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Olympia Heights #1
The Pantheon
They say that lightning never strikes the same place twice, but for Zach Jacobs, that just isn’t true. It’s hard enough being seventeen-- juggling school, football, friends, and teenage romance-- but Zach’s about to find out just how complicated it can get when he begins to suspect that maybe he was the lightning. Teenage woes hardly seem significant when you’ve got lightning shooting from your fingertips and a couple of murderous Titans trying to settle an ancient score. Olympia The Pantheon , is the first of a four book series under the Olympia Heights name.
292 pages, Paperback
First published July 10, 2011
59 people are currently reading
525 people want to read
About the author
Amy Leigh Strickland
15 books37 followersAmy Leigh Strickland is a writer and teacher from Townsend, Massachusetts. She has a BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Amy currently lives outside Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, Kyle and their terrier, Apollo.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 10, 2012
I stumbled upon this book when checking out a video review that JL Bryan had tweeted of one of his books in the Paranormals series. It turns out that the reviewer was an author, and I liked the professional way that she presented her review and the enthusiasm that she had for it so I decided to check out what books she had published. Olympia Heights: The Pantheon was on sale in the Kindle store for $0.99 at the time, so I decided to give it a shot.
Olympia Heights, Florida is home to a high school where fourteen teenagers start developing strange abilities and remembering a seemingly impossible past together. When members of the rival town’s football team, the Titans, start showing up to start trouble on more than just the field, the group must band together to fight off an impending attack that runs centuries deep.
The story is compelling–fourteen regular teens suddenly starting to develop unique powers over a few months, forced to work together whether they trust each other and are friends or not–is believable with just the right amount of angst for a YA novel. The dialogue between the teens was realistic and the adults weren’t completely absentee like you see with a lot of YA, which was refreshing. As each of the fourteen teens became aware of their actual God/Goddess selves, it was interesting to see how they reacted to how brutal they had acted in the past and how badly they might have treated those they had loved. The setting and situations the teens were in weren’t contrived, and were enjoyable to read.
The first half of the book was a bit hard to read because there were so many characters to meet and get to know. Fourteen different people and two adults were introduced and described in detail, and it really bogged the book down. The descriptions tended to be a little long winded, and I felt that they could have been cut down and still have been very effective. This would have helped with the pacing of the first half of the book immensely. Also, the teens seemed to accept that they were Gods rather easily. But I guess if I had lightning shooting out of my hands or if I could talk to animals, I might be an easy believer myself.
The second half of the book was much better paced once the character foundations had been laid and the battle lines had been drawn. It’s really this half of the book that was exciting, fast paced, and a page turner (or in my case, a touch the Kindle Fire screen). I’ll gladly pick up the next one in this series when it comes out. But I’m only giving this one a 3 out of five since the first half could use some editing to bring it’s readability up to the same level as the second half of the book.
Also posted on Bewitched Bookworms
Olympia Heights, Florida is home to a high school where fourteen teenagers start developing strange abilities and remembering a seemingly impossible past together. When members of the rival town’s football team, the Titans, start showing up to start trouble on more than just the field, the group must band together to fight off an impending attack that runs centuries deep.
The story is compelling–fourteen regular teens suddenly starting to develop unique powers over a few months, forced to work together whether they trust each other and are friends or not–is believable with just the right amount of angst for a YA novel. The dialogue between the teens was realistic and the adults weren’t completely absentee like you see with a lot of YA, which was refreshing. As each of the fourteen teens became aware of their actual God/Goddess selves, it was interesting to see how they reacted to how brutal they had acted in the past and how badly they might have treated those they had loved. The setting and situations the teens were in weren’t contrived, and were enjoyable to read.
The first half of the book was a bit hard to read because there were so many characters to meet and get to know. Fourteen different people and two adults were introduced and described in detail, and it really bogged the book down. The descriptions tended to be a little long winded, and I felt that they could have been cut down and still have been very effective. This would have helped with the pacing of the first half of the book immensely. Also, the teens seemed to accept that they were Gods rather easily. But I guess if I had lightning shooting out of my hands or if I could talk to animals, I might be an easy believer myself.
