What do you think?
Rate this book
Gods of Manhattan #1
Gods of Manhattan
Look. What do you see? Sidewalks, skyscrapers, pigeons? But theres more. More that only twelve-year-old Rory Hennessey can see. More that only Rory can reveal to others. So, look again. What do you see? Layered on our own New York is a spirit city inhabited by warrior cockroaches, malevolent subway trains, kung fu rodents, hungry gargoyles, and children made entirely of papier-mache. Built by history and legend, it?s ruled by the Gods of Manhattan, lions of New York like Peter Stuyvesant and Babe Ruth.
Now everyone is racing to find Rory, the boy who can see. The boy who can change the destiny of New York.
Now everyone is racing to find Rory, the boy who can see. The boy who can change the destiny of New York.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published April 17, 2008
91 people are currently reading
2842 people want to read
About the author
Scott Mebus
9 books44 followersScott Mebus is American novelist, composer and playwright
He has written two adult novels, Booty Nomad and The Big Happy, as well asthe children's urban fantasy series "Gods of Manhattan".
He has written two adult novels, Booty Nomad and The Big Happy, as well asthe children's urban fantasy series "Gods of Manhattan".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews
April 19, 2008
Fantasies for children that are set in New York take the surreal aspects of the city itself and extend them to their natural extremes. Luli Gray's, Falcon's Egg discussed the possibility of dragons in Central Park (and Nancy Springer's Dusssie did the same thing with Gorgons). Changeling by Delia Sherman covered a range of magical areas, from Broadway to the very sea. And Neal Shusterman's Everlost did some questionable, if original, things with the Twin Towers. The difference between these and Gods of Manhattan is that it aims higher . . . and falls further as a result. A set of ill decisions that could easily have been avoided combined with an ending that is oddly insulting takes this otherwise fun fantasy into dangerous sketchy territory. It will be popular, but it is too flawed to support entirely.
Thirteen-year-old Rory Hennessy has a weird kind of gift. As far as he knows, all his life he's been able to see through the tricks and machinations of professional magicians. But when a strange fellow calling himself Hex comes to Rory's house to do a show for the boy's little sister Bridget, the man manages to open Rory's eyes in a way he's never known. Now he can see stone gargoyles swallowing pigeons whole and cockroaches riding rats like they were horses. A whole new world has revealed itself to Rory and it is a world that goes by the name of Mannahatta. As it turns out, Rory is what's known as a "Light", and he is a most uncommon fellow. Here in Mannahatta, all those historical figures that made their imprint on the island's memory, be it big or small, are remembered as Gods of Manhattan evermore. People like Babe Ruth, Frederick Douglass, and Walt Whitman are ruling the city, but dark dealings are afoot. A group of Indian spirits from the Munsee tribe is trapped in Central Park. Now it is up to Rory to free these spirits and avoid the evil machinations of a mysterious Willem Kieft before everything goes terribly wrong.
Here are the assumptions that I was making when reading this book. If you don't agree with them, then you probably won't have the same problems with the story that I did. So, the idea is that if you are famous in New York and remembered by its residents then you remain as a kind of god after your death. Fair enough. What's more, even if you've ended up a kind of urban legend or vague story, you can still be a god. There's a god of shoplifting, a god of guilt, and so on and so forth. There are quite a lot of gods in this book too. In fact, if you turn to the Cast of Characters at the beginning you can see the names of the top twelve. The Council of Twelve consists of the twelve gods that rule all the others. Now take a close look at these guys. Take a good long look. Do you see anything strange about these them? Could it be that they are all white, with the exception of "Caesar Prince", who happens to be a made up character? This seemed a tad odd to me. I mean we're talking about the gods that rule Manhattan. Since when was Manhattan ever an all-white burg? So I took a closer look at the book and here are the stats I came up with.
Number of black characters in the book: 3 (two made-up, one a real historical figure)
Number of Jewish characters in the book: 1 (a murderer who is killed right at the start)
Number of Dominican characters in the book: 0 (in spite of the fact that the hero lives in
Inwood)
Number of Hispanic characters AT ALL in the book: 0
Number of Asian characters in the book: 0
Curiouser and curiouser. How on earth does a person go about writing a book about the people who represent Manhattan and make almost all of them white? Then I took a closer look at exactly whom Mebus has selected to represent us. The Goddess of Trends is Zelda Fitzgerald. Hunhuna? Call me kooky, but wouldn't Madame C.J. Walker, who New York schoolchildren actually learn about in school and who was black, be a better choice?
