The Madness of the Faithful

Product Information

One of the ancient Erdtree incantations. Creates a supple tail that sweeps through foes before the caster. Charging enhances potency. This is a manifestation of the Erdtree's primal vital energies - an aspect of the primordial crucible, where all life was once blended together. Jesus, he said. He rubbed his eyes and his forehead – he still had a dull throbbing headache. How many more people could this thing have affected?

Something caught his eye – on the other side of the road, an elderly woman was sat on a doorstep. She held her head in her hands and was completely motionless. Her shopping covered the ground around her. Paul tried to call out, but his voice was too faint. He shook his head and gave a muted roar. Jim & Una, Just to let you know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. We pray that you will see a faithful God, Who says to you, "For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not I will help thee" Isaiah 41:13. They continued to write, saying, May the Master's hand rest upon you as you fully experience a peace that passes all understanding. Unfortunately, I did not succeed at this plan, as just last night I finished reading the new short story collection. (Prepare yourselves—that review is coming in the next couple days).Karl sneered and advanced towards Paul. Don’t you be judging me – you’re no better. You run with those church freaks now but it’s all the same. Just another way to numb the pain of all this shite. The book basically said ‘It’s all lies, sorry. And there are no answers, you just have to believe this is it.’ Does that sit well with you? That seems like a cop-out, and an unintelligent, unpondered, and unsatisfying one. Hayward can write very well and has demonstrated this previously. There's great monster moments, Leo is a fun and different protagonist and for a while, I enjoyed the "on the road" concept. Like all of Matt’s writing, this novel contains an unforgettable cast of characters. They are all lovable but flawed, making them relatable and realistic to the reader. The character development is one of my favorite aspects of this story. I especially enjoyed Jonesy and the budding relationships he had with both Leo and Caleb, each unique, with a mix of tough and tender moments along the way. Perhaps I’m wrong and I’ve interpreted his intentions incorrectly, but based on my reading of this book, that’s the main takeaway I have from it. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder.

One of the incantations of Dragon Communion. Transforms caster into a dragon to bite enemies before them. Incantations of those who have hunted dragons and feasted upon their hearts. Theirs is a pure and overwhelming power. The beginning of Matt Hayward's latest novel finds Jonsey Morris trying to connect with his son, the problem is Caleb has no idea Jonesy is his father. So the main character is Paul. He experienced trauma in the military and was a terrible husband to his wife, Eve, who eventually died of lung cancer. He was in a bad place and the church helped him with his grief and depression. She looked familiar to Paul but he couldn’t see her face. He struggled to focus his thoughts or gain enough clarity to recall where he might know her from. Faces flashed in front of his eyes, but he couldn’t discern those important to him from strangers, or reality from fiction. The tightness in his chest hit him again and he wanted to cry. Get home now, he thought, and he pushed on without seeing another soul.Seeing the cover and releasing it to the world is exciting, although a little strange. It’s a small step towards revealing something that I’ve kept to myself for a long time. Yes, the story took a while to write, but the core idea has been with me for a lot longer. It stems from my life growing up in rural Wales. For much of that time, I lived in a Methodist Chapel house. My father was a lay preacher, and faith was all around in our household. Rather than be indoctrinated, I somehow ended up on another path, realizing from an early age that I was an atheist. Blessed is he who, being fortunate and knowing the rites of the gods, keeps his life pure and has his soul initiated into the Bacchic revels, dancing in inspired frenzy over the mountains with holy purifications, and who, revering the mysteries of great mother Kybele, brandishing the thyrsos, garlanded with ivy, serves Dionysus." The rage subsided and Paul sat down and stared into the flames. He couldn’t make any sense of what happened, and his mind was a maelstrom of sad memories and odd feelings. He took a moment to compose himself, nodded to the fire and got up. He needed a drink. For now I’ll explain my dislike, which means I’m going to have to talk about the entire book, and therefore some spoilers. Not that this is a major thriller with twists— because it’s not.