The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

This story is a unique rewriting of Hamlet. The God of the silent forest and Mother of the Silent and the Raven and his bird rule Raden. Hill is a third God whose physical presence is a stone. The figurehead – the Raven’s Lease only has power and authority from the Raven because he is willing to die when the bird or Instrument does. When the warrior Mawat and his assistant Eolo come back from battle, they find the Instrument dead and Hibal in power, and his father cannot be found. The fantasy is written in first and third person and narrated by God, beginning with “I first saw you when you rode out of the forest…” This fantasy is a complicated and intelligent examination of power, faith, politics, and conflict.