You might point out that Harry Potter and the Percy Jackson books aren't exactly bastions of multicultural values either, but that's not exactly fair. Harry Potter takes place in British boarding schools. Not New York. Percy Jackson takes place at camp. Not New York. New York City is as wonderful as it is precisely because of the multiple ethnicities and races that have built it up over the years. And when you write a book that discusses the gods of the city and then proceed to make almost ALL those gods white, you are doing a disservice to the very people who have helped to make Manhattan the way it is today.
The thing is, I can see schoolteachers in New York City gleefully plucking this book up to use in class. What better way to introduce kids to Walt Whitman, Peter Stuyvesant, or Adriaen van der Donck? But at the same time, what a throwback to old curriculums that ignored lesser known and important people. You'll find no Percy Suttons here. No Madame C.J. Walkers. Not even an Italian like Fiorello H. LaGuardia.
And then there are the Indians. When I first picked up the book I was a little surprised to see a blurb on the back from Joseph Bruchac. Mr. Bruchac has certainly written a couple fantasies in his time (I'm a big fan of Wabi: A Hero's Tale) but not so many that he'd be the first fellow you'd think of when you wanted to promote a fantasy novel. Usually a publisher would contact a Tamora Pierce or a Rick Riordan. But when I saw the Indians in this book it all fit together. Ah. Joseph Bruchac is Native American himself. And if people started saying that the Indians in this book were akin to the ones in Peter Pan what better argument to present them with than the fact that Joseph Bruchac himself approved? Truth be told, I was never comfortable with the Indians for most of this book, but I decided to play along. If Mebus wanted to make some kind of a point about the island's original inhabitants (all the while ignoring the non-white immigrants) who was I to object? So I read it through and everything was fine . . . until I got to the end.
Spoiler Alert: For those of you who wish to keep everything a surprise. Everybody ready? Okay. So for much of the book Rory's quest is to find the objects that will allow him to free the Munsee tribe from their prison in Central Park. The villainous Willem Kieft has kept them there for years and the Indians have grown, quite understandably, more and more pissed off as a result. But just when the hero is about to free them, he is saved from making a terrible mistake. Rory has had a dream where a Munsee friend from his youth, Wampage, has told him that if he frees the Indians horrible things will happen. You see, because the Indians are so angry they want revenge on the people who have trapped them there. No surprise. So FOR THEIR OWN GOOD Rory is to keep them trapped against their will until they cool off a little and everything's copacetic. I will repeat that: The white kid decides to keep the Indians trapped because otherwise they might just hurt themselves by being too angry. I was more than the teensiest bit shocked when I read this. Seriously? We can't trust Indians to rule themselves wisely? They need intervention because otherwise they'll do stupid things? Am I the only one who sees a problem with this?
The crazy thing is, there's a lot to like here. In fact, if you were an average white kid reader, you might think this was a pretty cool book. There are paper mache bodies and lots of exciting chase and action sequences. The dialogue is tons of fun and the main character and sister are great kids to follow. I liked sentences like, "He knew she couldn't see what he was seeing. Because he was going crazy and that's not really a team sport." And to Mebus's credit, he makes Alexander Hamilton the slimy fish he really was. And Aaron Burr and Willem Kieft as your villains? Inspired. Who could be a better New York duo (though Boss Tweed would have been my personal pick)? But if you delve even a little below the surface of the story you see how privileged, white, and patronizing the book gets at times. It just seems like an incredible waste. Mebus is clearly talented, and I have high hopes for his future books. I don't know why nobody ever mentioned to him how insulting the book could feel at times. Maybe they just weren't paying attention.
In the end, Mebus has written a book that is about a very interesting place, but it is not Manhattan. Anything above 110th Street (aside from an oddly gentrified Inwood seen here) is ignored entirely. New York is more than just the white residents that made it famous. It may well be that fantasy fans ignore these details and love the book for its snappy writing and crisp dialogue. For those of us who can see what's missing, it's a harder sell. A good concept and an interesting story, sure. But in the end a novel of this sort is the sum of its parts. And with significant parts missing, there's only so much you can save. Hopefully we'll see less simplified material from Scott Mebus in the future.
Thirteen-year-old Rory Hennessy has a weird kind of gift. As far as he knows, all his life he's been able to see through the tricks and machinations of professional magicians. But when a strange fellow calling himself Hex comes to Rory's house to do a show for the boy's little sister Bridget, the man manages to open Rory's eyes in a way he's never known. Now he can see stone gargoyles swallowing pigeons whole and cockroaches riding rats like they were horses. A whole new world has revealed itself to Rory and it is a world that goes by the name of Mannahatta. As it turns out, Rory is what's known as a "Light", and he is a most uncommon fellow. Here in Mannahatta, all those historical figures that made their imprint on the island's memory, be it big or small, are remembered as Gods of Manhattan evermore. People like Babe Ruth, Frederick Douglass, and Walt Whitman are ruling the city, but dark dealings are afoot. A group of Indian spirits from the Munsee tribe is trapped in Central Park. Now it is up to Rory to free these spirits and avoid the evil machinations of a mysterious Willem Kieft before everything goes terribly wrong.
Here are the assumptions that I was making when reading this book. If you don't agree with them, then you probably won't have the same problems with the story that I did. So, the idea is that if you are famous in New York and remembered by its residents then you remain as a kind of god after your death. Fair enough. What's more, even if you've ended up a kind of urban legend or vague story, you can still be a god. There's a god of shoplifting, a god of guilt, and so on and so forth. There are quite a lot of gods in this book too. In fact, if you turn to the Cast of Characters at the beginning you can see the names of the top twelve. The Council of Twelve consists of the twelve gods that rule all the others. Now take a close look at these guys. Take a good long look. Do you see anything strange about these them? Could it be that they are all white, with the exception of "Caesar Prince", who happens to be a made up character? This seemed a tad odd to me. I mean we're talking about the gods that rule Manhattan. Since when was Manhattan ever an all-white burg? So I took a closer look at the book and here are the stats I came up with.
Number of black characters in the book: 3 (two made-up, one a real historical figure)
Number of Jewish characters in the book: 1 (a murderer who is killed right at the start)
Number of Dominican characters in the book: 0 (in spite of the fact that the hero lives in
Inwood)
Number of Hispanic characters AT ALL in the book: 0
Number of Asian characters in the book: 0
Curiouser and curiouser. How on earth does a person go about writing a book about the people who represent Manhattan and make almost all of them white? Then I took a closer look at exactly whom Mebus has selected to represent us. The Goddess of Trends is Zelda Fitzgerald. Hunhuna? Call me kooky, but wouldn't Madame C.J. Walker, who New York schoolchildren actually learn about in school and who was black, be a better choice?
You might point out that Harry Potter and the Percy Jackson books aren't exactly bastions of multicultural values either, but that's not exactly fair. Harry Potter takes place in British boarding schools. Not New York. Percy Jackson takes place at camp. Not New York. New York City is as wonderful as it is precisely because of the multiple ethnicities and races that have built it up over the years. And when you write a book that discusses the gods of the city and then proceed to make almost ALL those gods white, you are doing a disservice to the very people who have helped to make Manhattan the way it is today.
The thing is, I can see schoolteachers in New York City gleefully plucking this book up to use in class. What better way to introduce kids to Walt Whitman, Peter Stuyvesant, or Adriaen van der Donck? But at the same time, what a throwback to old curriculums that ignored lesser known and important people. You'll find no Percy Suttons here. No Madame C.J. Walkers. Not even an Italian like Fiorello H. LaGuardia.
And then there are the Indians. When I first picked up the book I was a little surprised to see a blurb on the back from Joseph Bruchac. Mr. Bruchac has certainly written a couple fantasies in his time (I'm a big fan of Wabi: A Hero's Tale) but not so many that he'd be the first fellow you'd think of when you wanted to promote a fantasy novel. Usually a publisher would contact a Tamora Pierce or a Rick Riordan. But when I saw the Indians in this book it all fit together. Ah. Joseph Bruchac is Native American himself. And if people started saying that the Indians in this book were akin to the ones in Peter Pan what better argument to present them with than the fact that Joseph Bruchac himself approved? Truth be told, I was never comfortable with the Indians for most of this book, but I decided to play along. If Mebus wanted to make some kind of a point about the island's original inhabitants (all the while ignoring the non-white immigrants) who was I to object? So I read it through and everything was fine . . . until I got to the end.
