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Devin Downing
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The Dividing: The Adamic Trilogy: Book 1 Kindle Edition

by Devin Downing (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,158 ratings
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Brandon Sanderson meets The Hunger Games in this dystopian fantasy of epic proportions. Inspired by biblical theology, The Dividing will pull you into a world of magic, monsters, and mystery!


Adamic is the language of the Gods. When spoken, it has the power to create worlds, to raise the dead, to make man as God. Fortunately, no one has spoken it in thousands of years. The only remnants are the written spells.


The people of Cavernum depend on these spells. They’re etched into the city walls, fending off the feeders—deadly creatures with a thirst for human blood. Yet for the lower class, Cavernum isn’t much safer. Children starve, and illness runs rampant. Only the elite have access to magic, and status must be earned. One's class is determined by a single competition: The Dividing. Those who excel join the guild of their choice. The rest are sent to the fields, condemned to a life of slave-labor.


Princess Roselyn Malik has trained her entire life for The Dividing. She’s guaranteed a spot in the royal orchestra, but equalist rebels threaten her throne. To secure her crown, Rose must acquire the power and prestige associated with the guard. Only guardsmen have access to the amulets—powerful weapons that grant dominion over the elements.

Meanwhile, in Colorado, Matt will do anything to help his terminally-ill adoptive mother. For now, that means poaching to pay the bills. Until one day, Matt is attacked by a feeder and plunged into the world of Cavernum. There too, Matt is drawn to the guard, in search of a magic strong enough to save his mother.

But danger lurks beyond the walls, and Cavernum won’t be safe for long.

Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 3
    The Adamic Trilogy
  2. Print length
    498 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    May 29, 2020
  6. Reading age
    16 - 18 years
  7. Grade level
    10 - 12
  8. File size
    6852 KB
  9. Page Flip
    Enabled
  10. Word Wise
    Enabled
  11. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  12. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"An entertaining fantasy for Christian readers... Downing has clearly put an immense amount of time working out the details of his fictional setting, and it shows on every page." - Kirkus Reviews

"This dystopian epic boasts a secret society, high stakes, and bold worldbuilding." - Publishers Weekly

2022 Christian Indie Award Winner: Speculative Fantasy

From the Author

The Dividing is not a faith-promoting story. It is strictly fantasy—purely for entertainment. It takes the supernatural elements of the Bible and crafts them into a magical world, ready to be explored.

My inspiration for The Dividing began with my childhood. I was raised in a very religious household, studying the Bible at a young age. Within those pages, I discovered stories of healing and resurrection—tempests being calmed and giants being slain. There was a magical element to every miracle, and I found myself forming a story in my head. I didn't know it at the time, but the Adamic Trilogy was already in progress.

I officially began book one while in my undergrad, during a period of religious transition. More and more, I recognized flaws with my religion. Eventually, I doubted its veracity altogether. The Dividing is a reflection of those doubts. It isn't a Christian fantasy, but rather, it is a critique of Christianity. The trilogy follows my religious metamorphosis, growing more incredulous and increasingly open-minded with each installment. While Christians may best appreciate these critiques—perhaps sharing the very same concerns—I designed the series to be enjoyed by anyone, no matter their faith (or lack thereof).

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08591YMMZ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Devil Down Books L.L.C. (May 29, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 29, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6852 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 498 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,158 ratings

