The Last Gods of Indochine

Jacquie Mouhot and Paaku the Lotus-Born are divided by six centuries but linked by a common curse. In medieval Cambodia, Paaku is an orphan whose community believes he may be a reluctant incarnation of a god, causing sectarian turmoil for the kingdom's leaders. Meanwhile, in 1921, Jacquie follows the footsteps of her grandfather, a famous explorer, to Indochina, where she becomes immersed in the tragedy of Paaku's history: a story simultaneously unfolding in the intertwined present and past, a story in which she still has a vital role to play.

"American-born Samuel Ferrer achieves the unlikely in this impressive debut novel... The Last Gods of Indochine demonstrates Ferrer's fascination with history and culture from cover to cover while delivering a gripping narrative."
-- World Literature Today

"...a remarkable story well told. Samuel Ferrer's ambitious debut novel is a stunning work of imagination."
-- The East Asia Book Review

"Enjoyable, enthralling, and fascinating... this is an impressive first novel. Highly recommended." (*EDITORS' CHOICE*)
-- The Historical Novel Society

"Ferrer's debut masterpiece evokes the magic and mystery of a long gone civilization. This is beautiful fiction that leaves the scent of incense and sandalwood long after you have finished reading it."
-- Dania Shawwa, Editor-in-Chief, Haven Books

"... rationality and superstition get locked into the kind of epic conflict that is the stuff of all great narratives... an elaborate and self-assured interweaving of historical fact and keenly imagined fiction."
-- Time Out Hong Kong Magazine

"A sublime tale told by a master storyteller, steeped in the lore of old. Ferrer's conjuring of romantic Indochine is a journey that lures, stirring up ghosts in a wild phantasmagoria, reckoning with forces both entwined and eternal."
-- Angela Kan, Travel Host & Writer, The Discovery Channel

"Creative and engaging, the historical novel The Last Gods of Indochine is an inventive recreation of European exploration and exploitation alongside the spiritual mysticism of ancient Cambodia."
-- Asian Review of Books