Spoiler Alert: For those of you who wish to keep everything a surprise. Everybody ready? Okay. So for much of the book Rory's quest is to find the objects that will allow him to free the Munsee tribe from their prison in Central Park. The villainous Willem Kieft has kept them there for years and the Indians have grown, quite understandably, more and more pissed off as a result. But just when the hero is about to free them, he is saved from making a terrible mistake. Rory has had a dream where a Munsee friend from his youth, Wampage, has told him that if he frees the Indians horrible things will happen. You see, because the Indians are so angry they want revenge on the people who have trapped them there. No surprise. So FOR THEIR OWN GOOD Rory is to keep them trapped against their will until they cool off a little and everything's copacetic. I will repeat that: The white kid decides to keep the Indians trapped because otherwise they might just hurt themselves by being too angry. I was more than the teensiest bit shocked when I read this. Seriously? We can't trust Indians to rule themselves wisely? They need intervention because otherwise they'll do stupid things? Am I the only one who sees a problem with this?
The crazy thing is, there's a lot to like here. In fact, if you were an average white kid reader, you might think this was a pretty cool book. There are paper mache bodies and lots of exciting chase and action sequences. The dialogue is tons of fun and the main character and sister are great kids to follow. I liked sentences like, "He knew she couldn't see what he was seeing. Because he was going crazy and that's not really a team sport." And to Mebus's credit, he makes Alexander Hamilton the slimy fish he really was. And Aaron Burr and Willem Kieft as your villains? Inspired. Who could be a better New York duo (though Boss Tweed would have been my personal pick)? But if you delve even a little below the surface of the story you see how privileged, white, and patronizing the book gets at times. It just seems like an incredible waste. Mebus is clearly talented, and I have high hopes for his future books. I don't know why nobody ever mentioned to him how insulting the book could feel at times. Maybe they just weren't paying attention.
In the end, Mebus has written a book that is about a very interesting place, but it is not Manhattan. Anything above 110th Street (aside from an oddly gentrified Inwood seen here) is ignored entirely. New York is more than just the white residents that made it famous. It may well be that fantasy fans ignore these details and love the book for its snappy writing and crisp dialogue. For those of us who can see what's missing, it's a harder sell. A good concept and an interesting story, sure. But in the end a novel of this sort is the sum of its parts. And with significant parts missing, there's only so much you can save. Hopefully we'll see less simplified material from Scott Mebus in the future.
November 9, 2014
This might please some Percy Jackson fans. What they have in common: Lots of fast-paced action, tough dilemmas for boys who discover secret powers and the big responsibilities that come with them, mythical themes set in the modern world. Where they differ (in a good way): Gods of Manhattan creates a whole new pantheon of gods based on real historical figures from New York City and sets them in a creative version of the city, drawing on legends like giant albino alligators in the sewers. Where they differ (in not such a good way): I find the Percy Jackson books funnier and brighter; they have more coherent storylines, more engaging characters, and more believable dilemmas. Gods of Manhattan is one of those books with a lot of great ideas that end up fighting each other for attention and a plot that makes some pretty big leaps in logic. Plus there are hardly any goddesses and only one truly significant female character. Still, I'd recommend it to readers hungry for more mythical adventure.
February 26, 2018
this book was a very interesting, and funny spin on the history of New York. The main idea was about how Manhattan also has a spiritual side called Manahatana. This side is home to all of New York's most remembered heroes, (and sometimes villains). It is also home to New York's native people, the munseens. They lived in New York with lots of other tribes long before the Dutch settlers stole their homes from them. The Munsens were the only tribe left in New York, adn after they died they became spirits along with the rest of New York's settlers. The Mayor of all the Gods is Alexander Hamilton, God of Finance. He rules over all of Manahatana. The story is about a boy named Rory, who has the ability to see the spirit world. He gets mixed up with a magician named Hex. Hex attempts to use Rory to free a group of native americans, who are native to New York. Rory finds out that He's actually trying to dispose of the mayor Alexander Hamilton, so he can be on top of the Gods. In the end you find out that Hex is actually the fallen God of back-end deals, none other than , AARON BURR!? ( I wasn't that surprised.) In the end Aaron Burr escapes and he has Rory's sister Bridget, And the key that frees the Indians. Aaron Burr needs Rory to turn the Key for him because Rory is the only person left with Munsen blood.
