What happens when you take Ancient Greek deities and toss them into the modern world? This book answers that question with a unique twist on this premise. There are some deities from other pantheons thrown into the mix - but none that are worshiped in the mainstream today (although you might still find some pockets of devotees among pagans). Clarke did an excellent job bringing all the gods and goddesses to life, each with their own unique quirks. There's quite a bit of wit in this book, and it's certain to make you smile as you meet each deity in turn. Perfect for anyone who has ever wondered what happened to those ancient immortals.

Thank you to Crystal Peake BooksGoSocial for making available a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘Deities’ by Stuart Clarke in exchange for an honest review. It was published in April 2019. My apologies for the late feedback.

What drew me to this novel was its premise as I have a long interest in world mythology and it sounded fun. Yet as I began I found myself not being sure of what I was reading.

It’s clearly a mythological urban fantasy though honestly I found it a bit of a hodgepodge especially initially. There is violence, some of it quite graphic, effing and blinding, sexual scenes, plenty of pop culture references and weirdly in the opening chapters what appears to be product placement.

On his author’s page Clarke says that he reverse engineered this novel, intended to be the first in a series, from a screenplay that he had previously worked on. That actually made sense as it reminded me a little of a fantasy film from a few years back, ‘The Gods of Egypt’. Clearly not the same but a similar concept of ancient gods battling it out similar to a video game or comic book inspired movie.

However, rather than a single pantheon Clarke has brought together a number of them. So, there’s the Egyptian pantheon, who are engaged in a civil war, with a strange alliance between Set and Isis fighting against Anubis. Horus is also caught up in their machinations that includes a plot to depose the sun/creator god Ra. I understand Set but Isis and Horus? Plus, Anubis as a baddie?

Then there is a mix of Norse, Greek, Roman, and Sumerian pantheons engaged in a conflict linked to Light vs Dark and the control of a portal that provides access to the planes of existence. When not on the battlefield the Light contingent seems to be in a bar in Heaven and are waited on by angels, Lesser Enochian ones no less. The Dark deities are similarly hanging out in Hell.

While this is going on Apollo gets transported to Earth and interacts rather naively with the populace. He meets up with Coyote, a street savvy Native American god with his own agenda. Then Norse goddess Freya and Roman god Pluto both head to Earth. Artemis is there too apparently working undercover as a rookie cop with the SFPD. Apollo has aspirations to become a rock star. Every now and then we check in with other god groupings.

If all this sounds a bit confusing I refer back to my hodgepodge remark.

More and more gods end up being exiled to the earth and having various gods walking about among modern day humans did have its fun moments. Norse death goddess Hel and Hades made a great team. Oh and if the deities die in the human realm, then it’s a real death. Bummer!

There were a lot of threads and random characters, not all of which were developed leaving again an impression of messiness. Yet I admit that I did find myself enjoying it especially in the second half as the narrative settled down. In the final chapters I thought that things came together well though this was leading to the set up for its proposed sequel.

Maybe as this is listed as YA/Teen SF/F it is catering to a readership expecting more of a romp with a comic book style narrative. Clearly Clarke knows his world mythology even if some of his choices seemed odd to me like the Egyptian alliances or casting Sumerian fertility goddess Inanna as a demonic chthonic goddess rather than her sister, Erishkigal.

Still, these are personal quibbles. However, Clarke does assume a knowledge of the various pantheons and associated myths that could be a barrier. A cast of characters would have been useful.

Given the promise of its final chapters and for the emerging personalities of the gods, especially the delightful Coyote, I do hope that Clarke continues with the series.

Retellings are some of my favorite, and Greek mythology is like catnip for me. This was a highly enjoyable read of interwoven pantheons in a light versus dark fight. I loved every minute reading this and hope that we get more from Clarke!

Fun story about the deities we all know from the different pantheons of mythology. and what they must do they retain their status. I enjoyed this book a lot. I voluntarily read this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am always up for a mythology retelling and I really enjoyed this one. I loved seeing Apollo and the gods navigate through modern day life.

My favorite things about this book was while I first thought it was just about the Greek Gods, the author included mythology from all different cultures. I know a little about the Norse Gods but not about the others, so I really enjoyed learning more about them.

Great story! I'm looking forward to the next one.

I received an electronic copy from BooksGoSocial through NetGalley.
Clarke interweaves the various pantheon of gods and goddesses to create the ultimate light versus dark situation. He does assume the reader has knowledge of the various mythologies around the world. I enjoyed seeing the interactions among the legends. Each stayed true to their roles in their respective myths.
The ending sets up a sequel so it will be interesting to see where Clarke takes the plot as he's brought almost all of the gods back from their exile on earth.

Deities is a fun, humorous, and enjoyable book. I would love to continue this as a series. The characters are each unique in their own right and their personalities come right off the page.
Fans of mythology will want to dive into the world of the gods. Looking forward to the next book.

Unfortunately, this was a disappointing read for me as I love mythology. It felt very flat and chaotic as it changed POV. I didn't love any of the characters.

I was pleased that I learned a little more about some mythology such as the Native American gods. As well, the cliffhanger perfectly sets up a sequel.

However, I felt no tension throughout the story; it only started to feel legitimate in the last few chapters. I hope that the kinks would be resolved with more practice as there was potential, for example the writing style was clear and concise.

As a mythology lover, it’s an enjoyable read. Stuart Clarke interweaves characters from Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Norse, Persian, Celtic & other mythologies that we know and love.
I was not crazy that it was a cliffhanger. It felt cut off and yes, it did leave me wanting more, I didn’t like how it just abruptly stopped.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mythology tales. And I am interested in seeing what will happen next.

