Against All Gods: The Age of Bronze: Book 1

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The world-building was incredible, inspired by ancient Greek mythology, filled with magic, mythical creatures and diverse races, lofty temples, and sword and sandal heroes. The author makes you hear, see and FEEL it all, and transport you into the heat of the desperate struggle for life and death. Yes, he has too many characters -- which especially shows around the conclusion when many of them fade into the background -- but they're all pretty great and likeable. Gorged on sex, violence, and vanity, and filled with all the human insecurities, weaknesses, and downright pitiful self-absorption, these gods are anything but magnanimous and worthy of veneration. The combination of ambitious, politicking gods with their plans within plans, and mortals learning to imagine a world without gods, makes for an engaging plot that, once it gets up to speed, delivers action and excitement aplenty along with some great questions around the mortals/gods dynamic.

However, for some reason, I came into this story expecting Mesopotamian mythology (yes I know that's not Bronze Age and I'm stupid) and then saw some reviews mention Greek mythology.

Ah, the age of bronze: tyrants descended from gods, shoring up their divine blood with consanguineous marriages, glut with human sacrifices. Secure in their power and glory after destroying or banishing the previous pantheon, the current gods make games of the lives of mortals, controlling them for their own gain and punishing them on a whim. I cannot say that any is entirely likeable (though I do love Druku), but all are fascinating, right from the opening scene in ‘Heaven’ where the gods dwell, and we witness the wrath of the Storm-God upon his not-so-competent subjects.

AGAINST ALL ODDS is just his latest success story and here are my thought upon finishing the book late last night. If you want a smaller selection, including the famous Gilgamesh, check out Dalley’s Myths from Mesopotamia.Miles Cameron’s brilliantly-titled Against All Gods kicks off his Age of Bronze cycle, a new historical fantasy series set (as the name suggests) in a Bronze Age-inspired world populated by mortals, monsters and bickering, manipulative gods.

Because, as we have learned throughout history, absolute power can corrupt absolutely (or "eternally" in the case of gods, as the cover of the book notes), as the saying goes. I still feel like I have no idea how some characters feel about each other because I barely saw them interacting. There are a lot of characters in play here (as evidenced by the four-page dramatis personae at the beginning), but Cameron largely keeps to four point of view characters – an aged magos out for revenge, a grieving dancer acclimatising to an unexpected responsibility, a young scribe coming to terms with betrayal and a broader truth, and a cynical warrior uncomfortably aware that he’s past his best. A raunchy streak of cynicism so exactingly drawn through human characters of varied orientations and backgrounds, it is seamless. Again, I really like books like these that involve history, mythology, fantasy, and even the brutality of living in a difficult world.You see, star-metal is the only thing that can kill a god and should a weapon or weapons be forged from it, well the results could be disastrous and could threaten the gods' power and unlimited control. I mean, I couldn't be away from this book for more than a couple of hours before I wanted to jump right back in. I think it safe to say all that has been avoided here as the characters and their motivations each appear distinct. Set in a period that I think broadly aligns with Bronze age mankind in Mesopotamia, Miles presents us with a complex world where the new gods have ruled for a thousand years, and the old gods are dead, lost or tolerated with disdain.

Cameron has drawn from a number of the mythologies present in our own history, but the pantheon he has created is entirely unique, and each deity bursts with character.

I did like how I could picture everything the characters were going through and felt like I was in the book with them. As stereotypical as ragtag group of misfits in this scenario sound, it's exactly what I enjoyed about it. His strength is definitely that his writing is much closer to historical fiction -- with the eye for real world historical details -- than most fantasy. This prolific, best-selling author of over 40 novels, has penned one of my top ten fantasy series ever: “The Traitor Son Cycle”. In short, they are a mess, the lesser deities and demigods they have produced are spoiled children who will never be up to taking their place, and Enkul-Anu, Storm Lord and King of the Gods, knows it.