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Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Hero archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
Left behind in a great migration, a prince is condemned by false omens and sent into the Underworld by priests who are shaping the kingdom's future through a second, favoured bloodline. In a remote bronze age village at the edge of his father's kingdom, Haduwas has spent years cut off from court, orders and certainty of his father's rule. The King has remarried into the house of priests, binding the future of the kingdom to their chosen line. For the priests, Haduwas is not a forgotten son but the one remaining obstacle to that future. When Haduwas returns to the city of his father, the priests offer him only one path forward: Descend into the Underworld. Return with a relic of divine favour. Or disappear into obscurity. But the Underworld does not test strength. It judges the soul. And no man who enters the Underworld is meant to return. Epic Historical Fantasy meets Mythological Retelling in Bronze Age-inspired political fantasy about a principled heir confronting succession politics, divine law, and a system designed to replace him. Perfect for readers of Circe and mythic Bronze Age fantasy traditions with echoes of Elric of Melnibone .
Is The Rise of Haduwas: An Epic Fantasy Hades Origin Story: The Hades Chronicles [#1] (The Fruit of Life and Death) appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 13 and up.
A bronze age epic about a prince condemned by priests and sent to the Underworld to prove his divine right. Political intrigue and mythological peril, with moderate violence expected in underworld trials.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, no sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include death, abandonment, and betrayal (see the full list above).
Publisher ages reflect reading level; our rating reflects content maturity — they can differ.
Who'll love this
Teens who love mythological retellings and political maneuvering will appreciate this prince's journey through the Underworld to reclaim his inheritance.