About In the Day of the Flood by Stephen Thomas
She took the child and ran into the forest.
For readers who love immersive ancient tales
When she breaks a sacred law to save an abandoned baby, Deghóm is cast out into a world facing ruin. She was raised to serve the sky, her voice echoing through the caves of the hill country. Now a salt river is tearing open the land bridge between two seas and threatening to drown the world.
Travelling with her adopted brother and a wild forest boy, Deghóm carries a warning that no one wants to hear. As villages, fields and powerful leaders are swept away, she is transformed into a mythic figure.
The story of the flood is echoed in a cycle of songs written in Méri, a reconstructed ancient language from 8000 years ago. Cave rituals and reed boats, sharp obsidian and glowing amber come to life in a historical fantasy that feels like recovered memory. It is an epic tale from a lost world of haunting beauty, told in a voice that lets ancient tongues sing again.
In the Day of the Flood: the first novel in the Four Lights series.
A strikingly original novel that immerses the reader in a world shaped by loss and hope… a deeply moving book that lingers in the mind for a long time.
– Goodreads reviewer
There is a depth here that will appeal to readers of The Lord of the Rings. Like Tolkien, Thomas creates not just a setting but a living culture, layered with language, tradition, and an atmosphere of mystery that lingers beyond the page.
– Amazon reviewer
For readers of Jean Auel, Madeline Miller and Tolkien: where historical epic meets fantasy.
Themes include: ancient civilizations, flood mythology, prehistoric survival, forbidden love, moral courage, prophetic visions, women leaders, oral traditions, neolithic community, and the founding of new peoples.
Buy the book, and follow the author on social media:
Learn more about the writer. Visit the Author’s Website.
Author Bio:
Stephen Thomas is a writer exploring mythic fiction, deep time and the oldest human stories and beliefs. He loves imagining ancient human lives in sensory detail and feeling the colour and rhythm of our changing inner worlds.
The novels in the Four Lights series are intended to blend imaginary and speculative reconstruction with concrete traces that can still be found, for example by archaeologists, geneticists and linguists.
These ancient times can seem unfamiliar, but some things have always been the same. Sooner or later people all have their own awestruck encounter with the human condition and the beauty and fragility of life. That challenge often leads in interesting directions.
His home in the West of England is blessed with plunging river valleys and ancient sites carrying marks of faith that span thousands of years. It seems to be a good place to think about the times before memory.