About the author

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Devin Downing

Devin Downing

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Devin Downing grew up in Temecula, California, spending his childhood reading books on the beach and bashing bones at the skatepark. Today, Devin lives in Portland, Oregon where he is currently enrolled in medical school. Apart from crafting complex stories (and studying relentlessly to be a doctor), he enjoys hiking, ice-hockey, and writing about himself in the third-person (yep, it's me! Hi guys!). Despite committing to a medical education, Devin doesn't have any intentions to give up on writing. He plans on releasing The Reviving: The Adamic Trilogy Book 3 in Summer 2023. Additionally, he has several series planned for the decades to come.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
1,158 global ratings
Couldn't Put It Down
5 Stars
Couldn't Put It Down
The Dividing is a present-day dystopian with elements of magic, secret languages, soul-devouring demons, and more. I was initially a bit hesitant because it's categorized as a Christian Fantasy, but the only correlation I saw was with the magic system being rooted in Christian theologies, which was actually SO interesting and unique.⁣The book itself was unputdownable and I found myself so engrossed in the world-building and magic system, which had a very Hunger Games meets Throne of Glass vibe 👌🏼⁣There were a lot of characters in the book, but I felt that they all played an important part in the plot and were all genuinely interesting. It was easy to become emotionally invested in many of their stories and I definitely shed some tears on multiple occasions.⁣In terms of romance, there is a bit of a love triangle. It’s certainly not the driving plot in the book, but it was just enough to pique my interest and I think we’ll see more in book two.⁣Overall, for a debut novel, I really loved it and I gave it 4.5/5 stars. The story was super well-paced, the characters were likable, the world and magic system felt unique, and I would highly recommend it to all of my YA/NA fantasy lovers out there.
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Top reviews from the United States

Sofia Petrovna
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and light reading
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2024
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This is a very interesting book and easy to read. I was drawn into the plot and couldn't leave it till I figured it out.
It's about Adamic, people who are descendants of Adam and Eve. They have power and talismans and special letters that only a few of them can read. Adamic have some sanctuaries, hidden from humans. They are led by the princess who doesn't know how to control the people. She thinks they are supposed to adore her just because she is a princess. Plus, people are divided, and some of them want more food and equal rights.
In the meantime, Matt is Adamic that someone left at a doorstep in the human world. He grew as a human, till Zane found him and brought him to the sanctuary. It appears that Matt is someone powerful, judging by his talisman, tattoos, and a knife.
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Spence
4.0 out of 5 stars It sets the foundation and world building for the second book, but it's not a great stand alone book due to lack of resolution.
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2020
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Honestly this is one of the best books I have read in a long time. The detail and world building were amazing. It had a unique take on religion. And on top of that it hinted that the world outside of the sanctuaries are just like they are now.

There were a few points that I definitely didn't care for though as an avid reader. The book took on a theme against 2 other factions (feeders and the rebels). This in itself isnt a bad thing but there was almost no interaction between feeders and the main characters. It was more of an underlying theme that never came to light in this book. On top of that, despite the rebels being a more prominent theme of enemy, there was no training on how to handle them. Also how people used their abilities was very uniform. There was no unique abilities to this story. (In one instance someone was shot at and it deflected off his barrier into friendly forces. I dont know why nobody has tried making a bowl style barrier so it doesnt deflect at friendly forces. Or when attacked, layer multiple smaller barriers if they know a single barrier wont hold.) Besides those, there is no way to judge how strong a person is besides the "purity" of their bloodline which makes is hard to judge how strong the mc and his friends are compared to the world.

Then there was several cases where it was as if the citizens had no interaction with anyone from modern times even though they send out caravans monthly prior to the start of the book.. IE: not knowing policies of the outside world.

The entire book also sits in this school like environment with very little interaction outside of that environment. ( no visiting jobs, no shadowing mentors just learning and discovering backstory on some characters. )

All together though this was a great foundation for a series. As a stand alone book I dont think it holds up because there is no resolution. It's just build up the entire time. But it definitely has potential for the next book.
21 people found this helpful
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Anne-Marie (Annie) Kosar
5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!! DYSTOPIAN BEAUTY & Powerful Secrets!!!:-)
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2023
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DEF read this one if you LOVE DYSTOPIAN series like me!!:-). There are MAGNIFICENT characters….tons of secrets….amazing world!!! And the writing is FABULOUS!!:-). Looking forward to reading the next one!!:-). LOVED IT!!:-)
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Metal Fusion
5.0 out of 5 stars if your on the fence, read it.
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2020
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as someone who struggles to stay interested in books and doesn’t read very much to begin with, this was one of the most addicting reads I’ve ever experienced.

up until the 4th chapter i was pretty bored, i even stopped reading for about a week because i simply could not stay interested. however, as i kept reading, little by little the pace picked up, and eventually, i couldn’t stop reading. each word, each sentence led to more and more interest.

