After completely decimating the Earth, the three gods left behind a legendary treasure. For five-hundred years, the treasure remained untouched, surrounded by nothing but ocean and outlaws, nearly forgotten. Now, however, one man’s dream will change everything.
Chase, a man with a unique power; Lorelei, a deadly ex-pirate; Xin, a betrayed warrior; and Astrid, a soft-hearted doctor, along with their assembled Calamity Crew, will have to escape Valkyries, rescue Giants, battle Clockwork Soldiers, gain the Power of Gaia, and storm an Angel Fortress just to begin their quest.
Easy, right?
In the shadows, a set of ancient eyes watches their progress. After all their hardships, will they be able to avoid The Lost God and retrieve the treasure of the Holy Lands?
After completely decimating the Earth, the three gods left behind a legendary treasure. For five-hundred years, the treasure remained untouched, surrounded by nothing but ocean and outlaws, nearly forgotten. Now, however, one man’s dream will change everything.
Chase, a man with a unique power; Lorelei, a deadly ex-pirate; Xin, a betrayed warrior; and Astrid, a soft-hearted doctor, along with their assembled Calamity Crew, will have to escape Valkyries, rescue Giants, battle Clockwork Soldiers, gain the Power of Gaia, and storm an Angel Fortress just to begin their quest.
Easy, right?
In the shadows, a set of ancient eyes watches their progress. After all their hardships, will they be able to avoid The Lost God and retrieve the treasure of the Holy Lands?
“Come all you bold seamen, wherever you’re bound. And always let Nelson’s proud memory go round.” It was an old song, made long before the Calamity destroyed their world. A song that many sailors sang hoping for a better future. It wasn’t a song normally heard on a pirate ship.
The song didn’t seem odd to the drowsy man, dressed in far too many stripes, sitting in the gently swaying crow’s nest as a blackened flag flapped lazily above his head. He just smiled and hummed along as that wonderful voice filled his ears.
“And pray that the wars and the tumult may cease. For the greatest of gifts—” a gentle hand rested on his shoulder, as the woman’s sensuous voice sang in his ear, “—is a sweet, lasting peace.”
A dull smile spread across his face as he turned his heavy eyes beside him. There, glowing in the moonlight, sat a strikingly gorgeous woman—her soft olive skin beckoning him to reach out and touch her. She smiled at him from beneath waves of perfect auburn hair, where only one eye could be seen, sparkling with excitement. Bewitched by her beauty, he reached out to caress her face, those luscious lips pulling him in close as she continued her song.
Bang! Crash! “Blast ye damn, dirty cheat,” bellowed from the deck below, followed by incoherent shouting and cursing as a scuffle broke out between shipmates.
The striped man snapped from his stupor, seeing the woman before him clearly. While still beautiful, she seemed far less perfect and far more dishevelled. She wore a simple black and red outfit littered with patches, her hair haphazardly tied up with a shimmering silver pin.
“Y-yer The Siren!” he stammered, taking a few clumsy steps away.
“That I am,” she breathed in a melodic voice. “And what do you plan to do about it? Tie me up? Tell me I’m a bad girl?” She undid a few buttons on her shirt, showing off a little more skin. “Or perhaps you’d just like to run me through? Right here?” She tapped above her left breast, thumping a bird in flight tattoo. “Many have tried—many have failed.”
He considered her for a moment, making no effort to hide where he was staring. As his blood rushed from his brain, he shook himself from her enchantment. He knew all too well what happened to men like him at her hands.
The pirate scurried over the edge, screeching, “She’s here! The Siren be here!”
The warning echoed throughout every corner of the ship. His shipmates sprang to action—the deck swarmed with almost a hundred buccaneers readying themselves for battle. Not a single man on that ship took the warning with a light heart. Lorelei the Siren was a pirate’s worst nightmare.
The lookout scrambled to the edge. As his feet prepared to leap, his body yanked backwards. There was no fighting against that strength. An all so familiar pressure of cold steel pressed against his neck.
“Too bad,” she sighed in his ear, her sweet, soft scent filling his senses. “I do prefer having some fun first.”
