--- product_id: 315092481 title: "Beyond Redemption: Manifest Delusions, Book 1" price: "HK$11" currency: HKD in_stock: false reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.hk/products/315092481-beyond-redemption-manifest-delusions-book-1 store_origin: HK region: Hong Kong --- # Beyond Redemption: Manifest Delusions, Book 1 **Price:** HK$11 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Beyond Redemption: Manifest Delusions, Book 1 - **How much does it cost?** HK$11 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hk](https://www.desertcart.hk/products/315092481-beyond-redemption-manifest-delusions-book-1) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Faith shapes the landscape, defines the laws of physics, and makes a mockery of truth. Common knowledge isn't an axiom, it's a force of nature. What the masses believe is . But insanity is a weapon; conviction a shield. Delusions give birth to foul new gods. Violent and dark, the world is filled with the Geisteskranken - men and women whose delusions manifest, twisting reality. High Priest Konig seeks to create order from chaos. He defines the beliefs of his followers, leading their faith to one end: a young boy, Morgen, must Ascend to become a god. A god they can control. But there are many who would see this would-be-god in their thrall, including the High Priest's own Doppels, and a Slaver no one can resist. Three reprobates, The Greatest Swordsman in the World, a murderous Kleptic, and possibly the only sane man left, have their own nefarious plans for the young god. As these forces converge on the boy, there's one more obstacle: time is running out. When one's delusions become more powerful, they become harder to control. The fate of the Geisteskranken is to inevitably find oneself in the Afterdeath. The question, then, is: Who will rule there? Review: Bleak but highly original dark fantasy/grimdark tale, absolutely riveting - This was a dark fantasy, really grimdark, an extraordinarily grim and dark tale at times, often in bleak settings. Not the bleakness of a sandy wasteland, or a barren granite wilderness, no, the bleakness of rotting, stinking, slimy medieval towns at their very, very worse. Though there was some beauty in the world, it was most often beauty despite the works of mankind, not because of it, and often seemed beautiful only in contrast to the squalor of so many of the towns, cities, and encampments of this novel. Unremarkable green woodlands and fields, nice because they were clean and in sharp contrast to most of the novel’s setting, lacking the poverty and squalor of the works of humanity. What I am saying is this isn’t Middle-earth. It isn’t the Shire or Gondor or Rohan. It isn’t even the exotic hellish evil of Mordor. It is mud streets and sewage and misery. Is there wonder though? Is there a sense of mystery? Yes, most definitely yes to both questions. Here though, in this world, the wonder is in the infinite possibilities of the mind and the powers of belief and of delusion. The setting succeeds more than most other works of fantasy in depicting the magical powers of the human mind, making all others seem…well, not weak, there are some definitely great works out there, but shall we say not even using a respectable fraction of the potential available to the writer. There are no wizards or druids or alchemists in this book (though there is a shaman and even a scientist). We get instead a rich and fascinating rogue’s gallery of many surprising and wonderous types of people who can tap the powers of delusion, insanity, and most of all belief. The author, drawing upon what seems considerable research on a number of rare mental disorders, some I had heard of, many I hadn’t, uses this research to give the reader a surprising and highly inventive word of Cotardists and Mirrorists and Gefahrgeists, of Dopplegangists and Therianthropes and Meheres. In this world, to be sane is to be weak (or is it?); certainly being insane can give you vast magical powers, powers that can potentially be so strong that one can change the very nature of reality. Further, belief matters, belief in oneself, belief in how one manipulates reality, and most of all what others believe; the more a populace believes someone has power or some great quality, the more powerful or qualified that person is. This can apply to individuals, to cities or countries, and to the gods themselves, that ultimately much of anyone’s power exists in the minds of others, and to be obscure or forgotten or despised and thought weak is the worst thing, ironic in a setting where so many of these people are absolute sociopaths but also most definitely have a driving, powerful need to be believed, even loved, though they themselves are incapable of love. I don’t know if this is a scathing inditement of the world we lived in but it certainly makes for a fascinating