as for the book itself, it’s world, characters, and plot are all truly unique. the book forces you to think about many moral and societal concepts that makes you truly engaged with the characters.

no review can truly depict the complexity of the book and it’s characters, but that goes for any well written book. reading this was an absolute pleasure and leaves me wanting more. excellent work by devin downing
2 people found this helpful
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ReaderFreak
3.0 out of 5 stars Great Book. Some Theological Concerns.
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2022
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This book was a fun read, however it had some downsides specifically with the Christian part of this book.
Pros first:
1. I like that Cavernum, despite being run by Christians is a terrible place. I'm sick and tired of people saying that if Christians could rule the world, everything would be so much better, forgetting that Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world," and forgetting the numerous historical examples of Christians controlling the government. While cavernum's main threat is trying to overthrow the city it's clear that corruption took root long ago despite universal acknowledgment of God's existence, and while there are a few good officials, most people are either power hungry, or fat and lazy.
2. There could be a tie between adamic and the Bible (given to humans by God, written language but also a weapon, kind of like the sword of truth) which is pretty unique if I'm not just imagining it. If this whole series turned out to be an allegory for people hoarding God's word and using it as a weapon instead of sharing it and using it to heal people, that would be powerful.
And now for cons:
1. The author calls telepaths demons. Of course it makes sense, the telepaths in Dividing can control people's bodies without their consent and so can demons. It makes for a nice, "You tried evil but God worked it out for good message." The thing is, demons are real and without God we are powerless against them. It is imprudent to taunt them, like pulling a dog's ear and then getting mad at God when it bites you. Also it's not a good sign when the reader finds themselves thinking, "I'm so glad so and so is a demon," that is not right.
2. My biggest problem is that the book claims that God created the Earth through adamic. While this could be cool if Adamic is God's word(the word was with God... all things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made...) the immediate implications are not great. In real life, God is all powerful. He can break the laws of physics whenever and however He wants. He created the world when He wanted and how He wanted. To say that adamic is, "the language of the gods," and that He created the Earth through adamic, makes adamic more powerful than God. It makes it so that He is just the strongest superhero or the smartest magician. Not outside of the realms of science and Magic entirely. Hypothetically, couldn't a fluent Adalingual (someone who speaks adamic) become God? To me this borders on blasphemy.

I apologize If my remarks came across overly harsh. Both of these problems are easy fixes. A find and replace search will get rid of one and deleting like three lines will take care of the other. Overall the book was really enjoyable. It's great to see someone bringing this much creativity and nuance to Christian fiction. Keep up the good work.
God bless.
6 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars love this book
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2024
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This book has it all action, adventure love and war. Take the time to read it you won’t regret it!
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Top reviews from other countries

Plot Sponge
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant young adult fantasy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 5, 2023
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Brilliant!
I couldn’t stop reading. Gripping from start to finish.
I can’t wait to read the next book, utter cliffhanger.
Heroes and heroines you root for and love. Sinister baddies you long to see get their comeuppance!
Pulling words from the Old Testament and turning them into a thrilling fantasy. Loved, loved, loved it!
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adriana
5.0 out of 5 stars great reading
Reviewed in Mexico on August 6, 2020
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i actually read the prologue off on instagram and had me totally captivated. Its an excellent read, refreshing to find new fantasy series with plot twists you dont expect. its well written and enjoyed it a lot. I recommnd it and cant wait for the next book.
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Andrea
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it.
Reviewed in France on June 15, 2021
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The concept was original. I loved the characters, even the most annoying ones. For a debut novel, it's really promising. I can't wait to read the second installment.
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Hannah
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely amazing read
Reviewed in Canada on June 20, 2020
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I could put the book down, and finished it in only two days thanks to nearly nonstop reading. Always on the edge of my seat, I even cried. I'd read it again in a heartbeat and can't wait for a second book!
2 people found this helpful
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Irene Bellver Serrano
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read!
Reviewed in Spain on August 4, 2020
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I discovered this book thanks to the author's instagram page. It's a really enchanting story, and if you are interested in fantasy you must read this book. Definitely one of my best reads this year. Can't wait for the second book!
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