His heart raced and a cold sweat beaded on his brow. As he was about to whimper for mercy…
Slice.
The blade cut deep and slow. Blood sprayed over the crow’s nest. Lorelei’s face twisted in a wicked grin.
Swarming below, anxious buccaneers gathered, demanding their lookout to reveal the position of The Siren. What they received in response, however, was a bloody body plummeting at alarming speed.
Crash.
Blood, guts and gods knew what else covered the unsuspecting brutes. Mixed cries of rage, fear and anguish filled the air as the men identified their lost comrade.
“Yikes, that would’ve hurt if he was still alive,” Lorelei called out with a giggle, drawing all the snarling faces to look up at her smug grin.
The crowd yelled and growled, crying out for her head. They scrambled to get their hands on the woman. They didn’t need to bother.
Lorelei had no plans of hiding out. With a joyful whistle, she swung down into the crowd, landing with ship-rocking force upon the deck.
She smiled at the swarm of apprehensive men surrounding her. It was a smile of excitement and eagerness. “Aw boys, you don’t really want to fight little ol’ me, do you?”
“Is that really ‘er?” asked one man, dressed in rags. “I thought she’d be bigger.”
That smile twisted into a sneer, just enough to bare her lovely white teeth. “I’m tall for a girl!”
The smelly bastards laughed. Apparently, they were starting to get their courage back. Something about surrounding one woman made them feel tough.
One even had the gall to suggest, “Let’s kill her quick and give ‘er head to Konstantin.”
“Or we could tie her up and have some fun,” cackled a gaunt man.
With that on their minds, all faces turned to her with eager, wicked grins as they crept steadily toward her.
Unlike most women they had encountered in her position, she let out a cackling laugh, and sang a bouncing tune.
“What will we do with a drunken pirate? What will we do with a drunken pirate? What will we do with a drunken pirate?”
With furrowed brows, the men exchange glances. She raised her hand, pausing her song with a suspenseful long note that echoed across the silent ship. Her face twisted into a vicious sneer that made the men around her take an involuntary step back. With quiet intensity, she breathed,
“We kill them.”
Her fist closed. Death whistled in. Spears and arrows pierced unsuspecting pirate flesh. Screams of pain and terror rang through the air, and Lorelei bathed in it, laughing that melodic laugh. Those who survived the initial attack slipped and slid their way across blood and entrails to reach the mocking woman. Once again, death greeted them. Multiple shadowed figures closed in, slicing their prey away with ease.
Now dead or scattered, fighting off reinforcements, only a handful of shaking adversaries kept their attention on the legendary Siren. Lorelei’s gaze pierced through every one of them, taunting them with that smirk, eagerly awaiting one of them to make a move.
A hulking man readied his axe, charging in for the kill. Such a tiny foe must have seemed a simple kill. Still, the Siren remained still. Not a muscle moved until the mammoth took a wide swing.
No one saw what happened.
One moment he was in a lethal charge, the next, his body was in two pieces, rolling into unsuspecting spectators. The axe remained in the woman’s hand, her stance low and solid, her blood-soaked grin sending shivers through their spines.
“Ooo, this could be fun,” she chirped, giving the axe a swing. “Who’s next?”
As the bloody battle raged above, one petite woman weaved gracefully below deck, avoiding any of the angry pirates rampaging upwards. She wasn’t particularly sneaky but, as usual, they were far more concerned about the deadly Siren than her blonde little friend, Astrid.
Astrid was a decent fighter, but not nearly as talented as Lorelei, and certainly not enough to go into battle without some sort of armour. So, atop her customary flowing dress, she wore a form-fitted leather breastplate. The tools of her trade hung from her belt, and a small staff was strapped to her back. As was her usual, her feet were completely bare. She just couldn’t stand shoes, even during battle. She needed that connection with the world around her. Shoes made everything so lifeless.
A scream penetrated the air, and Astrid felt the woman’s panic in her bones. She raced through the hull, coming to a halt before a dank, dark cell holding a handful of prisoners. The rusted bars and rotting wood were quite an odd sight for the ships they usually hunted. But no time to dwell on that. Not while there were people to rescue.