setting. I have never seen anything like it. The book’s plot seems relatively simple at first but the author skillfully folds in more and more complications as the tale unfolds, never in such a way I felt lost or bewildered. At its core it is about two things, the first element is about Konig Furimmer, High Priest of the Geborene Damonen, Theocrat of Selbsthass, and his alliance with others, people he both needs and hates/fears/loathes, a Machiavellian alliance to use his powers of delusion and belief and most of all total control of the politics of where he is to raise a young boy, Morgen, to the level of god, a god that will love and serve Konig (in this setting anyone who dies goes into another reality called the Afterdeath, a pale, gray, washed out version of the world they just left, a world they can still die in and go…somewhere…but in this world if one dies at someone else’s hand, they then serve that person in the Afterdeath; Konig believes something similar will occur with Morgen). Morgen, a young boy of immense powers, is being groomed to be a god, one created, tailor-made, not twisted or with his own agenda like the other gods of the world, one that will serve ultimately Konig. The other core part of the narrative is that people try to mess this up, most notably a group of three anti-heroes. One is Wichtig Lugner, the World’s Greatest Swordsmen, a preening, manipulative, smooth-talking, sometimes a bit vacuous, amazingly self-centered man who looks the part of the Perfect Hero, who seeks to become indeed the World’s Greatest Swordsman not just through his skill with a blade (which is considerable) but also by getting others to believe he is the World’s Greatest Swordsman, with as mentioned in this setting belief reshaping reality. Another of this trio is Stehlen Siealles, a scary woman warrior, not a brute but fast, lithe, and bristling with hidden daggers and knives and skilled with a sword, an absolutely murderous sociopath who can barely hold on to the concept of not slaying her two companions, two people she both loves but also hates, both their savior and often moments away from being their executioner. The leader of this trio is Bedeckt Imblut, a grizzled old mercenary type, all he wants out of life is his axe, a good pair of boots, enough money to be comfortable, ale, a good time in bed, and his beloved warhorse Launisch. He isn’t a sociopath, he has no delusions about remaking reality or being the Greatest at anything, and isn’t especially murderous. He is in fact the only really sane person in the book, which is both a weakness and also a strength. While I wouldn’t call him good, he certainly has something approaching a moral compass, a sense of honor, and a concern for others, things fairly alien to most people in the book (or at best concepts familiar to others but not something that is intuitive or automatic, either a curiosity or something to be exploited). There are other flies in Konig’s ointment, including his ally Chief Scientist Aufschlag Hoher (the closest thing Konig has to a friend, though both plot against each other), Gehirn Schlechtes (a Hassebrand, with immense powers and finding much joy in producing flame merely through thought, though ultimately doomed to die of fire as all Hassebrands ultimately are fated to, who has a complex relationship with Konig), and Erbrechen Gedanke (a disgusting individual, a Slaver, who with mere words can make one a fiercely loyal servant, thinking only of serving). Oh and Konig himself, or various sentient manifestations of his delusions, delusions all scheming with and against each other to thwart the real Konig as they serve him and vying to replace him, with Konig knowing he both needs them and his ability to destroy them severely limited. The book has heists, gritty sword fights, duels, thievery, robbery, murder, huge battles, powerful magic use, no monsters per se though many of the people in the book are indeed monstrous (ok a few are essentially undead), Machiavellian scheming, palace intrigue, double crosses, and some humor (though it is definitely not a humorous book). Pacing was excellent, the setting is vivid (though often I will say gross), the different types of powerful individuals (Hassebrands, etc) are well explained with lots of showing not telling passages. There is a helpful glossary and a who’s who at the end as well. Complaints are few. I think as the book progressed Konig’s importance and certainly his page time fades some and he ends up becoming I think a little passive, though that is the nature of the story I think, as Konig sends out others to do his bidding. I am not sure I entirely understood how one scene occurred the way it did, but it is not possible to explain it without spoiling it. Sometimes a few character traits might have been emphasized a tiny bit too much (Bedeckt’s almost pneumonia at the start of the