The second half of the book was much better paced once the character foundations had been laid and the battle lines had been drawn. It’s really this half of the book that was exciting, fast paced, and a page turner (or in my case, a touch the Kindle Fire screen). I’ll gladly pick up the next one in this series when it comes out. But I’m only giving this one a 3 out of five since the first half could use some editing to bring it’s readability up to the same level as the second half of the book.
Also posted on Bewitched Bookworms
November 26, 2012
Amazing - one of the best books I read in 2012. Highly recommended! On to the sequel...
April 10, 2019
I love the book
This book was great. The author is amazing and should keep up the good work.
Although I did not quite like the fact that the abilities of the pantheon were not fully shown, I believe the powers fit the story perfectly and made it awesome
This book was great. The author is amazing and should keep up the good work.
Although I did not quite like the fact that the abilities of the pantheon were not fully shown, I believe the powers fit the story perfectly and made it awesome
January 11, 2012
This is probably more of a 3.5 stars, but I decided to lean more toward 4 when posting.
First off, I love Greek Mythology. I just ate it up when I was in school and consumed it in big chunks. It rocked my world and I went beyond what the teacher assigned us to find out all I could about the subject. So I'm wired to like this book you could say. I'm also a big supporter of Indie Authors (since I started off Indie before my three book deal with Tor), and I know there are a slew of good authors out there waiting to be discovered (like J.L. Bryan).
The Things I Liked:
There was a nice sense of humor to the whole book. The idea of the Greek gods being reincarnated and are now all teenagers attending a high school called Olympia Heights is very tongue in cheek and fun. I liked how their archenemy football team was the Titans.
Zeus and Hera were very well fleshed out. I really felt bad for Hera, but Zeus does have his own particular charm. Their complex relationship was very well done.
Aphrodite, the goddess of Love, shows just how powerful and destructive she can be with her "love" and it was easy to hate and like her at the same time.
I really liked Poseidon's awakening to his power and how it came about. Dionysus also had a bit of a funny part about being constantly drunk once he discovered he could turn any liquid into alcohol.
It is clear the author knows a lot about Greek mythology and I enjoyed the quotes and flashback stories at the beginning of each chapter. In fact, the flashback stories were so beautifully written I would read a whole book just with that writing style.
Finally, the plot was good enough to keep me hooked and reading late into the night.
What I Didn't Like:
The head hopping in the begging of the book was horrible. The reader literally was hopping from person to person in some scenes. It felt really disjointed and was annoying. I almost gave up reading the book because of it. I don't mind a section being from one perspective and another section being from another character's point of view, but from paragraph to paragraph....UGH!!! Happily, this stopped being an issue deeper into the book when the author started alternating POV from chapter to chapter.
I honestly don't know any of the kids' names. I know which god they were supposed to be, but I didn't manage to hold onto their "human" name once I finished reading.
I liked that the author kept ALL the Pantheon gods in play, even Hestia, but it made the cast of character really unwieldy. I'm glad this is a series, because I felt a lot of the characters got the short-shrift, especially my favorite goddess Athena. Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, just ends up with a photographic memory and there's really no sign of the gray-eyed beauty from mythology in the teenager that is supposed to be her. Already Demeter, Persephone and Hades are dealing with the terrible things Hades did in the past,so I would like to see Zeus acknowledge his "children," even if they look the same age as him. Zeus and Athena had a close relationship, so I would like to see this fleshed out.
In the end, I really did enjoy the book. I even checked to see when the sequel will be out. This series has so much potential and I have high hopes for it. It was a very fun read.
First off, I love Greek Mythology. I just ate it up when I was in school and consumed it in big chunks. It rocked my world and I went beyond what the teacher assigned us to find out all I could about the subject. So I'm wired to like this book you could say. I'm also a big supporter of Indie Authors (since I started off Indie before my three book deal with Tor), and I know there are a slew of good authors out there waiting to be discovered (like J.L. Bryan).
The Things I Liked:
There was a nice sense of humor to the whole book. The idea of the Greek gods being reincarnated and are now all teenagers attending a high school called Olympia Heights is very tongue in cheek and fun. I liked how their archenemy football team was the Titans.
