2010 western fantasy, first of a trilogy. It's after the American
Civil War, and there are a few magicians out there. Also gods, or at
least things that want to claim they are.
The setup and ideas are interesting: most magicians get their
start when they take near-mortal wounds, but the actual forms their
magic takes vary depending on their personal mythology. Magicians
can't cooperate, because their instincts make them try to eat each
other's power, which is why there's still society. When the Reverend
Rook, former Confederate chaplain, reads verses from his Bible, the
letters take flight and cause the effects he wants; meanwhile his
lover Chess Pargetter hits everything he shoots at and recovers from
wounds almost at once (and it's meant to be a big revelation that he
has magical talent).
But they're both horrible people, as is Ed Morrow the other character
with any personality (he starts off as something of a good guy, though
that won't last, and the others are casual murderers, Chess in
particular deliberately flaunting his homosexuality to give him an
excuse to shoot people for reacting to it). The narrative jumps back
and forth in time to try to pep itself up. There's lots of sex, much
of it distinctly nonconsensual. Everybody's trying to get one up on
everybody else. The Mayan Goddess Ixchel has a plan to turn the Earth
into a charnel house and I wish her the best of luck with it.
Alas, because I liked the setup, but I have absolutely no interest in
reading any more about any of these people.
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