April 15, 2008
This is another bells-and-whistle circus act that does not quite know how to become a deeply affecting art form. I had quite high hope for it. Now I'm moving on to other books! It also seems preachy, example: p.77 Environmental messages alert!
As I read, I definitely was reminded of a much more exciting book for adult called American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Of course, the authors are presenting different issues and for very different audiences, but just examining the sentence structure and imagery and the general tones of these two can reveal so much about what makes good and not so good writings!
As I read, I definitely was reminded of a much more exciting book for adult called American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Of course, the authors are presenting different issues and for very different audiences, but just examining the sentence structure and imagery and the general tones of these two can reveal so much about what makes good and not so good writings!
August 31, 2021
I disliked a lot of things about this. Let’s start with the fact that there are Native American spirits trapped inside of Central Park and they’ve been stuck for centuries. Or maybe how climate change is somehow blamed on them and their frustration for being trapped. We can also talk about how this white boy is tasked with saving them. Or maybe how he then makes the choice to not free them because he is told they want revenge on the people who kept them captive and according to the child, this won’t solve anything. We should also talk about how, for some reason, we’re supposed to believe that if prominent historical figures of NYC become gods, they’re all white men. EDIT: I also just remembered the comment about carrots growing over an Ethiopian restaurant and that apparently made them taste weird??? Gotta love casual racism!
I admit I did skim portions of this but the story was filled with so many characters and little character development. This book absolutely would’ve benefited from a character list somewhere just so we could keep track of everyone. Maybe a map would’ve been fun too.
I was disappointed in the way this story ended. The problem was never solved and we’re left to assume that it’ll continue in the next book of the series.
Elements of this were clearly taking from other children’s fantasy (I’m mainly thinking of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter) but the execution was poor in my opinion. If you’re a fan of either of those or even children’s fantasy in general, I don’t recommend this.
I admit I did skim portions of this but the story was filled with so many characters and little character development. This book absolutely would’ve benefited from a character list somewhere just so we could keep track of everyone. Maybe a map would’ve been fun too.
I was disappointed in the way this story ended. The problem was never solved and we’re left to assume that it’ll continue in the next book of the series.
Elements of this were clearly taking from other children’s fantasy (I’m mainly thinking of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter) but the execution was poor in my opinion. If you’re a fan of either of those or even children’s fantasy in general, I don’t recommend this.
November 17, 2012
Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com
Rory Hennessy is firmly rooted in reality. In some ways, far too much so for a thirteen-year-old boy, but that's sometimes what happens when it's just a boy, his mom, and his little sister. Regardless, Rory has always been able to see through and explain magic tricks. So in the interest of not spoiling his sister Bridget's ninth birthday party, Rory is avoiding the magician she insisted on having. The magician, however, is intent on Rory's participation. The result is a trick that Rory can't begin to explain or understand, and a cryptic message about Rory being in danger.
Suddenly, everything is different. Rory is seeing things that couldn't possibly be real; gargoyles eating pigeons, a cockroach riding a rat like it was a pony, an Indian warrior that Rory's dreamt about... Maybe there's more to that magician than some silly card tricks. Or else Rory's losing his mind.
With Bridget in tow, Rory goes to find the magician. According to the magician there is an entire shadow world that coexists with the Manhattan that Rory and Bridget know and love. It's called Mannahatta, and it's populated by Gods of every kind. Like the God of Justice, or the God of Sample Sales, or the God of Jaywalking. To borrow the magicians words: "When a mortal does something great, he is reborn in Mannahatta as a spirit. If his legend grows enough, he might be fortunate enough to ascend to godhood."
But there is struggle in Mannahatta: the spirits of the Munsee Indians are trapped in Central Park. The Munsees are connected to the land, but since they are trapped in a man-made park they can't actually connect to the land anymore, upsetting the balance between the two worlds. As possibly the only true mortal who can see Mannahatta without assistance (Bridget can only see things after Rory points them out), Rory is the key to setting the Munsees free.
Rory isn't sure he trusts or believes the magician, but there does seem to be a few creepy things trying to attack him. Whether or not Rory is ready or even interested in the adventure, Bridget is ready to kick some butt, starting yesterday. Now Rory has to worry about navigating a world no one else can see, saving it and the world he knows, and keeping Bridget safe. He's got his work cut out for him.