Zeus and Hera were very well fleshed out. I really felt bad for Hera, but Zeus does have his own particular charm. Their complex relationship was very well done.
Aphrodite, the goddess of Love, shows just how powerful and destructive she can be with her "love" and it was easy to hate and like her at the same time.
I really liked Poseidon's awakening to his power and how it came about. Dionysus also had a bit of a funny part about being constantly drunk once he discovered he could turn any liquid into alcohol.
It is clear the author knows a lot about Greek mythology and I enjoyed the quotes and flashback stories at the beginning of each chapter. In fact, the flashback stories were so beautifully written I would read a whole book just with that writing style.
Finally, the plot was good enough to keep me hooked and reading late into the night.
What I Didn't Like:
The head hopping in the begging of the book was horrible. The reader literally was hopping from person to person in some scenes. It felt really disjointed and was annoying. I almost gave up reading the book because of it. I don't mind a section being from one perspective and another section being from another character's point of view, but from paragraph to paragraph....UGH!!! Happily, this stopped being an issue deeper into the book when the author started alternating POV from chapter to chapter.
I honestly don't know any of the kids' names. I know which god they were supposed to be, but I didn't manage to hold onto their "human" name once I finished reading.
I liked that the author kept ALL the Pantheon gods in play, even Hestia, but it made the cast of character really unwieldy. I'm glad this is a series, because I felt a lot of the characters got the short-shrift, especially my favorite goddess Athena. Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, just ends up with a photographic memory and there's really no sign of the gray-eyed beauty from mythology in the teenager that is supposed to be her. Already Demeter, Persephone and Hades are dealing with the terrible things Hades did in the past,so I would like to see Zeus acknowledge his "children," even if they look the same age as him. Zeus and Athena had a close relationship, so I would like to see this fleshed out.
In the end, I really did enjoy the book. I even checked to see when the sequel will be out. This series has so much potential and I have high hopes for it. It was a very fun read.
November 11, 2015
It was the first day of the football season for Olympia Heights Senior High, and their new quarterback was more than ready. Zach Jacobs was going to make sure this year was different. This year Olympia Thunder would be on top. But when a player from the other team makes it through Zach’s offensive line and tries to sack him, something happens to make Zach forget all about football. Right before the player hits him, they get struck by lightning! The opposing player gets thrown back, but Zach seems untouched. How could lightning strike that close without harming Zach? The more he thinks about it, and after watching his girlfriend’s footage, the more Zach starts to believe the lightning came from him. But that’s crazy! People can’t create lightning! Can they?
Strange things are happening in Olympia Heights. Students are talking to animals, breathing under water, even communing with the dead. As if that’s not enough drama, someone is on the lookout for people with powers and burning them alive. Zach Jacobs’ ability to shoot lightning from his fingertips is just the beginning.
The Pantheon is a good start to what I believe will be a great series. I had a little trouble keeping up with all the characters this book introduced – 14 students and 2 adults – and their powers, but each character was well developed and believable. I could picture each one of them and even relate to a few of them. Each chapter began with a quote, which I enjoyed, but they also featured an excerpt from Greek mythology. This confused me for a while because some of the excerpts didn’t seem to pertain to the story. Eventually we learned what these excerpts from mythology were, and it actually added a new level to the storytelling. So, if you are like me and don’t know a great deal about Greek mythology, just be patient, it will pay off in the end.
The Pantheon had enough mystery and excitement to keep me turning the pages, and it all led to an exciting ending. Before I even finished the book, I purchased the next 3 books in the series, so more reviews to come from Olympia Heights!
To see more of my reviews, please visit my website at www.mandeejones.com!
Strange things are happening in Olympia Heights. Students are talking to animals, breathing under water, even communing with the dead. As if that’s not enough drama, someone is on the lookout for people with powers and burning them alive. Zach Jacobs’ ability to shoot lightning from his fingertips is just the beginning.
