Wounded Little Gods - by Victoria (Hardcover)

About the Book

Regina was born and raised in the small town of Heridos, where gods and spirits walked the earth. Until they didn't. Ten years ago, the town's harvest failed and the people, believing the gods had abandoned them, left their farms and moved on. Now living in the city, Regina has a strange and disturbing conversation with a new colleague, Diana. Then, mysteriously, Diana disappears. A few days later, Regina finds a folded piece of paper in her bag. In Diana's handwriting are two names and a strange map that will send Regina back to her home town. In her quest to find Diana, she encounters rumors of genetic experiments, stumbles upon a strange facility that no one seems to know about, finds herself in places that don't exist, and discovers that people aren't who they seem to be and that the strange events in her town are closer to home than she ever knew.

Book Synopsis

Regina was born and raised in the small town of Heridos, where gods and spirits walked the earth.

Until they didn't.

Ten years ago, the town's harvest failed utterly, and the people---believing the gods had abandoned them--left their farms and moved on.

Now living in the city, Regina has a strange and disturbing conversation with a new colleague, Diana. Then, mysteriously, Diana disappears.

A few days later, Regina finds a folded piece of paper in her bag. In Diana's handwriting are two names and a strange map that will send Regina back to her home town. In her quest to find Diana, she encounters rumors of genetic experiments, stumbles upon a strange facility that no one seems to know about, finds herself in places that don't exist, and discovers that people aren't who they seem to be and that the strange evens in her town are closer to home than she ever knew.

Wounded Little Gods is a tale that brings mythology to a sci-fi thriller that's filled with a sense of place--a place where gods are in many ways human and point to the ways in which humans can be inhumane.

Review Quotes

Myth & Imagination: An Interview with Author Eliza Victoria

"Victoria's Wounded Little Gods is a novel of dualities--mission and omission, agency and impotence, light and shadow." --Manila Standard

"Wounded Little Gods is vicious and beautiful, a fast-paced mystery about small towns and secrets that won't stay buried. Eliza Victoria writes unflinchingly about both the suffering and grace inherent in being human, and in particular, being Filipino. There were sections that made me gasp aloud and sections that took my breath away; it was such a pleasure to read this."-- Isabel Yap, author of Never Have I Ever: Stories

"[In Wounded Little Gods] redemption can be found in just about every other thing: in the thrilling wild goose chase of a second half, in the startling universal insight in unexpected pockets of plot, in the subject matter, which sheds light on such a rich part of Philippine culture, and in the masterful prose of one of the most promising and prolific writers in the country."--CNN Philippines

"Blending sci-fi thriller and mythology, Victoria seamlessly incorporates Philippine culture, history and mythology. This compelling short novel was eerie and mysterious..." -- Bookstagrammer, Trish Chee (@read_tmc)

"This book can be easily read in one sitting not because it is short, but because it grabs your attention from the start and you will not stop reading until the very end [...] Eliza has a way with words that makes scenes and sentiments lyrical... Overall, Wounded Little Gods by Eliza Victoria is an engrossing novel that mixes both reality and fantasy seamlessly." -- Jenny (Of Prose and Spells), bookstagram influencer

"Victoria won the National Book Award for her 2014 novel Dwellers, and remains in top form in [Wounded Little Gods]...Modern mythology makes [Wounded Little Gods] a fantastic read empowered by Victoria's powerful prose." --Philippine Daily Inquirer

About the Author

Eliza Victoria is the author of several books including the Philippine National Book Award-winning Dwellers, the graphic novel After Lambana, and others. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in several online and print publications including LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction, The Dark Magazine, and The Apex Book of World SF, among others. Her work has received top Philippine literary awards, including the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. elizavictoria.com