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vellichor_vibes's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing story with likable heroes and despicable villains.
A critiques on the Audible version tho. This is a gripe I have with all audio books but can authors start adding a downloadable pdf with a list of main character names and key story locations. It would help when Googling character names to find a wiki or, in the case of this book, figure out who these ancient deities are. Also, if I see the name it helps me keep my mental image of the character "grounded". (IDK it just does)
A critiques on the Audible version tho. This is a gripe I have with all audio books but can authors start adding a downloadable pdf with a list of main character names and key story locations. It would help when Googling character names to find a wiki or, in the case of this book, figure out who these ancient deities are. Also, if I see the name it helps me keep my mental image of the character "grounded". (IDK it just does)
thinde's review
3.0
It shows promise as the start of a sprawling fantasy, but I feel the author tried to include too much for comfort. As a result, the emotional impact is muddied and my desire to continue into book two is blunted.
queenterribletimy's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Full review, as usual: starlitbook.com/2018/05/21/paternus-rise-of-gods-by-dyrk-ashton/
Myths and legends are real. Part of them anyway. And they are still roaming the world, keeping to themselves, sleeping, helping people or plotting for taking over the world. After the Cataclysm and two wars called Holocausts the world is in peace, until, that is, when the Asura (those children of the Father who choose to do bad deeds, and not exactly fond of humans) decides it’s time to show the Deva (the good kids, who choose to help humans and doesn’t consider them as cockroaches) who is in charge. Deva are attacked all around the world while the Master of Asura focuses on an old man called Peter. He lives in a nearly catatonic state in a hospital. The only one who can have an effect on him is Fi, the 18 year old girl who works there in part-time as an intern. This is where she meets Zeke, mythology enthusiast, guitar player, too-smart-for-his-own-good guy. Together they help Peter to get away from those who chase him. And so they face the craziest 24 hours of their life while unexpected and not so unexpected twists occur.
Rise of Gods builds up slowly, but the second half or so is packed with action to the brim. But then you need a bit of time to get used to the book being written in the third person, present tense and the sudden changes in the POV, which sometimes can be kind of annoying. Because of this and that things happen really fast, and mythical creatures and legends get a rather big role (maybe bigger than they should have at some points) there isn’t enough time and space for character building (I liked how Fi and Zeke adapted to the situation though), so this book is rather action driven. Sometimes this is overwhelming and makes hard to connect to the main characters: Fi, Zeke and Peter. Although their interactions are good and they bring some humor into the bloodbath, which does good to the book. These light moments are refreshing and give a moment of break to get from one scene to the other. Still, my favorite character was Tanuki.
But there are so many things going on that you can find it hard to catch up. Personally, I think if this book were about 50-100 pages shorter and maybe a bit more focused on the characters rather than the myths/Firstborns, it would have been much more a page turner. I’m not saying it’s not as it is, because the second half of the book kept me glued to my kindle.
The writing is smooth otherwise and this book is crammed with mythology, stories, names and legends from all around the world: from Native America through Ancient Europe to Africa and Asia. Good points for Mr Ashton using the less known legends and stories instead of the overused greek and roman gods. Actually, let’s give the man respect for doing such a thorough research to bring together so many cultures.
Paternus: Rise of Gods is an exceptional work in its genre. Dyrk Ashton had an ambitious goal when he started to write this book, and for a debut book it did really well. Yeah, it has some flaws and all the side stories can be overwhelming for those who are not familiar with all these myths – which is probably most people. Even I had to google some things and I had some studies regarding religions. And although for some reasons it didn’t work out as well for me, it deserves all the hype and praise it got so far. It’s action packed, funny, bloody, intense and highly entertaining. So, what are you waiting for? Go and get it already before the second book comes out in July!
P.S.: I can highly recommend the audiobook as well!
Full review, as usual: starlitbook.com/2018/05/21/paternus-rise-of-gods-by-dyrk-ashton/
Myths and legends are real. Part of them anyway. And they are still roaming the world, keeping to themselves, sleeping, helping people or plotting for taking over the world. After the Cataclysm and two wars called Holocausts the world is in peace, until, that is, when the Asura (those children of the Father who choose to do bad deeds, and not exactly fond of humans) decides it’s time to show the Deva (the good kids, who choose to help humans and doesn’t consider them as cockroaches) who is in charge. Deva are attacked all around the world while the Master of Asura focuses on an old man called Peter. He lives in a nearly catatonic state in a hospital. The only one who can have an effect on him is Fi, the 18 year old girl who works there in part-time as an intern. This is where she meets Zeke, mythology enthusiast, guitar player, too-smart-for-his-own-good guy. Together they help Peter to get away from those who chase him. And so they face the craziest 24 hours of their life while unexpected and not so unexpected twists occur.