book, Stehlen’s spitting, Gehirn almost constantly on the edge of destroying herself and all around her in a fiery inferno), but this is a minor complaint. It is a really good book and Michael R. Fletcher can certainly write! Review: Wonderfully horrible - What do you get when you cross a belief-driven reality and the tortured misery of mental illness? Yeah. Fletcher explores this concept in glorious, horrible detail. It's a grimy, tainted vision, with the dark brutality of Richard K. Morgan and the brackish nihilism of Lev Grossman. While there are varyingly sympathetic characters therein, there are certainly no good ones. (A land unfit for heroes, heh) It's fascinating and powerful and really well-written. This one is going to stick in my head for years. Vastly worth reading. ## Images ![Beyond Redemption: Manifest Delusions, Book 1 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/916AV3AbZuL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Bleak but highly original dark fantasy/grimdark tale, absolutely riveting *by T***N on July 6, 2020* This was a dark fantasy, really grimdark, an extraordinarily grim and dark tale at times, often in bleak settings. Not the bleakness of a sandy wasteland, or a barren granite wilderness, no, the bleakness of rotting, stinking, slimy medieval towns at their very, very worse. Though there was some beauty in the world, it was most often beauty despite the works of mankind, not because of it, and often seemed beautiful only in contrast to the squalor of so many of the towns, cities, and encampments of this novel. Unremarkable green woodlands and fields, nice because they were clean and in sharp contrast to most of the novel’s setting, lacking the poverty and squalor of the works of humanity. What I am saying is this isn’t Middle-earth. It isn’t the Shire or Gondor or Rohan. It isn’t even the exotic hellish evil of Mordor. It is mud streets and sewage and misery. Is there wonder though? Is there a sense of mystery? Yes, most definitely yes to both questions. Here though, in this world, the wonder is in the infinite possibilities of the mind and the powers of belief and of delusion. The setting succeeds more than most other works of fantasy in depicting the magical powers of the human mind, making all others seem…well, not weak, there are some definitely great works out there, but shall we say not even using a respectable fraction of the potential available to the writer. There are no wizards or druids or alchemists in this book (though there is a shaman and even a scientist). We get instead a rich and fascinating rogue’s gallery of many surprising and wonderous types of people who can tap the powers of delusion, insanity, and most of all belief. The author, drawing upon what seems considerable research on a number of rare mental disorders, some I had heard of, many I hadn’t, uses this research to give the reader a surprising and highly inventive word of Cotardists and Mirrorists and Gefahrgeists, of Dopplegangists and Therianthropes and Meheres. In this world, to be sane is to be weak (or is it?); certainly being insane can give you vast magical powers, powers that can potentially be so strong that one can change the very nature of reality. Further, belief matters, belief in oneself, belief in how one manipulates reality, and most of all what others believe; the more a populace believes someone has power or some great quality, the more powerful or qualified that person is. This can apply to individuals, to cities or countries, and to the gods themselves, that ultimately much of anyone’s power exists in the minds of others, and to be obscure or forgotten or despised and thought weak is the worst thing, ironic in a setting where so many of these people are absolute sociopaths but also most definitely have a driving, powerful need to be believed, even loved, though they themselves are incapable of love. I don’t know if this is a scathing inditement of the world we lived in but it certainly makes for a fascinating setting. I have never seen anything like it. The book’s plot seems relatively simple at first but the author skillfully folds in more and more complications as the tale unfolds, never in such a way I felt lost or bewildered. At its core it is about two things, the first element is about Konig Furimmer, High Priest of the Geborene Damonen, Theocrat of Selbsthass, and his alliance with others, people he both needs and hates/fears/loathes, a Machiavellian alliance to use his powers of delusion and belief and most of all total control of the politics of where he is to raise a young boy, Morgen, to the level of god, a god that will love and serve Konig (in this setting anyone who dies goes into another reality called the Afterdeath, a pale, gray, washed out version of the world they just left, a world they can still die in and go…somewhere…but in this world if one