Deities was an entertaining read with great characters and an interesting and unique premise. I was hooked from the beginning of the book and wanted to keep reading till the end.

This review is of an ARC copy of Deities by Stuart Clarke, provided by NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review
This was my first NetGalley ARC copy and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it sounded like an interesting premise, ancient mythological Gods fighting each other and banishing each other to the mortal plane. It was a fantastic read. Funny and fast moving, I struggled to put it down to go to work. The only thing that disappointed me was that it ended on a cliff hanger, which means it's hopefully one of a series, and that's a good thing, I've just got to be patient for the next one!
If you like mythological stories, where the deities are the main characters, with a battle for good and evil thrown in, then this is definitely a book for you.
★★★★☆ 4 stars

There was something wrong with the print. I couldn't keep track as it would just cut off mid sentence then go to another scene several times. I don't know if was the file I had or what. I was enjoying it, but I couldn't follow along with the story. I'm going to give 4 stars because I like the idea of having all these pantheons fighting for a similar cause.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers of this book for giving me the opportunity to read this for an honest review in return.

As a mythology lover I honestly loved this book. At first I was confused at the premise of using so many different mythologies i one story but it definitely worked in the end.

I was drawn in from beginning to end and now want to read so much more from this author!

Recommend for fans of mythology retellings!

The premise of this book is a joint effort of various pantheons working together in order to prevent Anubis from accessing a portal that will allow him to control time and space. It follows the typical narrative structure of Good versus Evil and includes the escapades of deities that have been exiled to earth for a time. However, these deities have long been forgotten by the mortals they now walk amongst once agin.

The author excellently incorporates several different pantheons in a very interesting way that demonstrates how well the book was researched. The banter between the various deities was enjoyable to read and made me laugh in several places.

I found this to be a very enjoyable read but found that this could easily be hindered by the amount of knowledge assumed by the book. I am very familiar with the Greek and Roman Pantheons and passingly acquainted with the Egyptian pantheon. However my lack of knowledge on the various other pantheons means I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I could have. It has however inspired me to read up on American and Persian pantheons as I found their inclusion particularly intriguing.

The writing style was clear but simplistic and while can be a good thing, the clear adult themes makes it an odd contrast. I also found certain things to be oddly phrased.

While book ended rather abruptly, it has set up the sequel very well. I can’t wait to see where the author takes this in the future.

I would like to thank Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with a copy of this book.

As a mythology lover, it’s an enjoyable read. Stuart Clarke interweaves characters from Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Norse, Persian, Celtic & other mythologies that we know and love.
I was not crazy that it was a cliffhanger. It felt cut off and yes, it did leave me wanting more, I didn’t like how it just abruptly stopped.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mythology tales. And I am interested in seeing what will happen next.

I got a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

As a mythology lover, I was excited to try this book. I must say I was not disappointed. What made it even better was when I realized that this was the beginning of a series. I cannot wait to continue reading it.

Deities tells the tale of what happens to the numerous deities from different eras after they are forgotten. There's a mix of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, Persian, Native American gods just to name a few. The war between the Light and the Dark is still ongoing as both sides are fighting over the Spheri Eternus, a portal which controls time and space. Apollo, however, has no time for battles and is relaxing with his best friend, Bacchus in the Heavenly Bar. Suddenly, he is exiled to Earth, where he discovers the joys of our modern music and tacos. He is being helped by Coyote, the Native American version of Loki, the Norse god of trickery. Apollo discovers that not only do mortals don't recognize him, but that he also has no powers or immortality on Earth. Other gods are exiled to Earth after him, and nobody knows where Zeus is. Apollo also finds out that Asag, a Sumerian demon is hunting him down because Asag gets stronger every time he absorbs a god's essence when he/she dies. The exiled gods realize that the only way they could get back to their versions of Heaven is if they work together, regardless of how they feel about each other.

Stuart Clarke clearly knows his mythology. He put in little snippets which showed off his knowledge, such as that little scene between Demeter and Poseidon. That was impressive. Hera's dislike for Athena, as well as, the whole love triangle between Aphrodite, Ares and Hephaestus were used very masterfully within the story. I also liked that each god's personality suited what they were in charge of. Apollo was a music prodigy, Bacchus was a lush, Pan was very offended to be referred to as a goat, and Venus was, well, Venus.

The plot was well done. The author was able to convey the way the gods felt when they arrived at earth and realized mortals were not giving them the respect they deserved. The part of the book in which Anubis ended up in the insurance firm was priceless. Even better was Bacchus comparing wines in the party. The conversations were entertaining and, in many places, made me laugh out loud.

I was unable to find anything I disliked in this book. It was obviously well researched with the author fitting every single god, demon or mortal into his/her right place effortlessly. There were some minor typos but they didn't take away from the story.

It should be noted that this is definitely a book for adults. There are some very sexual scenes which are described in graphic detail. There was some cursing but not much. Readers who enjoy mythology will love this story.

Classic fight between good, evil and the Egyptians. Will the Roman, Greek, American and Egyptian gods and demi gods join forces or will evil prevail. Regeneration is sure for the gods within their home planes but now some have been vanquished to Earth, a new and titillating plane with tacos and cheap wine. Earth holds new mysteries in addition to certain and infinite death. This adult version of a Rick Riordan Apollo novel is good. It ends on a cliffhanger so you will be looking forward to part two.

If you love mythology (and I do), please consider the book Deities by Stuart Clarke. I found it to be a clever and well-written book, making entertaining use of classical characters.