Rise of Gods builds up slowly, but the second half or so is packed with action to the brim. But then you need a bit of time to get used to the book being written in the third person, present tense and the sudden changes in the POV, which sometimes can be kind of annoying. Because of this and that things happen really fast, and mythical creatures and legends get a rather big role (maybe bigger than they should have at some points) there isn’t enough time and space for character building (I liked how Fi and Zeke adapted to the situation though), so this book is rather action driven. Sometimes this is overwhelming and makes hard to connect to the main characters: Fi, Zeke and Peter. Although their interactions are good and they bring some humor into the bloodbath, which does good to the book. These light moments are refreshing and give a moment of break to get from one scene to the other. Still, my favorite character was Tanuki.
But there are so many things going on that you can find it hard to catch up. Personally, I think if this book were about 50-100 pages shorter and maybe a bit more focused on the characters rather than the myths/Firstborns, it would have been much more a page turner. I’m not saying it’s not as it is, because the second half of the book kept me glued to my kindle.
The writing is smooth otherwise and this book is crammed with mythology, stories, names and legends from all around the world: from Native America through Ancient Europe to Africa and Asia. Good points for Mr Ashton using the less known legends and stories instead of the overused greek and roman gods. Actually, let’s give the man respect for doing such a thorough research to bring together so many cultures.
Paternus: Rise of Gods is an exceptional work in its genre. Dyrk Ashton had an ambitious goal when he started to write this book, and for a debut book it did really well. Yeah, it has some flaws and all the side stories can be overwhelming for those who are not familiar with all these myths – which is probably most people. Even I had to google some things and I had some studies regarding religions. And although for some reasons it didn’t work out as well for me, it deserves all the hype and praise it got so far. It’s action packed, funny, bloody, intense and highly entertaining. So, what are you waiting for? Go and get it already before the second book comes out in July!
P.S.: I can highly recommend the audiobook as well!
agrantmas's review against another edition
4.0
Pros:
-Self published. I've been trying to be more involved in what's going on in Fantasy. This is a good story and good writing.
-Lore. I'm always ready to hear a story with an interesting take on mythology. This does share the ancient myth in modern day theme with American Gods, one of my other favorites. It's also obvious that the author did some serious homework on this.
-Characters
Cons:
-Vampires. Not for me.
-This may be a gripe with the format (digital) but there were times were the POV was a little lucid. Like, I didn't know that I was now reading what a different character was thinking until I was a couple of sentences in. Maybe add a page break or something?
-Self published. I've been trying to be more involved in what's going on in Fantasy. This is a good story and good writing.
-Lore. I'm always ready to hear a story with an interesting take on mythology. This does share the ancient myth in modern day theme with American Gods, one of my other favorites. It's also obvious that the author did some serious homework on this.
-Characters
Cons:
-Vampires. Not for me.
-This may be a gripe with the format (digital) but there were times were the POV was a little lucid. Like, I didn't know that I was now reading what a different character was thinking until I was a couple of sentences in. Maybe add a page break or something?
kvinwtm_'s review
3.5
I think I'll enjoy books 2 and 3 more now that most of the info dumps are out of the way (hopefully).
pavram's review
1.0
Američki bogovi u režiji Majkl Beja sa tinejdž sklonostima. Suptilno kao slon u staklarnici, pliće od bare, kartonsko kao... karton. Razmišljam zašto ne mrzim ovu knjigu pa da joj mirne duše dam keca, ali daleko sam više nekako „eh“.
Negde na polovini knjige mi se knjiga čak i dopadala (tojest više sam je tolerisao), uprkos činjenici da su glavni likovi jedna maltene parodija tinejdžerke (i to nenamerna) i jedan, paz sad, mladić koji je pametan, zgodan (neophodan), i još svira djitru. A da, i krajnje slučajno je doktorant čije je usko polje rada mitologija (da može i on da učestvuje u ekspoziciji, razumite ga). Ali uprkos tome, uživao sam u bujici mitoloških stvorenja i čestim posetama Vikipediji. Čak sam u jednom trenutku pomislio da Ešton zna šta radi, kada je uveo Boga, onog velikog, sa velikim B, kao nimfomana. A onda se ispostavilo da on samo mnogo intenzivno voli... ... .... .... Kako čovek da ne popizdi?
Plus, glavni negativac sa nepoznatim motivima (možda samo ima sklonost ka „muahaha“) je Djavo. Ko uopšte danas želi da čita kako je Djavo glavni negativac jer je zao? Ali možda i najstrašniji prekršaj je to što se knjiga završava maltene u nekom zamišljenom drugom činu – antiklimaktično, nerazrešeno, sa boga oca podloge za nastavak. A to strašno iznervira.