Rory is a strong and interesting main character, and Bridget is the irritating little sister who makes things worse by trying to help. The author has managed to balance serious ideas (like global warming and the Indian/Colonist conflict) with lighthearted moments (like a rat and squirrel kung fu fighting). The story jumps back and forth between Manhattan and Mannahatta, until they merge with Rory's full understanding. Which is a little bit confusing until you figure out who
everyone is.
This is a great adventure story that not only keeps you involved, but doubles nicely as a history and geography of Manhattan. I imagine it's particularly poignant if you're a New Yorker, but never having been there I can tell you it didn't lose anything.
I think we may not have seen the end of Rory Hennessy, or Bridget, and I'm looking forward to finding out what else Mannahatta has in store for everyone.
Rory Hennessy is firmly rooted in reality. In some ways, far too much so for a thirteen-year-old boy, but that's sometimes what happens when it's just a boy, his mom, and his little sister. Regardless, Rory has always been able to see through and explain magic tricks. So in the interest of not spoiling his sister Bridget's ninth birthday party, Rory is avoiding the magician she insisted on having. The magician, however, is intent on Rory's participation. The result is a trick that Rory can't begin to explain or understand, and a cryptic message about Rory being in danger.
Suddenly, everything is different. Rory is seeing things that couldn't possibly be real; gargoyles eating pigeons, a cockroach riding a rat like it was a pony, an Indian warrior that Rory's dreamt about... Maybe there's more to that magician than some silly card tricks. Or else Rory's losing his mind.
With Bridget in tow, Rory goes to find the magician. According to the magician there is an entire shadow world that coexists with the Manhattan that Rory and Bridget know and love. It's called Mannahatta, and it's populated by Gods of every kind. Like the God of Justice, or the God of Sample Sales, or the God of Jaywalking. To borrow the magicians words: "When a mortal does something great, he is reborn in Mannahatta as a spirit. If his legend grows enough, he might be fortunate enough to ascend to godhood."
But there is struggle in Mannahatta: the spirits of the Munsee Indians are trapped in Central Park. The Munsees are connected to the land, but since they are trapped in a man-made park they can't actually connect to the land anymore, upsetting the balance between the two worlds. As possibly the only true mortal who can see Mannahatta without assistance (Bridget can only see things after Rory points them out), Rory is the key to setting the Munsees free.
Rory isn't sure he trusts or believes the magician, but there does seem to be a few creepy things trying to attack him. Whether or not Rory is ready or even interested in the adventure, Bridget is ready to kick some butt, starting yesterday. Now Rory has to worry about navigating a world no one else can see, saving it and the world he knows, and keeping Bridget safe. He's got his work cut out for him.
Rory is a strong and interesting main character, and Bridget is the irritating little sister who makes things worse by trying to help. The author has managed to balance serious ideas (like global warming and the Indian/Colonist conflict) with lighthearted moments (like a rat and squirrel kung fu fighting). The story jumps back and forth between Manhattan and Mannahatta, until they merge with Rory's full understanding. Which is a little bit confusing until you figure out who
everyone is.
This is a great adventure story that not only keeps you involved, but doubles nicely as a history and geography of Manhattan. I imagine it's particularly poignant if you're a New Yorker, but never having been there I can tell you it didn't lose anything.
I think we may not have seen the end of Rory Hennessy, or Bridget, and I'm looking forward to finding out what else Mannahatta has in store for everyone.
December 2, 2010
When a mysterious magician named Hex reveals Rory to the secret world of Mannahatta, he is stunned by what he is seeing. Rory can't believe what he is hearing when Hex tells him he is a “light.” Everyone in the world of Mannahatta is telling Rory he is so important. He has no idea what they are talking about until he has to save Lenape Indians that have been captured by they gods. Does Rory have enough strength to save the people?
For thirteen years Rory Hennessy's life has gone smoothly. When Rory meets a magician named Hex who reveals him to the secret world of Mannahatta,a city filled with paper mache people, Lenape Indians, and cockroaches that ride rats. Gods, including Babe Ruth, and Abraham Lincoln, rule Mannahatta. If something was loved enough, remembered enough or feared enough it was reborn in Mannahatta. When Rory's sister Bridget is curious about what Rory is hiding, she starts getting involved with Mannahatta. Bridget gets herself in big trouble. Will Rory be able to save Bridget from the trouble she is in or will Bridget be gone forever?
