Matthew Hughes delivered another one of his wonderful entertaining novels for the Holidays: A God in Hiding. A God in Hiding takes place in a world where Magic actually works and the powerful entities who built this Universe–sometimes referred to as “gods”–affect the human civilizations around them. A God in Hiding gives a nod to Hughes’s 2022 novel, Baldemar, and characters from that novel make cameo appearences in this one.
The action centers around Lieve Reder, a captain of a riverboat–unusual for a woman–who becomes involved in a mission to retrieve a magical item for her employer. Reder is accompanied on her mission by Dai, an artificial human created by one of the mad thaumaturges (aka, wizards) of Olliphract.
Reder learns that the “item” is actually a semi-sentient tool used to create the Universe. And Evil forces want that semi-sentient being for their own nefarious plans. Plenty of deadly encounters and escapades result.
Lieve Reder seems like an ambitious, feisty character on the outside, but as the story unfolds, she learns that she and her family have unexpected abilities. Hughes throws a lot of challenges at Reder and that only adds spice to A God in Hiding. If you’re looking for a novel full of action and adventure and surprises, A God in Hiding provides all three. GRADE: B+
