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Hermes the Olympian
Long before words could be written, the stories of the brave Olympians were songs sung and poems told at special gatherings and on feast days. The best of these tales always seemed to include the deeds of our faithful messenger Hermes but somehow he never seemed to get the glory or the credit for it, even when he saved the day. This is a tale of toil, tragedy and temptation, love with a triangular twist. It is filled with a freak show of mutated monsters, glorious gadgets and awesome artifacts. This is our chance to see for ourselves how Hermes was the real hero of the Olympians. Let him mesmerise you with his music, Charm you with his caduceus, and carry you invisibly with him as he flies against the odds in his epic struggle against the evil Hades. Can Hermes find a way to save the tree of life? You had better hope he can, your afterlife depends on it!
424 pages, Paperback
First published December 11, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 6, 2013
(This review may contain spoilers).
I wavered a lot while reading this book. On the one hand, the storyline was interesting and took new and creative turns. On the other... there were an awful lot of errors in the book that kept throwing me out of the story.
I liked the take on the Olympians and the elements of science fiction in the story. This wasn't a book that could fit neatly into a genre - it seemed to touch on all of them. I did like the first person POV, but I kind of thought that Hermes' telepathy was an excuse for other characters' thoughts to be revealed. There were several times when it was written as if from the POV of another character, even while remaining in first person.
I was disappointed to see Hades as the villain yet again, but pleasantly surprised that Ares didn't go down the same route. I also liked the fact that Ares didn't come across as some idiotic brute. Hermes outsmarted him fairly and I liked the way their relationship grew and formed, as well as the relationship Hermes had with his other siblings - Apollo and Hephaestus especially.
I liked the twist with Persephone, but I did think that the love between her and Hermes wasn't truly real. I didn't like her as a character and I felt that the whole reason behind what she became was solved really quickly and easily. I would have liked to see more of their relationship forming.
I liked the use of the Titans in the story, but I have to say, some of the things were kind of confusing. I'm not sure I truly understood the whole different time nodes, either. I liked the use of the myths, but there were several that were changed. For instance, in most mythology, Asclepius is Apollo's son. And Pan is Hermes'.
I liked the way Zeus was portrayed - as caring for his children, even while still not being a very good father. I thought that fit in very well with his character in myths. The whole wings thing was... interesting. I'm not sure why he had them, though.
I would be interested in reading more books in this series, but I'd like to see more developing of any romantic relationships. And less errors.
I wavered a lot while reading this book. On the one hand, the storyline was interesting and took new and creative turns. On the other... there were an awful lot of errors in the book that kept throwing me out of the story.
I liked the take on the Olympians and the elements of science fiction in the story. This wasn't a book that could fit neatly into a genre - it seemed to touch on all of them. I did like the first person POV, but I kind of thought that Hermes' telepathy was an excuse for other characters' thoughts to be revealed. There were several times when it was written as if from the POV of another character, even while remaining in first person.
I was disappointed to see Hades as the villain yet again, but pleasantly surprised that Ares didn't go down the same route. I also liked the fact that Ares didn't come across as some idiotic brute. Hermes outsmarted him fairly and I liked the way their relationship grew and formed, as well as the relationship Hermes had with his other siblings - Apollo and Hephaestus especially.
I liked the twist with Persephone, but I did think that the love between her and Hermes wasn't truly real. I didn't like her as a character and I felt that the whole reason behind what she became was solved really quickly and easily. I would have liked to see more of their relationship forming.
I liked the use of the Titans in the story, but I have to say, some of the things were kind of confusing. I'm not sure I truly understood the whole different time nodes, either. I liked the use of the myths, but there were several that were changed. For instance, in most mythology, Asclepius is Apollo's son. And Pan is Hermes'.
I liked the way Zeus was portrayed - as caring for his children, even while still not being a very good father. I thought that fit in very well with his character in myths. The whole wings thing was... interesting. I'm not sure why he had them, though.
I would be interested in reading more books in this series, but I'd like to see more developing of any romantic relationships. And less errors.
December 25, 2011
Even before his birth, Hermes can read minds and spirit travel to the astral plane. Here he is attacked by Hades, who tricks him into making a huge mistake that sets off a chain reaction which affects our chance for an afterlife.