I would definitely recommend this book if somebody asked for my opinion. “Gods Of Manhattan” By Scott Mebus is a book filled with outstanding adventures. Every time I stopped reading the book at the end of a chapter, I was always thinking about what was going to happen next. This book also was filled with the history of New York, such as Lenape Indians and important people in time. Scott Mebus puts his own little twists on events that happened in New York. If you are a person who likes Sci- Fi, this book is perfect for you. The fantasy world and characters are incredible and always grab your attention. The characters in the book played their parts very well. Scott Mebus did an excellent job on putting twists on characters and scenes in the book.
July 5, 2008
The first of an upcoming series, this book was full of an intriguing world that is a layer of Manhattan. This world consists of talking battle cockroaches, gods, and events that go unseen by humans. Our main character - Rory - is a "light" - one who can see this other world and can give that gift to others. He has a special part to play in the recent killings of gods, the entrapment of a native american group called the Munsees, and the key to releasing the trap. There's a ton more involved and it really was a captivating read. I just hope Mr. Mebus can finish the next book sooner than later.
January 2, 2009
Thirteen year old Rory is a "Light" - one who can see the truth. Lights rarely last past age 3 or 4 as the Shadows usually get them by then. As a Light, Rory is sought after by various Gods and spirits in Mannahatta (the world that exists alongside/within Manhattan) for both good and evil purposes. The Gods of Manhattan are figures from its history - Peter Stuyvesant, John Jacob Astor, Hamilton Fish and hundreds of others who were important or loved enough to remain. Mebus's fantasy world of NYC is awesome. Great read!
June 5, 2012
This book is really interesting to read because there are so many characters helping each other out and there are surprising twist to the story. For example, at the beginning Hex seems like a good magician trying to free the Munsee, a group of indian tribes that were locked inside Central Park by a magic spell a long time ago, and asking Rory for help. Later, when Rory did tried to help so he can have his ordinary life back, Hex betrayed him and his sister and ran off, leaving Rory, Toy and his cockroach friend in Tobias' hands.
July 24, 2010
I usually read books for older teens, but this one aimed at preteens and younger teens was an enjoyable fast-paced book filled with enough action, imaginative characters, impossible quests, and harrowing ending. Manhattan is not just a city, but an entity. Rory, a young teenage boy and his sister Bridget are extraordinary humans. He is a "Light" who can see past illusions and see the Mannahatta's spirits. I recommend this book to all ages.
Read
June 16, 2015This book wasn’t quite for me, but the storytelling was pretty cool! I liked the idea of all the different gods in Manhattan, what their roles were and how they got them. The story flowed at a good pace too, one which I think middle graders will easily catch in on.~
This isn't a book that's easy to describe, but let me just say that it is largely adventurous with big imagination... It might be over parent's heads. lol.
This isn't a book that's easy to describe, but let me just say that it is largely adventurous with big imagination... It might be over parent's heads. lol.
May 21, 2008
An exciting new fantasy sure to delight readers age 10 and up. What if the famous figures in NYC history lived as Gods as long as they were remembered? Nobody sees them until one young boy does and finds himself trying to save his younger, feisty sister and NYC, too, from warring gods. Twists and turns of plot and interesting, sympathetic characters make this a real winner.
October 27, 2008
This was enormous fun, and had some delicious ideas in it. The ending, however, irritated me beyond measure. Some of the characters did, too. I strongly suspect I will read the next installment, but I hope it is better, and just as much fun.
May 1, 2014
The story: Beneath the concrete and cars, there's a New York City no one knows about—except for Rory Hennessey, who's the only one able to see it. He’s the last “Light” in New York, and only he knows that layered under modern Manhattan is a spirit city inhabited by warrior cockroaches, kick-butt rodents, evil subway trains, animated gargoyles, and people made of paper-mache. This shadowy world is ruled by the "gods" of Manhattan--any New Yorker, good or bad, famous enough to be remembered after he dies. And when the bad ones realize Rory can see them, all of a sudden his life expectancy goes...way down. Can he find the good guys to make sure evil doesn’t take over NYC completely?
June Cleaver’s ratings: Language PG; Nudity G; Sexual Content G; Violence PG-13; Substance Abuse PG; Magic & the Occult PG-13; GLBT Content G; Adult Themes (murder for hire!) PG; overall rating PG.
Liz's comments: Move over, Percy Jackson! Give this to any MS kid who likes "The Lightning Thief".
