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kitvaria_sarene's review against another edition
4.0
3,5*
Please don't be discouraged by the first chapter. I was promised it isn't a forecast of what the book would be like, and it wasn't. It is WAY better than that!
If you get farther in, the story is quite grim and dark and has some very graphic scenes of intestines or throats or other stuff being ripped/squashed or otherwise mistreated. So it isn't for the faint of heart.
This is a part of why this book isn't a 5* for me personally. While I like to read grimdark, I then prefer it to be set in an epic story. Warriors, swords, military, battles, lots of characters and strategies - that is how I like my grimdark.
This one is a mixture of so much! It has a really fluent and easy prose, but is full to bursting with mythical creatures and legends, and all those complicated names they have. It reads almost like YA prosewise, but it is grim and dark and contrasts that easy style. It is urban fantasy, but features beings so old one can't even fathom it. All of it would be quite good on it's own, but I personally didn't like it all being mixed up that much. So that is my 1,5 missing stars. For others that might be exactly why they love it especially much. Really just comes down to tastes.
Besides that it was a really entertaining, fast paced, engaging and adventurous read! I liked the main characters, especially the older ones - oh and Billy.
I read the first half as ebook, then switched to audiobook fir the second half, and can heartily recommend both, as they are both of really high quality.
Please don't be discouraged by the first chapter. I was promised it isn't a forecast of what the book would be like, and it wasn't. It is WAY better than that!
If you get farther in, the story is quite grim and dark and has some very graphic scenes of intestines or throats or other stuff being ripped/squashed or otherwise mistreated. So it isn't for the faint of heart.
This is a part of why this book isn't a 5* for me personally. While I like to read grimdark, I then prefer it to be set in an epic story. Warriors, swords, military, battles, lots of characters and strategies - that is how I like my grimdark.
This one is a mixture of so much! It has a really fluent and easy prose, but is full to bursting with mythical creatures and legends, and all those complicated names they have. It reads almost like YA prosewise, but it is grim and dark and contrasts that easy style. It is urban fantasy, but features beings so old one can't even fathom it. All of it would be quite good on it's own, but I personally didn't like it all being mixed up that much. So that is my 1,5 missing stars. For others that might be exactly why they love it especially much. Really just comes down to tastes.
Besides that it was a really entertaining, fast paced, engaging and adventurous read! I liked the main characters, especially the older ones - oh and Billy.
I read the first half as ebook, then switched to audiobook fir the second half, and can heartily recommend both, as they are both of really high quality.
bookish_satty's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
That was a rollercoaster ride! This is a fast paced, action packed urban fantasy which is full to the brim with worldwide mythological Gods and Beasts. I had fun reading this.
Fi and Zeke as characters were not developed properly and their teenage drama was really hard to get through especially during the first few chapters but I would encourage you to carry on because it gets action oriented very fast. Hope to see more character development incase of Zeke and Fi.
Uncle Edgar and Mol were my favorite characters. I liked Peter a lot and hope to see more of him in the next installment.
It was hard to keep track of the various mythological beings whose POVs we get to read from as well as their parentage. During the end 40% I was finally clear on who is who but that didn't take away from my experience.
P.S. - I would recommend reading this either physically or digitally because it really helped me keep track of all these characters much better. I read the first 50% via audio but couldn't retain much so I switched to a digital copy and it really helped. Moreover the narrator uses a very monotonous style of narration which was either putting me to sleep or my mind kept wandering away.
Fi and Zeke as characters were not developed properly and their teenage drama was really hard to get through especially during the first few chapters but I would encourage you to carry on because it gets action oriented very fast. Hope to see more character development incase of Zeke and Fi.
Uncle Edgar and Mol were my favorite characters. I liked Peter a lot and hope to see more of him in the next installment.
It was hard to keep track of the various mythological beings whose POVs we get to read from as well as their parentage. During the end 40% I was finally clear on who is who but that didn't take away from my experience.
P.S. - I would recommend reading this either physically or digitally because it really helped me keep track of all these characters much better. I read the first 50% via audio but couldn't retain much so I switched to a digital copy and it really helped. Moreover the narrator uses a very monotonous style of narration which was either putting me to sleep or my mind kept wandering away.
nagaboo's review
3.0
Pretty good, but lots of info dump expositional sections. Also had lots of tropes like choson one, family member part of secret organization, love interest with magic powers, etc. But as someone who grew up with a love of mythology, this was a really fun read.
chronodendron's review
4.0
Paternus features one of the largest ensembles of deities and mythological figures I've ever come across. I even had to stop reading a few times to research names I was not familiar with! For a mythology fan, this is awesome.
It has a bit of a rough start and I almost gave up after a chapter of YA drama, but good stories take time to develop and this one is no exception. Sadly, I never quite related or cared for Fiona and Zeke, and I think this story would have benefited from a more mature cast.
I still loved how Ashton managed to include so many different deities and lore in this story. The cinematic scenes and dialogue were a treat, and the present tense narrative made this book even more enjoyable.
It has a bit of a rough start and I almost gave up after a chapter of YA drama, but good stories take time to develop and this one is no exception. Sadly, I never quite related or cared for Fiona and Zeke, and I think this story would have benefited from a more mature cast.
I still loved how Ashton managed to include so many different deities and lore in this story. The cinematic scenes and dialogue were a treat, and the present tense narrative made this book even more enjoyable.
ferrisscottr's review against another edition
3.0
Torn on this one.
Even though it was billed as a "new weird" novel (not a big fan of the genre) I kept reading review after review talking about how amazing this book was. So....I got it and dove in.
It was 400 pages before I knew what was going on, what the plot was supposed to be and that bummed me out a bunch BUT the last 50 pages of this book after I actually knew what was going on was f**king amazing!
Up till page 400 I was pretty sure I was going to chalk this up to "it's fine but not for me" but I just might continue after the finale. I mean a book that has Lucifer Morningstar, Sir Galahad, Merlin and countless other myths, legends and folktales come to life...how could I pass that up?
It's fantasy.
Not sure how to classify it - it doesn't really fit any of the sub-genre's other than new weird.
Proceed with caution.
Even though it was billed as a "new weird" novel (not a big fan of the genre) I kept reading review after review talking about how amazing this book was. So....I got it and dove in.
It was 400 pages before I knew what was going on, what the plot was supposed to be and that bummed me out a bunch BUT the last 50 pages of this book after I actually knew what was going on was f**king amazing!
Up till page 400 I was pretty sure I was going to chalk this up to "it's fine but not for me" but I just might continue after the finale. I mean a book that has Lucifer Morningstar, Sir Galahad, Merlin and countless other myths, legends and folktales come to life...how could I pass that up?
It's fantasy.
Not sure how to classify it - it doesn't really fit any of the sub-genre's other than new weird.
Proceed with caution.
bulbasaurusthe7th's review
DNF.
The book introduced about 5 different points of views in the first 50 pages or so. The moment I thought I was kind of understanding things, we got a whole new group. Just too many things happened too fast.
Another issue is, I am just not super interested in the teenage girl protagonist. She is kind of... I don't know? Typical teenage girl protagonist? Not confident, quirky, has a super special life, but also everyone adores her.
At last, there was something that made me uncomfortable. At one point we get introduced to a kind of retirement home for mentally ill people who are also poor. It's a charity of sorts. The way the staff there is portrayed was... odd. They discussed the patients constantly, often right in front of said patients, calling them names and such. It was all light-hearted, but that's just not cool. Plus, one of the people working there is this big, burly gay man. We get told he is super huge and strong, he threatens people who are homophobic with physical violence (nice thing to do among legitimately mentally ill people, I am sure they never do or say weird shit because their brain is literally shutting down...), then he goes and REPEATEDLY sexually harasses an (as far as we know) straight dude half his size by badgering him constantly about having sex with him.
He also discusses the penis of an old male patient who literally can't even communicate and seems only semi-conscious. Not in a medical way either.... He is also super best friends with teenage protagonist girl, so we are supposed to like him.
The book introduced about 5 different points of views in the first 50 pages or so. The moment I thought I was kind of understanding things, we got a whole new group. Just too many things happened too fast.
Another issue is, I am just not super interested in the teenage girl protagonist. She is kind of... I don't know? Typical teenage girl protagonist? Not confident, quirky, has a super special life, but also everyone adores her.
At last, there was something that made me uncomfortable. At one point we get introduced to a kind of retirement home for mentally ill people who are also poor. It's a charity of sorts. The way the staff there is portrayed was... odd. They discussed the patients constantly, often right in front of said patients, calling them names and such. It was all light-hearted, but that's just not cool. Plus, one of the people working there is this big, burly gay man. We get told he is super huge and strong, he threatens people who are homophobic with physical violence (nice thing to do among legitimately mentally ill people, I am sure they never do or say weird shit because their brain is literally shutting down...), then he goes and REPEATEDLY sexually harasses an (as far as we know) straight dude half his size by badgering him constantly about having sex with him.
He also discusses the penis of an old male patient who literally can't even communicate and seems only semi-conscious. Not in a medical way either.... He is also super best friends with teenage protagonist girl, so we are supposed to like him.
saraishelafs's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating
The old gods are back, some of whom want to rule the world or at least did the world of humanity living deities
The old gods are back, some of whom want to rule the world or at least did the world of humanity living deities
b3rgy's review
3.0
3.5 Stars. Could have been higher if there was a way to skip the first part of the book. I almost DNF this twice but was told to keep going because it’s worth it. The book finally hit its stride around 26%, and then it was a fun read.
thesoulution's review
4.0
Interesting amalgamation of mythology from a variety of different cultures. Fun and unique, it doesn't overstay its welcome.
The only downside I can think of is being fairly predictable but it's well worth a read.
The only downside I can think of is being fairly predictable but it's well worth a read.