Hermes' main quest is to make amends for that big mistake, but despite this daunting task, throughout the story he is sent on one mission after another by his father. Zeus uses the ever capable Hermes to tackle threats to his rule of Olympus, mainly from Hades and the Giants. While committed to these other duties, Hermes must continue to somehow find a way to save the tree of life. All the while he is either pursued and/or attacked by Hades who wants to control not only the afterlife, but also Olympus and more. All these factors made for an intriguing read.
I found the combination of science, fantasy and mythology to be fascinating. The most interesting aspect was the clever way the author combines mythology with science fiction. Even though this story is very different from the Harry Potter series, the brilliant insight into the ways the various scientific and mythological artifacts reminded me of J.K.Rowling's powers of invention.
Hermes' main quest is to make amends for that big mistake, but despite this daunting task, throughout the story he is sent on one mission after another by his father. Zeus uses the ever capable Hermes to tackle threats to his rule of Olympus, mainly from Hades and the Giants. While committed to these other duties, Hermes must continue to somehow find a way to save the tree of life. All the while he is either pursued and/or attacked by Hades who wants to control not only the afterlife, but also Olympus and more. All these factors made for an intriguing read.
I found the combination of science, fantasy and mythology to be fascinating. The most interesting aspect was the clever way the author combines mythology with science fiction. Even though this story is very different from the Harry Potter series, the brilliant insight into the ways the various scientific and mythological artifacts reminded me of J.K.Rowling's powers of invention.
April 22, 2023
What was interesting about this book: merging of Greek and Christian mythology.
I had such a difficult time following this. I think it was the way it was written, my attention could not be held. And I will admit that that may have contributed to the way that I feel about this novel.
In this story, Hermes is a special hero born to Zeus and as a baby gets to live in this intra-dimension multiverse where he hangs out with Titans and Arch Angels and everyone is trying to defeat, of course, Hades. There was so much going on and it never made sense to me. As a baby Hermes is capable of amazing feats (after all, he DID steal Apollo's cattle and make a lyre), but in this tale it seems to go even further than that to the point that he is pretty much able to do anything. I didn't feel that there was much growth for him as a character. In fact, I don't recall anyone really being much of a 3D character. And Hades appears to be a threat because he is Hades and that makes him bad, right?
I feel that one of the places that all of this fell apart was the class "show don't tell" and there was an awful lot of telling which made it feel clunky. I think if we could have seen more of this world instead of just being told about it that would have allowed it to really open up and breathe a bit, and it would have made a lot of difference. This is apparently a series so perhaps it gets better as it goes along.
Props for an interesting idea though!
I don't like to write negative reviews because it isn't as though I am writing and publishing and I know its a lot of work and it takes courage to put the work out there. This one wasn't for me. But from what I've seen some others read it and they were able to make sense of it, so that's fantastic.
I had such a difficult time following this. I think it was the way it was written, my attention could not be held. And I will admit that that may have contributed to the way that I feel about this novel.
In this story, Hermes is a special hero born to Zeus and as a baby gets to live in this intra-dimension multiverse where he hangs out with Titans and Arch Angels and everyone is trying to defeat, of course, Hades. There was so much going on and it never made sense to me. As a baby Hermes is capable of amazing feats (after all, he DID steal Apollo's cattle and make a lyre), but in this tale it seems to go even further than that to the point that he is pretty much able to do anything. I didn't feel that there was much growth for him as a character. In fact, I don't recall anyone really being much of a 3D character. And Hades appears to be a threat because he is Hades and that makes him bad, right?
I feel that one of the places that all of this fell apart was the class "show don't tell" and there was an awful lot of telling which made it feel clunky. I think if we could have seen more of this world instead of just being told about it that would have allowed it to really open up and breathe a bit, and it would have made a lot of difference. This is apparently a series so perhaps it gets better as it goes along.
Props for an interesting idea though!
I don't like to write negative reviews because it isn't as though I am writing and publishing and I know its a lot of work and it takes courage to put the work out there. This one wasn't for me. But from what I've seen some others read it and they were able to make sense of it, so that's fantastic.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews