not to save the cost of the hardcover, but so she could have the book in hand by the time she was due to have her first baby: she wanted her husband to read THE BLACKGOD to her in the delivery room. She said it was the only thing she could think of that could possibly take her mind off the ... what do they call it these days, discomfort? Which is about the highest praise you can give an author. Of course--as those of you who have been through the birthing process may have anticipated--it didn't work. But she did love the book, when she finally got the chance to read it. --Veronica Chapman, Senior Editor

From the Inside Flap

ncounter a world where magic springs from earth and sky and water, and where danger, heartache, fear, and friendship each wait to claim their place in the grand design of life. J. Gregory Keyes pursues a tale as big as life in the stunning sequel to The Waterborn.The River flowed from the mountains to the distant sea, and everywhere he touched, he ruled. Powerful and hungry, he had scoured every rival godling from the land. But the world beyond the River's reach was a riot of gods and ghosts and other deities, large and small. Strange spirits jostled and contended with each other, and with the humans who shared their range.Into this rich and dangerously open land came a surprising refugee: Hezhi, the River's own daughter. When the magic that was her heritage awakened in her back in the glittering palace of imperial Nhol, Hezhi fled for her life. With Perkar, a youth in search of honor, and loyal Tsem, her half-Giant bodyguard, she sought refuge am

From the Back Cover

"STRIKINGLY IMAGINATIVE . . . WATERBORN FANS WILL BE JUBILANT."--Kirkus Reviews"WONDERFUL . . . Keyes is as fresh a voice as Tolkien was in his time. Keyes brings a world of mythology to life, a world both new and familiar . . . Buy it, read it, and tell your friends."--Sci-Fi Talk Review

About the Author

J. Gregory Keyes is a teacher at the University of Georgia and is pursuing a Ph.D. in the anthropology of belief systems and mythology. He was born in Mississippi and raised there and on a Navajo reservation in Arizona. He is the author of The Waterborn.

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