The Hollow Gods

A. J. Vrana

Jul 2020 · The Parliament House

About this ebook

2023 Ontario Author Project Winner in Adult Fiction

Rich with folklore and paranormal intrigue, The Hollow Gods is an atmospheric supernatural thriller that will satisfy lovers of Hannah Whitten's FOR THE WOLF, especially those craving a fable with a darker touch.

hr Black Hollow is a town with a dark secret.
For centuries, residents have foretold the return of the Dreamwalker—an ominous figure from local folklore said to lure young women into the woods and possess them. Yet the boundary between fact and fable is blurred by a troubling statistic: occasionally, women do go missing. And after they return, they almost always end up dead.
When Kai wakes up next to the lifeless body of a recently missing girl, his memory blank, he struggles to clear his already threadbare conscience.
Miya, a floundering university student, experiences signs that she may be the Dreamwalker's next victim. Can she trust Kai as their paths collide, or does he herald her demise?
And after losing a young patient, crestfallen oncologist, Mason, embarks on a quest to debunk the town's superstitions, only to find his sanity tested.
A maelstrom of ancient grudges, forgotten traumas, and deadly secrets loom in the foggy forests of Black Hollow. Can three unlikely heroes put aside their fears and unite to confront a centuries-old evil? Will they uncover the truth behind the fable, or will the cycle repeat?


"The writing sizzles with menace, and the dark mythology A.J. Vrana weaves from dreams and nightmares is unlike any I've ever encountered, in and out of books."
– Katya de Becerra, author of OASIS and WHAT THE WOODS KEEP

"Utterly consuming with palpable emotion, an engaging mystery, and absolutely delicious tension, this is one that lingers after you’ve turned the final page, an itch that needs to be scratched."
– Verified Reviewer

"I would highly recommend this book for anyone with interest in folklore, magical realism, and a dark touch of horror. An absolutely stunning debut from this author. I have pre-ordered my own copy of the book, and I am very much looking forward to the second book in The Chaos Cycle."
– Verified Reviewer

"The Hollow Gods is a striking debut about guilt, grief, and how the past sometimes finds a way to come back to haunt us. The roots of this story will be familiar to those who enjoy reading about fairytales and folklore, but Vrana has added her own touch to the genre that allows this novel to hold its own against the greats."
– Verified Reviewer

"A gem of a book. Can’t wait for the next one."
– Verified Reviewer

"Vrana crafts a unique local mythology and draws from existing lore to create a sense of creeping dread."
– Publisher’s Weekly

hr The Chaos Cycle Duology is best enjoyed in this order:

Book 1: The Hollow Gods
Book 2: The Echoed Realm

Ratings and reviews

Fast paced fantasy at it's finest! I loved this book so much that I didn't want it to end. It's a wonderful mixture of fantasy, spirituality, folklore, the supernatural and...I could go on forever. Beautifully written with three dimensional characters that the reader can really care about, it was such a delight to read. A brief precis of the plot is difficult but I will try. The Hollow Gods is the first book in The Chaos Cycle and is written by A. J. Vrana. Miya, a student living away from her family for the first time, is struggling with a disappointing University course, lack of money and loneliness. Kai is struggling to cope with the bizarre events that have plagued his life and Mason is coming to the end of his residency as an Oncologist, having lost a patient he has taken a six month sabbatical to recover from his grief and guilt. All three are in Black Hollow, a town haunted by its past and the residents' superstitions. To find out what happens during the events that follow you will need to read the book yourself, something which, if you're anything like me, will be an incredible treat. This is a book to keep, I know I will be rereading it and for £5.99 it's a bargain. The book will be published on 28 July and is available for pre-order now.

Have you ever finished a book and thought, how do I write this review? Well I’m left with that thought after reading The Hollow Gods. It is a complex, hard to pin down genre. I guess maybe dark urban fantasy/horror...but then there is just so much more to it. It is filled with fables, mythology, nightmares and woods that are like a maze, that make you loose direction and time. The woods and the willow tree are so much more than they appear. Inside there are werewolves, a dreamwalker, a raven and so much more. The world building is amazing! I loved Kai, he is rude, moody and violent. But there is so much more to him, as Miya finds out. Miya is a badass heroine, but she’s also flawed and real. Mason is a grieving doctor who has come to the small town to recover from the trauma of losing a patient. He is trying to prove that the fable the village believes is not real. He feels he will end his grieving this way. The characters are so well written that I became emotionally tied to them. I was drawn to the book by the amazing cover. I love ravens and the cover of the book, with the raven and it’s purples and black, is beautiful and unique!!! Like the story. It is truly a unique story, not really comparable to any that I’ve read. It is beautiful and horrifying at the same time. And it leaves you with a hangover, unable to stop thinking about it.

I thought this was a really great book. The story is very well written and the character work is really good. The story is interesting and really pulled me in. I had a hard time putting this book down and definitely recommend reading. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

About the author

A. J. Vrana is a Serbian-Canadian academic and writer from Toronto, Canada. She lives with her two rescue cats, Moonstone and Peanut Butter, who nest in her window-side bookshelf and cast judgmental stares at nearby pigeons. Her doctoral research examines the supernatural in modern Japanese and former-Yugoslavian literature and its relationship to violence. When not toiling away at caffeine-fueled, scholarly pursuits, she enjoys jewelry-making, cupcakes, and concocting dark tales to unleash upon the world. Her published works include The Chaos Cycle Duology: The Hollow Gods (2020) and The Echoed Realm (2021) from The Parliament House Press, and a short supernatural horror story, These Silent Walls (2020), printed in Three Crows Magazine.