K. D. Julicher

WoW!
Okay, full disclosure, I am but an internet acquaintance of K.D., a fellow Writers of the Future contest finalist, although the husband-wife writing team have gone on to additional well-earned distinction. Buying works written by such emerging (and established) talents of new acquaintance, traditionally or self-pubbed, is how I choose to show my support and, I hope, direct others to the joy of discovering these new master story weavers.

While I possess an antiquarian fantasist's show more preference of more prosaic prose (such as in Joy Chant's "The Gray Mane of Morning" which K.D.'s setting and god-invested herdsman protagonist reminded me of), and the editor in me harrumphed over one single incidence of disharmonic sentence phrasing in the first chapter (one sentence in the entire novel, a novel that contains not a single typo!, to its credit), I discovered that this gripping story and characters, told in its simple and clear prose, and its ever-increasing story tension and action kept me enthralled. I literally read it in a day despite my other obligations (apologies to my wife and the few asking me for more of my own stories). "Favored of the Gods" is deceptively epic and full of heart. It hits the right beats, even had me choked up a bit at the end, and provides as simply and direct as its prose, and without any pretension, insights into what makes us human -- and to be the best, as humans, we can be. Well done, K.D. show less