dies at someone else’s hand, they then serve that person in the Afterdeath; Konig believes something similar will occur with Morgen). Morgen, a young boy of immense powers, is being groomed to be a god, one created, tailor-made, not twisted or with his own agenda like the other gods of the world, one that will serve ultimately Konig. The other core part of the narrative is that people try to mess this up, most notably a group of three anti-heroes. One is Wichtig Lugner, the World’s Greatest Swordsmen, a preening, manipulative, smooth-talking, sometimes a bit vacuous, amazingly self-centered man who looks the part of the Perfect Hero, who seeks to become indeed the World’s Greatest Swordsman not just through his skill with a blade (which is considerable) but also by getting others to believe he is the World’s Greatest Swordsman, with as mentioned in this setting belief reshaping reality. Another of this trio is Stehlen Siealles, a scary woman warrior, not a brute but fast, lithe, and bristling with hidden daggers and knives and skilled with a sword, an absolutely murderous sociopath who can barely hold on to the concept of not slaying her two companions, two people she both loves but also hates, both their savior and often moments away from being their executioner. The leader of this trio is Bedeckt Imblut, a grizzled old mercenary type, all he wants out of life is his axe, a good pair of boots, enough money to be comfortable, ale, a good time in bed, and his beloved warhorse Launisch. He isn’t a sociopath, he has no delusions about remaking reality or being the Greatest at anything, and isn’t especially murderous. He is in fact the only really sane person in the book, which is both a weakness and also a strength. While I wouldn’t call him good, he certainly has something approaching a moral compass, a sense of honor, and a concern for others, things fairly alien to most people in the book (or at best concepts familiar to others but not something that is intuitive or automatic, either a curiosity or something to be exploited). There are other flies in Konig’s ointment, including his ally Chief Scientist Aufschlag Hoher (the closest thing Konig has to a friend, though both plot against each other), Gehirn Schlechtes (a Hassebrand, with immense powers and finding much joy in producing flame merely through thought, though ultimately doomed to die of fire as all Hassebrands ultimately are fated to, who has a complex relationship with Konig), and Erbrechen Gedanke (a disgusting individual, a Slaver, who with mere words can make one a fiercely loyal servant, thinking only of serving). Oh and Konig himself, or various sentient manifestations of his delusions, delusions all scheming with and against each other to thwart the real Konig as they serve him and vying to replace him, with Konig knowing he both needs them and his ability to destroy them severely limited. The book has heists, gritty sword fights, duels, thievery, robbery, murder, huge battles, powerful magic use, no monsters per se though many of the people in the book are indeed monstrous (ok a few are essentially undead), Machiavellian scheming, palace intrigue, double crosses, and some humor (though it is definitely not a humorous book). Pacing was excellent, the setting is vivid (though often I will say gross), the different types of powerful individuals (Hassebrands, etc) are well explained with lots of showing not telling passages. There is a helpful glossary and a who’s who at the end as well. Complaints are few. I think as the book progressed Konig’s importance and certainly his page time fades some and he ends up becoming I think a little passive, though that is the nature of the story I think, as Konig sends out others to do his bidding. I am not sure I entirely understood how one scene occurred the way it did, but it is not possible to explain it without spoiling it. Sometimes a few character traits might have been emphasized a tiny bit too much (Bedeckt’s almost pneumonia at the start of the book, Stehlen’s spitting, Gehirn almost constantly on the edge of destroying herself and all around her in a fiery inferno), but this is a minor complaint. It is a really good book and Michael R. Fletcher can certainly write! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wonderfully horrible *by J***N on January 9, 2016* What do you get when you cross a belief-driven reality and the tortured misery of mental illness? Yeah. Fletcher explores this concept in glorious, horrible detail. It's a grimy, tainted vision, with the dark brutality of Richard K. Morgan and the brackish nihilism of Lev Grossman. While there are varyingly sympathetic characters therein, there are certainly no good ones. (A land unfit for heroes, heh) It's fascinating and powerful and really well-written. This one is going to stick in my head for years. Vastly worth reading. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Dark and great! *by L***S on February 10, 2016* *****Quotes from the book***** These nightmares define new tomorrows, and the gods look on in mute horror at what they have wrought. “There’s an inn.” Bedeckt pointed up the street. “Put your knife away, woman. Gut him after I’ve had a drink.” One truism lay underneath every choice and word: change what people think and you change the world. Only boring people get bored. Self-hatred was both a weakness and strength, a prison and protection. No one loathed her more than she and thus none could truly harm her. I don’t see what I want to see, I see what I need to see. If you don’t like it, see something else. This was the calm eye of the storm, the hot center of crumbling sanity and last hopes. In all directions the horizon coiled and heaved, a lurid bruise, a maelstrom of abhorrent neuroses given form. The sky looked sick, reality ill with gross mistreatment. The power of faith is the fear of the unknown. The power of love is the fear of dying alone. “Luckily I think much faster on my feet than I do and soon had myself tied in the fruit cellar. I’d kill myself but I’m so damned useful. Sometimes, when the High Priest has texts he wants copied, I’ll unchain one of my hands and get me to do some of the work. Of course I do it! I’m so damned bored down here, chained to the wall.” Forests always hid things. Spill blood, and the ground soaked it up in seconds, forever hiding the violence. At least on a city street the blood stayed around for a few days, giving testament to the work done. The doing is the easy part. It’s the deciding to do that is difficult. I most regret the decisions never made. ***** End of book quotes***** Wow, this was … lonely. The book follows a few storylines. Basically, boiled way way down, there’s a crazy guy trying to create a god. There’s people trying to exploit said would-be god, there’s people set out to assassinate, there’s people sent to investigate, and there’s a mind-controlling crazy person that wants to enslave the world. The reason I say it was lonely is because it was. None of the characters trusted anyone. They might’ve wanted to, but they couldn’t bring themselves to do so. And that added a tone of hopelessness to the storylines. Now, all of characters are heavy on the not-so-great personality traits and they are well aware of said traits, which they seem fine having. It all added up to an unsavory group that you want more for, that you root for despite some of their appalling actions. What was utterly captivating to me was the take on magic/power. Magic/power eventually turns any person possessing it insane. It was incredible to watch characters deteriorate along the way. They know it’s going to happen, which makes it all the more interesting. I’ve read books before that had interesting premises/characters but I never fell in love with the book, so it’s hard for me to understand why I loved this one over those. I guess I was hoping some hope would come along and I read to find some. It could’ve been how insanely fun reading about the insane people was. Or it could have been the breadth of different characters, all bad, all hopeless, all alone but wanting not to be. It could have been how wildly unique the take on gods and magic was, to me at least. It could have simply been the tone of the author. It’s gritty. There’s s*** and piss and snot and blood and orgies. Not for the faint of heart. Any one looking for a remotely heroic character need not read. I found it refreshing. I found it incredibly interesting. I will say when looking for my next book I picked up something lighter with the potential of a happy ending and a hero to save the day. Not that I gravitate toward that, but this book made me want to seek out something happy. Which, by the way, I appreciated. It took me out of the norm, and for that, I love it. The world was developed enough for me but might disappoint those huge into complicated world building. The writing was excellent, the plot moved, and I never once skimmed. There's a lot of different PoV's, but — bless Fletcher!—he actually gave space between each change. No head hopping from paragraph to paragraph!! For those who don’t like the usual hero tropes, please pick this up. For those who like a darker side of characters, you need to read this. For those seeking a different take on magic and can handle unsavory characters, it’s a must read. P.S. I could've quoted this book all day. It took me a while to edit down my choices so this whole thing wasn't just his book. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hk/products/315092481-beyond-redemption-manifest-delusions-book-1](https://www.desertcart.hk/products/315092481-beyond-redemption-manifest-delusions-book-1) --- *Product available on Desertcart Hong Kong* *Store origin: HK* *Last updated: 2026-05-17*