The Pantheon is a good start to what I believe will be a great series. I had a little trouble keeping up with all the characters this book introduced – 14 students and 2 adults – and their powers, but each character was well developed and believable. I could picture each one of them and even relate to a few of them. Each chapter began with a quote, which I enjoyed, but they also featured an excerpt from Greek mythology. This confused me for a while because some of the excerpts didn’t seem to pertain to the story. Eventually we learned what these excerpts from mythology were, and it actually added a new level to the storytelling. So, if you are like me and don’t know a great deal about Greek mythology, just be patient, it will pay off in the end.
The Pantheon had enough mystery and excitement to keep me turning the pages, and it all led to an exciting ending. Before I even finished the book, I purchased the next 3 books in the series, so more reviews to come from Olympia Heights!
To see more of my reviews, please visit my website at www.mandeejones.com!
July 29, 2013
(Side note: Not an avid reader of "high schoolers in high school" stories, but this one piqued my interest since I have Matter Deep Publishing to thank for including me in Awesome like a Possum (and I couldn't pass off the beautiful cover art). Held off for this long because I didn't realize it was available on nook.)
Reminded me of Michael Grant's Gone series in terms of the realistic behavior of these teens (who also happen to develop supernatural abilities). While there's selfless heroism and conscientiousness, there's also cruelty, petty qualms and immaturity. Sounds about right.
While the blurb is mostly about Zach (who seemed like your very uninteresting stereotypical jock), the story is thankfully not focused on him, and is narrated through the numerous points of view of all the characters in the Pantheon of the Gods, plus some extra. The pacing isn't very fast, but the constant switching of characters maintained an interesting and steady story flow.
Strickland has an enjoyable way of making the characters' respective godly counterparts creep up into their personalities and actions. It's often somewhat humorous to see them interacting in predetermined ways, all while they remain completely unaware of this.
While I didn't brush up on my Greek mythology before reading this, and only remembered the basics off the top of my head (Zeus & Hera, Persephone & Hades, Diana/Artemis), eventually she piles up the similarities in a way that eases you into recalling the myths. Prefacing each chapter are short poems, used as dreams or flashbacks of a sort, which are also a useful refresher.
Realistically, the ending was too implausible for me, but I wonder if it is meant to leave the doors open for the sequel.
Reminded me of Michael Grant's Gone series in terms of the realistic behavior of these teens (who also happen to develop supernatural abilities). While there's selfless heroism and conscientiousness, there's also cruelty, petty qualms and immaturity. Sounds about right.
While the blurb is mostly about Zach (who seemed like your very uninteresting stereotypical jock), the story is thankfully not focused on him, and is narrated through the numerous points of view of all the characters in the Pantheon of the Gods, plus some extra. The pacing isn't very fast, but the constant switching of characters maintained an interesting and steady story flow.
Strickland has an enjoyable way of making the characters' respective godly counterparts creep up into their personalities and actions. It's often somewhat humorous to see them interacting in predetermined ways, all while they remain completely unaware of this.
While I didn't brush up on my Greek mythology before reading this, and only remembered the basics off the top of my head (Zeus & Hera, Persephone & Hades, Diana/Artemis), eventually she piles up the similarities in a way that eases you into recalling the myths. Prefacing each chapter are short poems, used as dreams or flashbacks of a sort, which are also a useful refresher.
Realistically, the ending was too implausible for me, but I wonder if it is meant to leave the doors open for the sequel.
Read
February 15, 2015Amy Leigh Strickland's Olympia Heights: The Pantheon (only 99 cents on the Kindle for a limited time!) is a wonderful, action-packed, teenage-hormonal adventure that introduces a group of high school students who find out that they're reincarnations of Greek Gods. The characters, though many and introduced in a rapid succession, become individual and easily recognizable (not to mention likable) by the end of the book. The action is realistic and believable, and the danger becomes more and more personal and important as you turn each page.
Speaking of turning the pages, I couldn't stop! The action and dialogue keep the reader engaged, and the lessons taught by the characters merits and mistakes stuck with me all the way through. I must say, I'm interested to see where the friendship between Penny and Peter goes, and if any feelings eventually develop between Jason and Celene. Zack's plight to either win back the jealous June or go on on his own to spread his seed is also rather interesting. I was a big fan of the comedic Lewis, and would love to see more interactions between him and Diana.
