Book Review of Char & Ash, by Melody Relody!
“Wanna laugh at Zeus? This is the book for you.”“With the appearance of Zeus in a diaper and Icarus squirming at the sight of the ocean, the mood of this book is balanced perfectly between the beautiful worldbuilding of the Judge of Mystics saga and the grim story of Judge Caleb Mauthisen within it.”
Char & Ash (Judge of Mystics Saga 1) Signed Paperback CA$25.00 It’s happened! The first review of Char & Ash on Goodreads & Amazon! I’m stoked to see how this little mythpunk novel is being received. So far, the information is in, readers of contemporary fantasy and godpunk are loving the mixture of humour and drama.
I love how this reviewer delighted in the treatment of Zeus, who if we’re all honest, has an intensely problematic history. It was important for me not to shy away from the nature of many of Zeus’s tales, nor short change their appearance in our archaeological and mythological record. Zeus is as he was, as unchanged as his son Ares was changed by the times. And so, since Zeus was and remains a lecherous bastard, I took great fun in diminishing his status to that of an old man in a forgotten place, wrapped in a diaper with poor coloured clothes.
It takes a particularly hateful child to dress their father in brown and yellow plaid, and tasseled loafers.
The adventure of Caleb Mauthisen, Tuija Draganova, Ares Olympia and Finnegan the Fae are in their infancy, regardless of the time it’s taken for them to make it to the novels and their time to shine.
So, sit back and see what Melody Relody thought of Judge of Mystics Saga 1: Char & Ash:Wanna laugh at Zeus? This is the book for you.
With the appearance of Zeus in a diaper and Icarus squirming at the sight of the ocean, the mood of this book is balanced perfectly between the beautiful worldbuilding of the Judge of Mystics saga and the grim story of Judge Caleb Mauthisen within it.
Poetic descriptions, intriguing characters and a world bursting at the seams with questions, Char and Ash is a captivating first step into the Judge of Mystics world and I cannot wait for future instalments… and for poor Caleb to finally get some peace. (PLEASE GIVE THIS MAN SOME PEACE.)
The story focuses on the maintenance of a “Mystic Truce” which seeks to keep the human world of Midgard a neutral place after many centuries of mystic meddling in human affairs. With various mythologies from across the world represented, the fusion of modern and mythology is one I can’t wait to read more about. (Again see Zeus walking around in a diaper and tell me that isn’t the sort of modern invention he needs.)
But in all seriousness, the adaptation of the Hellian (Hellene) troops is something I’m so looking forward to reading more about in the next instalment. Never mind, the truce meetings between some of the largest characters in mythology. (Like Horus, Hera, Makosh and more all having business meetings together??? Hello??? These dynamics are wild!) And the ‘lil fae dude running a pub for all the coolest people around whilst a gjenganger mans the bar with all their incorporeal arms.
Ending in tragedy (I am not emotionally recovered), it’s clear that Char and Ash is setting up for one hell of a round two against those who disrupt the peace of the truce. With soft moments balancing out the angst, the attention to detail in character journeys is very satisfying and I cannot wait to see what happens by the end of this series.