No, opet nisam ljut. Upio sam sav treš koji sam mogao i setio se šta je loša književnost. Ešton piše u trapavom sadašnjem stilu i koristi po tri uzvičnika na krajevima rečenica (stvarno, ako to još negde vidim umreću) i onomatopejiše CRAAACK, KABOOOM i sl. toliko često da sam sve očekivao da usledi i "fiju-fiju, kaže vetar". Možda se zato osećam ovako provetrenim.
2-
Jao da, u jednom trenutku autor stavi u zagrade "(no pun intended)". Ma aj zdravo, kec.
1
Negde na polovini knjige mi se knjiga čak i dopadala (tojest više sam je tolerisao), uprkos činjenici da su glavni likovi jedna maltene parodija tinejdžerke (i to nenamerna) i jedan, paz sad, mladić koji je pametan, zgodan (neophodan), i još svira djitru. A da, i krajnje slučajno je doktorant čije je usko polje rada mitologija (da može i on da učestvuje u ekspoziciji, razumite ga). Ali uprkos tome, uživao sam u bujici mitoloških stvorenja i čestim posetama Vikipediji. Čak sam u jednom trenutku pomislio da Ešton zna šta radi, kada je uveo Boga, onog velikog, sa velikim B, kao nimfomana. A onda se ispostavilo da on samo mnogo intenzivno voli... ... .... .... Kako čovek da ne popizdi?
Plus, glavni negativac sa nepoznatim motivima (možda samo ima sklonost ka „muahaha“) je Djavo. Ko uopšte danas želi da čita kako je Djavo glavni negativac jer je zao? Ali možda i najstrašniji prekršaj je to što se knjiga završava maltene u nekom zamišljenom drugom činu – antiklimaktično, nerazrešeno, sa boga oca podloge za nastavak. A to strašno iznervira.
No, opet nisam ljut. Upio sam sav treš koji sam mogao i setio se šta je loša književnost. Ešton piše u trapavom sadašnjem stilu i koristi po tri uzvičnika na krajevima rečenica (stvarno, ako to još negde vidim umreću) i onomatopejiše CRAAACK, KABOOOM i sl. toliko često da sam sve očekivao da usledi i "fiju-fiju, kaže vetar". Možda se zato osećam ovako provetrenim.
2-
Jao da, u jednom trenutku autor stavi u zagrade "(no pun intended)". Ma aj zdravo, kec.
1
hmj29's review
adventurous
medium-paced
3.0
Had a harder time getting into this audiobook, but I enjoyed how the fight/battle scenes were written.
vinjii's review
3.75
3.5 Stars.
Paternus is an exciting story, with a very fast-paced plot and accessible prose.
It just did not quite work for me. I'm interested in the sequel, and definitely will keep an eye on future releases of Dyrk Ashton, though.
Let's get the negative out of the way first. This reads a bit like it should actually be a movie. The narration hops from character to character, changing the point of view frequently, sometimes mid-paragraph. I found that a bit jarring. This is best enjoyed with popcorn, sitting in a cinema. As a book it just did not quite work. At least for me.
Others love this one, so if the premise sounds intriguing, give it a try.
Onto the positive.
Of course, what I described above, makes this novel unique. I highly enjoyed Ahston's fight scenes, and thought his narrative style was captivating.
Ashton's idea and world building are amazing. The visuals are captivating, and I think we can expect many great stories from Ashton's imaginative mind. The world building is intricate, filled with bits of world religions and various mythologies. I can't imagine the number of hours the author must have put into research.
When I say it's filled with world religions and myths, I mean, there's everything: from Chinese mythology to the Norse gods. There's Baphomet, and Ao Guant, there's Minotaur and Tengu. Just to name a few.
If mythology is at all what you're interested in, pick it up. Paternus is filled with it like no other book I've ever read.
Paternus is an exciting story, with a very fast-paced plot and accessible prose.
It just did not quite work for me. I'm interested in the sequel, and definitely will keep an eye on future releases of Dyrk Ashton, though.
Let's get the negative out of the way first. This reads a bit like it should actually be a movie. The narration hops from character to character, changing the point of view frequently, sometimes mid-paragraph. I found that a bit jarring. This is best enjoyed with popcorn, sitting in a cinema. As a book it just did not quite work. At least for me.
Others love this one, so if the premise sounds intriguing, give it a try.
Onto the positive.
Of course, what I described above, makes this novel unique. I highly enjoyed Ahston's fight scenes, and thought his narrative style was captivating.
Ashton's idea and world building are amazing. The visuals are captivating, and I think we can expect many great stories from Ashton's imaginative mind. The world building is intricate, filled with bits of world religions and various mythologies. I can't imagine the number of hours the author must have put into research.
When I say it's filled with world religions and myths, I mean, there's everything: from Chinese mythology to the Norse gods. There's Baphomet, and Ao Guant, there's Minotaur and Tengu. Just to name a few.
If mythology is at all what you're interested in, pick it up. Paternus is filled with it like no other book I've ever read.