A crooked-nosed pirate stood by the cell, looking over the prisoners like they were his last meal. “What do you think, sweetheart? Want to show me a good time before the Siren shows up?”
A terrified brunette cried and pleaded as the man took her by the hair. The rest of the slaves cowered in the corner, not wanting to take her place, while the man’s crewmate stood at the door, begging his buddy to get moving—that they needed to be on deck. His words went flat. A strike to the neck sent his paralyzed body falling to the floor with a dull thud.
The abuser turned his attention to the little blonde girl in the doorway.
She gasped at his comrade, and giggled, “Now, how did that happen?” She smiled sweetly and innocently at the snarling man in the cage, rocking on her bare feet.
With a guttural growl, he threw the poor, terrified woman down to the dungy, dirty floor. In a single motion, he drew his sword and charged with a cry of rage. He took a swing. Astrid gracefully dove under. He caught her tiny wrist with his meaty hand, a sick grin on his face.
She jabbed into his shoulder with her free hand, weakening his grip. Before he realized it, her wrist was free. One more strike to his neck, and another just below the opposite ear, and his body fell uselessly to the floor.
He tried with all his might to rise, but the only thing he could do was slur a confused, drool-filled, “What?”
Astrid hopped lightly over the useless, big-nosed man with a sprightly giggle. “Don’t worry, it will wear off in a little while. Just be glad I’m not Lorelei.”
The man’s previous prey still lay cowering, sobbing on the damp floor. Astrid kneeled beside her, laying a soft, comforting hand on her shoulder. “Are you hurt?”
The brunette looked up at her and took a shuddering breath. Astrid’s kind emerald eyes visibly brought calm to the woman. With a half-hearted smile, she shook her head and weakly rose to her feet, gently nursing one hand.
Astrid voiced a tiny gasp. “No, you’re hurt. Let me see.”
“It’s nothing,” she whispered hoarsely. Still, Astrid held out her hand, and the woman let her look at her crooked finger.
“It’s not nothing,” said Astrid, reaching into her pouch. In the blink of an eye, she had the broken finger cleaned and bandaged.
As the woman admired the efficient work, Astrid turned to the rest of the prisoners. They still sat cowering in the dank, mildew encrusted cell staring at her in confusion. She gave a quick head count. There were eight, just like the report said.
She gave them her sweetest smile, then dipped into a curtsey. “Well, come on now, you are cordially invited to join The Siren and her crew on the Oasis.”
Up above, the battle raged on, with the nasty marauders clearly at a severe disadvantage to the trained and Blessed crew of the Siren. Perfect for a prisoner escape. Astrid peeked her head onto deck, and finding their coast was clear, motioned for the handful of prisoners to follow. They hurried toward the edge. Freedom was in their sights.
Not for long.
A woman blocked their path. A woman who seemed very keen on the classic pirate look. She raised a rapier to Astrid’s throat.
“You’re a woman!” Astrid exclaimed, rather obviously.
“That’s right,” she cackled, “And don’t you go thinking I’ll take it easy on you because of it.”
A couple of slaves attempted to take off the other way but found a dull, square-jawed man blocking their retreat.
“Oh, no, no! Perish the thought. It’s just such a delightful change of pace. Usually, these battles are all men. Good for you for breaking the mold,” Astrid praised, a small smile upon her face.
The woman burned bright with embarrassment. “Uh… well, thank—”
Woosh, thunk.
An axe stuck in the woman’s chest. She stood there for a stunned moment, axe embedded strong, then fell dead to the ground.
The prisoners cried out in surprise and horror.
The dense man blocking their retreat gagged. “E-Ella?”
His sadness did not last long.
A red and black blur jumped on his back, twisting his head with a loud crack. Down went the big guy.
Once again, the prisoners cried out in horror at the gruesome scene as Lorelei stood over the dead bodies, humming a merry tune.
Astrid crossed her arms and glared. “Was that really necessary?”
“Well, I suppose you could have handled them, but I saw the opportunity and took it. Can’t risk losing one of the main reasons we’re here, right?” She slapped one of the nervous escapees on the behind, leaving a nice red handprint on his pants.
“But… she was a woman! We could have—”
“What? Let her live? Take it easy on her? Just because she was a woman?” Lorelei wiped her hands off on her pants, rolling her eyes at Astrid. “That’s pretty sexist.”
Astrid just continued to glare, lip pursed, unable to come up with an argument.
With a spine-chilling grin, Lorelei continued, “Anyway, women pirates are the worst. Only someone truly psychotic lives among those that treat their sex like utter crap. I should know, I was one.”
“Yes! Exactly. And you—”
A battle cry rang out, cutting Astrid short, and turning Lorelei’s attention to the action, a scowl replacing her grin.
“No time for discussion. Get the escapees to the ship.”
With a dejected sigh, Astrid replied, “Right.” Off they went.
Lorelei stood relaxed and ready. She drew her straight sword, engraved with her teacher’s symbol of two entwined dragons around the blade, and took a deep breath. She thought, A strong mind breeds a strong body.
The horde closed in.
“A cut to the jugular, a stab through the heart, a knee to the balls and don’t forget your part,” she sang, slicing, stabbing and kneeing the pirates accordingly—leaving a wake of dead bodies behind her.
As a squealing, broken-balled man fell to the ground, Lorelei kicked him onto his back, mounted him, and brought her sword to rest on his throat. Fear and confusion filled the man’s eyes as she stroked his cheek with her free hand.
“I need you to listen carefully,” she purred, “because if I don’t like what I hear, you join your friends.”
He nodded carefully as he strained his pinned arms to root around in his pocket. Lorelei didn’t care. It was normal for them to squirm away.
She bore those golden eyes into the man’s skull, a fiery determination about her. “I want you to tell me where Konstantin is docked. What part of the ocean is he in?”
A smile flicked on and off the man’s face as he continued to squirm beneath her. “Ye know I can’t do that.”
“You will if you want to live.”
The sweat poured off of him as he mumbled, “Living… were never an option on this ship.”
Lorelei pressed the sword deeper into his throat, about to question him further, until she heard the worst sound possible.
Click.
She leapt off of the man, not bothering to look at what she knew was in his hand. “Abandon ship!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, sprinting to the rail.
First came a deafening silence, then the ear-shattering boom. An overwhelming pressure flung her from that damned ship.
In a world were human trafficking is rife, one woman is determined to make a difference; and that woman is Lorelei. Known across her world as a songstress and siren, she is both feared by the traffickers she takes down and revered by the slaves she saves. But when a chance meeting with the strange Chase and her ex-boyfriend Xin, she never expects to go on an adventure that will actually make a difference to everyone - if they survive that is. Because at the heart of the world is The Holy Lands, surrounded by an impenetrable wall and covered in a deadly mist. Lorelei, Chase, Xin and the rest of their motley crew hope to be able to enter the mist-shrouded lands and recover riches and wishes untold.
Heart of Gaia started off incredibly strongly, with Lorelei singing and battling against a crew of pirates who work for her old master. It was immediately full of humour, blood and gore and a side helping of seduction. All of the characters were engaging and well rounded. The world building was slow and fairly spectacular, with Phillips giving just enough information to ensure the reader understood the rules at the right times. But (and it's a big but), there were a lot of problems.
Phillips has a tendency to flow from different point of views without any warning - which has the undesirable effect of leaving the reader feeling somewhat seasick and confused. It will slip from describing the action from Lorelei's perspective, to Xin's and then to Chase's with absolutely no breath. And although I eventually got used to this way of storytelling, it's not particularly flowing. Also, at times things seem to have happened or been told to the characters off screen as it were. They discuss things which the reader has no clue about, leaving them feeling as though they're out of the joke. Although these do get explained further on, it's frustrating at the time.
Also, Phillips has included as many different types of pagan/old religion references as possible; from Norse to Celtic to Greek. Although at times it would have been better if they weren't so muddled - there's references to the Greek belief system mixed in with Celtic and Norse references. In Gaia itself, there's Olympus close to New London - Thebes neighbouring New Dublin. I kind of got confused trying to separate and work out who belonged where.
That said, I did enjoy Heart of Gaia and its many, colourful characters and Lorelei's bloody adventure across the world.
S. A