All in all, I'm very interested in the series, and can't wait to read more! I hope all of my friends read and enjoy the book very much. It would make a wonderful stocking stuffer this Christmas for anyone with a youthful heart and a spirit of adventure.
Speaking of turning the pages, I couldn't stop! The action and dialogue keep the reader engaged, and the lessons taught by the characters merits and mistakes stuck with me all the way through. I must say, I'm interested to see where the friendship between Penny and Peter goes, and if any feelings eventually develop between Jason and Celene. Zack's plight to either win back the jealous June or go on on his own to spread his seed is also rather interesting. I was a big fan of the comedic Lewis, and would love to see more interactions between him and Diana.
All in all, I'm very interested in the series, and can't wait to read more! I hope all of my friends read and enjoy the book very much. It would make a wonderful stocking stuffer this Christmas for anyone with a youthful heart and a spirit of adventure.
July 30, 2015
It started off confusing if anything, so many characters and brief descriptions it was hard to keep everyone in order while reading. It was a good read, all the drama of the gods really do fit well with the hierarchy and drama of high school. Having it placed in and around my hometown is interesting but the author didn't utilize the details to really make lay it out to the reader.
Once it started to pick up though it was good. The obvious drama of June and Zach was painfully obvious as Zeus and Hera. Yes, Zeus cheats, clearly he won't change his ways, but in today's modern time you'd think Hera would know to ditch his ass. I did love Diana and her twin, Di was so funny and if anything I'd read more of this series to read more of her interactions with her 'Boo Berry' loving hamster. I would also like to read more on penny and Peter's relationship, see where it goes and what not, hopefully his situation sorts itself out and if he can win penny's heart, the right way this time.
I'm not sure if I will continue with this series, not that it was a bad first story but for the idea and themes used I much preferred reading Dark Descendants by Jenna Black.
Once it started to pick up though it was good. The obvious drama of June and Zach was painfully obvious as Zeus and Hera. Yes, Zeus cheats, clearly he won't change his ways, but in today's modern time you'd think Hera would know to ditch his ass. I did love Diana and her twin, Di was so funny and if anything I'd read more of this series to read more of her interactions with her 'Boo Berry' loving hamster. I would also like to read more on penny and Peter's relationship, see where it goes and what not, hopefully his situation sorts itself out and if he can win penny's heart, the right way this time.
I'm not sure if I will continue with this series, not that it was a bad first story but for the idea and themes used I much preferred reading Dark Descendants by Jenna Black.
December 4, 2013
The first thing that attracted me to this book was the cover. I first want to say how all the covers in this series are really well done. The colors make them pop, and the artwork is well done. I do know that they took pictures of models against a green screen and photo shopped it. You may want to check out the books just to look at the covers.
After having just read “Pantheons,” I did get a strong feeling of “didn’t I just read this?” I am finding that many modern day stories centering on mythology involve a group of children/teenagers grouped together in a school. In this story, the school is called Olympia Heights and the kids are not direct descendants of the gods, but reincarnations of the gods themselves. I have to say the way they come to this conclusion and their complete lack of skepticism is remarkable.
To finish reading the rest of this review, visit my blog here
After having just read “Pantheons,” I did get a strong feeling of “didn’t I just read this?” I am finding that many modern day stories centering on mythology involve a group of children/teenagers grouped together in a school. In this story, the school is called Olympia Heights and the kids are not direct descendants of the gods, but reincarnations of the gods themselves. I have to say the way they come to this conclusion and their complete lack of skepticism is remarkable.
To finish reading the rest of this review, visit my blog here
January 25, 2014
Actually I got this for free on my kindle. I don't normally like stories about high school. I have to say I actually liked this! It had love, jealousy rage, intrigue, and murder just to name a few! However it wasn't an easy read. I kept having to reread information again. Every chapter started off with a proverb. That would have been fine, but the proverbs turned into fables in many cases. it was like reading two stories in one. I was halfway though before I realized they actually had a purpose. I would have given this book a 4.5 star rating for myself, but honestly those proverbs were so confusing I would have put this down at the end of the first chapter. I am glad I didn't but do not plan to read this with interruptions.
