Gorel and the Pot-Bellied God — Lavie Tidhar

A legend tells of the Mirror of Falang-Et: a magical object in the city of the frog tribes, which can tell all manner of truths. . .

There is only one truth Gorel of Goliris �" gunslinger, addict, touched by the Black Kiss �" is interested in: finding a way back home, to the great empire from which he had been stolen as a child and from which he had been flung, by sorcery, far across the World.

It started out simple: get to Falang-Et, find the mirror, find what truth it may hold. But nothing is simple for Gorel of Goliris. . . When Gorel forms an uneasy alliance �" and ménage à trois �" with an Avian spy and a half-Merlangai thief, things only start to get complicated. Add a murdered merchant, the deadly Mothers of the House of Jade, the rivalry of gods and the machinations of a rising Dark Lord bent on conquest, and things start to get out of hand. Only one thing's for sure: by the time this is over, there will be blood.

Not to mention sex and drugs. . . or guns and sorcery.

REVIEWS:

“A delightfully Weird pulp tale that could easily sit on a shelf alongside Leiber, Vance and Moorcock. . . an excellent planned and exuberantly executed fantasy” �" Pornokitch

Winner �" British Fantasy Award for Best Novella, 2012