Today’s review is about THE WHISPER THAT REPLACED GOD by Timothy Wolff. This is a standalone novella about Mute, a cursed and masked assassin for the crown. When an assassination goes wrong, Mute begins to realize his unhappiness and what he truly wants from life.

This review is brought to you by my participation in the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS). SFINCS, pronounced “sphinx”, is a yearly competition to recognize, honor, and celebrate the talent and creativity present in the indie community. It’s a sister competition to both SPFBO and SPSFC, and it highlights greatness in the novella format in all areas of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, etc.). I am part of Team Behind the Musings. You can find out more about us here.

Author: Timothy Wolff
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Self-Published
Publish Date: July 15, 2024
Print Length: 82
Purchase: Amazon

The Whisper That Replaced God Synopsis

Murder is just, so long as it serves the crown.

Hidden behind a mask and with a dagger in his sheath, Mute serves the crown with pride. A fair life, if not a monotonous one. But his next contract nicks too close, for murder within a brothel is always nasty business, especially the one which Mute frequents. The brothel his Dorothy works, his Dorothy who awaits Mute and only Mute. Surely none would dare touch her, for if they did, royalty or not, they would fall to Lord Mute, the Silent God’s chosen one. They would scream…

And not a sound would be heard.

The Whisper That Replaced God Review

THE WHISPER THAT REPLACED GOD is a standalone novella about Mute, an assassin who does the crown’s bidding. That King just so happens to be Mute’s brother. Relegated to serving the crown in this role because of his curse of silence, the reader first meets Mute on his latest mission.

Mute is a complicated character. This is the result of the childhood death of his mother and being told all his life he’s an abomination because he can rob the room of noise. He carries a lot of shame and a lack of self worth. His one joy in life is Dorothy, the courtesan he favors at his local brothel. He is also naive and has deluded himself into believing Dorothy loves him as much as he loves her. So when he sees her with another, a family member no less, he explodes. He convinces himself that she basically is a silly woman and if he does this or that that she’ll see his worth. This initially comes off as a rather conservative and insulting way to view women. But as the story rolls on the reader begins to understand that Mute is this way because he had no one to teach him otherwise. Specifically, he didn’t have a mother to show him by example how to correctly treat women.

This violent outrage botches the mission and he finds himself hauled to another kingdom and assigned a job. I shan’t spoil the rest of the story, but essentially Mute embarks on this new mission while also continuing an abrupt journey of self discovery. He realizes he hasn’t felt true happiness in a long time. And he also begins to realize what exactly he wants.

Readers who like complicated characters will probably like THE WHISPER THAT REPLACED GOD. While technically a fantasy novella, the plot falls more in the realm of an action-packed character study.

Rating: withheld
Content warnings: blood, violence, death, misogyny, drug use, death of a parent
Reading format: Kindle e-book