Episode Details
Back to Episodes75. What If Only Human Blood and Sacrifice Could Save Your Empire? | The Seventh Sun with Lani Forbes
Description
What if your father died and made you the emperor, and you had to use your own bloodborne power and your empire’s traditional cult of human sacrifices to keep control of your sun—that is, the sun, S-U-N? Then you learn the sun is fading away, and the gods might oppose your new marriage? That’s the story of Lani Forbes’s Mesoamerican-inspired fantasy The Seventh Sun. Lani already appeared on our episode 71, and today she rejoins Fantastical Truth.
Concession stand
- Today’s book includes elements like bloodletting and human sacrifice.
- Even more challenging, The Seventh Sun is set in a polytheistic(?) world.
- You might be thinking, Is this Christian fiction? What about being “clean”?
- At Lorehaven, we often use the name “Christian” for the author, not the story.
- Stephen believes that truly Christian authors will make their stories Christian.
- That’s why, as in other interviews, we start with our guest star’s testimony!
Introducing The Seventh Sun
Thrust into leadership upon the death of his emperor father, young Prince Ahkin feels completely unready for his new position. Though his royal blood controls the power of the sun, he’s now responsible for the lives of all the Chicome people. And despite all Ahkin’s efforts, the sun is fading—and the end of the world may be at hand.
For Mayana, the only daughter of the Chicome family whose blood controls the power of water, the old emperor’s death may mean that she is next. Prince Ahkin must be married before he can ascend the throne, and Mayana is one of six noble daughters presented to him as a possible wife. Those who are not chosen will be sacrificed to the gods.
Only one girl can become Ahkin’s bride. Mayana and Ahkin feel an immediate connection, but the gods themselves may be against them. Both recognize that the ancient rites of blood that keep the gods appeased may be harming the Chicome more than they help. As a bloodred comet and the fading sun bring a growing sense of dread, only two young people may hope to change their world.
Rich in imagination and romance, and based on the legends and history of the Aztec and Maya people, The Seventh Sun brings to vivid life a world on the edge of apocalyptic disaster.
Book 1 of The Age of the Seventh Sun series.
Introducing novelist Lani Forbes
Lani Forbes is the award-winning YA author of The Seventh Sun and the 2021 release, The Jade Bones. As the daughter of a librarian and an ex-drug smuggling surfer (which explains her passionate love of the ocean and books), Lani is a one-time teacher turned MFT student. Her passion is showing readers the transformative and encouraging power of story on the human experience. She helps others process anxiety, depression, and complex PTSD, both in her stories and in real life.
A California native wh