February 21, 2014
Teenage Gods!!!! Literally!
This book is good, but it's just hard to follow the 13 different characters and stories that go along with them. After they introduce each of the gods the story starts to make more sense and it gets easier to follow. My favorite characters where the twins, Frank, and Evan, even if they are minor characters. Zach was my least favorite of all of them, and he was the leader!! He was a jerk who cheated on his girlfriend and expected sympathy! I even liked Devon in the end and she liked stealing the boyfriends! But I guess it's perfect since after all he was Zeus. I liked the book, but then again I'm a sucker for anything Greek Mythology related. I want to read book 2 already, and lucky me it's already out.
This book is good, but it's just hard to follow the 13 different characters and stories that go along with them. After they introduce each of the gods the story starts to make more sense and it gets easier to follow. My favorite characters where the twins, Frank, and Evan, even if they are minor characters. Zach was my least favorite of all of them, and he was the leader!! He was a jerk who cheated on his girlfriend and expected sympathy! I even liked Devon in the end and she liked stealing the boyfriends! But I guess it's perfect since after all he was Zeus. I liked the book, but then again I'm a sucker for anything Greek Mythology related. I want to read book 2 already, and lucky me it's already out.
July 13, 2015
It was a fine read, nothing special though. If it was going to be a TV show this book would be a 1st episode only - the one that shows you all important characters and a little bit of might-be plot.
Only the actual plot was there... in about last 10-15% of the book everything happened and then, all of a sudden, it was all done. With all that writing about characters I didn't manage to attach myself to any of them or even start to like them. The whole book just passed me by.
Only the actual plot was there... in about last 10-15% of the book everything happened and then, all of a sudden, it was all done. With all that writing about characters I didn't manage to attach myself to any of them or even start to like them. The whole book just passed me by.
November 10, 2012
It's along the lines of Gaiman's American Gods, but set in the Greek pantheon. Definitely darker than Percy Jackson, Olympia Heights is a delightfully clever read that plays with the notions of fate and inevitability as a group of modern-day teenagers discover that they are the Greek gods reborn.
December 20, 2014
Interesting book this. Kept changing points-of-view which was in the beginning a little much but worked well later on in the book. Love the mythology, always love the mythology and that is basically the reason I read this book :D Its very obviously a series book though, there's this little voice that keeps nagging me to read the next one just to know how the story continues. :/
March 14, 2017
Did not finish at 40%. I really like the premise of this book, but there were just too many characters being introduced, and it all seemed a bit simple-minded. The characters were rather one-dimensional. There was a lot of dialogue, which is okay, but not much insight into their minds--and that's what usually gives characters depth.
December 15, 2011
This book was in severe need of an editor. Referring to the school principal as the "principle" is absurd. Also, there was very little flow and too many characters. I was bored and annoyed by page 50
July 19, 2016
Just grabbing names from Greek Mythology and pasting them on cliché and trite High School settings does not an interesting book make.
Didn't make it past the page 20-mark, DNFinish, automatic one star.
Didn't make it past the page 20-mark, DNFinish, automatic one star.
June 24, 2014
Decent read!!!
Decent read!!!
it was a good read. could been more in-depth, but a good distraction read. oIl like the stories that reimangine myth. This is not Percy Jackson, but it's good for older audiences.
Decent read!!!
it was a good read. could been more in-depth, but a good distraction read. oIl like the stories that reimangine myth. This is not Percy Jackson, but it's good for older audiences.
March 4, 2015
Feels like a Percy Jackson ripoff. Looks like a Percy Jackson ripoff. Reads like a Percy Jackson ripoff. And yet surprisingly, it's not that bad. Nothing spectacular, and definitely clunky at times, but not horrible.
March 19, 2013
The Pantheon is great combination of Percy Jackson and The Almighty Johnsons.
It's a shame that it's mostly on the Kindle because it deserves to be released in other formats
It's a shame that it's mostly on the Kindle because it deserves to be released in other formats
May 24, 2013
great
January 6, 2014
I thought that the first half of the book was a little slow and boring. But as I kept reading it, it got more and more interesting.
December 31, 2011
Review to come soon!
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews