Review for Gods of Glenhaven by Stephen Statler – 3.5 🌟

Gods of Glenhaven by Stephen Statler is an inventive take on Greek mythology that’s both fun and humorous. The plot offers a refreshing twist on the familiar gods, using them in a way that feels unique rather than just rehashing old stories. The humour is a major strength here—it kept me entertained from start to finish, adding a light-hearted tone to the entire book.

The pacing is a little slow at first, but it picks up eventually, and the short chapters made it easy to stay engaged. The characters aren’t necessarily the most lovable, but they’re still interesting enough to keep you invested. A bit more depth could’ve elevated them, but for the most part, they served the story well.

One thing to note: the frequent mention of the phallus might be a bit much for some readers, though it didn’t take away from my enjoyment. Overall, if you’re looking for something a bit different in Greek mythology, this one’s worth picking up.

For lovers of mythical Gods in up-to-date capers, this is a good beach read. The last third really picks up and the information about Greek Gods (names and who they are) starts come through. It manages to keep you interested (whether mildly, annoyingly or wildly) throughout.

The book, about a man and his family whose lives are turned upside down when a few Greek Gods move into his neighbourhood, has more depth than the first half of it leads you to believe. While it is enjoyable, there are some peculiar phrases which did grate on me. When a character is described as 'typing out a URL' this sounds as if the author is describing when we first had Internet! Conversely, 'pecks out a text' seems a little unusual, shouldn't that be types out a text? The word 'ululate' is mentioned twice in quick succession (a pet peeve) and at least 4 times in total. Just say howl already!

The chapters are really short just 3 pages max which means there are around 60 in total, and isn't necessary to keep you interested as the storyline definitely starts to speed up about half way through the book. Personally I found the tense quite off putting and didn't need the images between every chapter. This might have been quirky if it had only been every 10 or so, however as it was, it gave an immature edge to the book, making it seem like a YA novel (which maybe it is).

The writing does have flow and is comical in parts (chapter 23 includes a quite insulting pretty gross description of a kiss, I pity the author if he has been accosted like this!) However the main character Christian is not particularly likeable and double naming of the Gods isn't explained until around chapter 43. Sprinkling these in but not explaining who they are referring to, distracts from the storyline,

We get to chapter 43 before anyone reacts in a realistic way to the oddities occurring and I would have loved a bit more peril before the ending, it seems to have been cleaned up quite quickly. There was no real explanation as to what was going to happen to the congregation and the protagonist gets to grips with her new normal with extreme ease, it seems there is a missed opportunity for some mishaps and comical scenes here.

Def worth a shot if you liked 'Gods behaving badly' by Marie Phillips, which unfortunately is superior to this offering. This book, though, does include some strong female characters and provides an interesting philosophical conversation around death and dying.