There's plenty of action here (and a little bit of extra US history can't be a bad thing!).
Rory Hennessey is the last Light in New York City--and he doesn't even know it. Before he witnesses a trick using real magic at his sister's birthday party, he's blind to the spirit level of Mannahatta, which co-exists side by side with Manhattan...but once he starts seeing the other side, things will never be the same. And although his sister Bridget isn't a Light herself, once he discloses to her the things he can see, she can also see them--which is not always a bonus. Before his Light manifested itself, Rory was safe from the invisible powers in Manhattan...but once he's outed, weird stuff starts to happen.
So where did the spirit side of Manhattan come from? If a New Yorker is famous, popular, well-liked, or even hated enough to be long remembered, upon death his spirit stays in Manhattan and becomes a minor sort of god. Even the children born to them AFTER they're dead get to hang around in a kind of immortality (which, since they don't have any powers, is not all that great a deal). Since a lot of them are politicians and gangsters, Mannahatta is not exactly heaven, either. Especially since the weather and other aspects of life on the island are getting crazier all the time--all because of evil Willem Kieft, leader of the Council of Twelve which, along with the Mayor, rules the place. In the 1800s, Kieft's group managed to trick the original residents of the island, the Munsee Indians, into ending their on-going warfare by getting them to agree to enter a sort of reservation (Central Park), not knowing it's a trap and that once they went in, they wouldn't be able to get out. The reason Manhattan is spiraling downhill is that the Indians control its natural spiritual powers, but have been unable to connect to the land for more than 150 years.
Rory and Bridget go looking for Hex, the magician whose trick caused Rory's abilities to start manifesting themselves. While in Greenwich Village, Rory is attacked by a Stranger (a fake child make of dark shadow that preys upon Lights; their success being such that Rory is the only Light in Mannahatta at this point). He's saved by Hex's Toy, a paper-mache automaton. and he and Bridget are introduced to the spirit side of Manhattan from a skywalk at the top of the Chrysler Building. Hex tells them that it's up to Rory to assemble four mythical objects (lock, key, belt and power, which Rory already holds) to free the Munsees from The Trap and enable Manhattan to get back to normal. Rory agrees to think about it, but doesn't immediately sign up to go break into the bank where the enchanted belt is under lock and key.
In the meantime, someone has just killed Adriaen Van Der Donck, one of the older gods of the city. Because one god is not able to take the life of another, most of them don't suspect any of the other gods of being behind it--but members of the Rattle Watch do. (Interestingly, all the names mentioned as being members of the council of the gods are actual historical figures, and even the Rattle Watch existed--the first NY police force, which patrolled the streets at night during Dutch times and shook large rattles to wake the inhabitants if a fire or other emergency broke out.) The current Rattle Watch are the post-mortal children of several of the gods, and Van Der Donck's daughter is one of them. They suspect Kieft of being behind the murder, and decide to consult a fortune teller to get the lowdown. They are aided in this, and other, quests by Fritz and Liv, the M'Garoth battle roaches, who act as tiny intelligence officers and spies. The fortune teller lets them know that, without Rory, every god will die. Only if Rory chooses well will the truth be uncovered.
While playing in Inwood Hill Park, Rory thinks he sees his long-missing father on a pirate ship, then is attacked by a Stranger and rescued by Wampage, the only Munsee not trapped in Central Park. Wampage juices up the wampum bracelet Hex gave Rory, and cautions the boy to try to free the Wunsees from The Trap only if his heart is really in it.
Rory realizes that the bad guys will never stop chasing him unless he helps free the Indians, so he lets Hex know that he's ready to Cooperate. Hex tells him they'll be breaking into the bank to steal the artifacts that very night, and off they go to run the gauntlet of challenges that keep the belt safe. They must find the lock in the middle of a Revolutionary War battle, a white wampum key in the middle of a treasury filled with gold, and sneak into the the next room past a Bowery Boy guardian with an alligator as a steed. Next they face a giant, fire-breathing snow beetle, which only wants to incinerate them because it's tied up--so when they pay its debt and free it from its shackles, it flies away and leaves them alone. They move on to the vault, where they find the belt--but also the skeletal remains of a teenage boy who turns out to have been Hex's son, Jason, a victim of the last attempt to turn the key 50 years ago.
Meanwhile, the Rattle Watch has gone to recruit Rory, but he's already gone--so they agree to take Bridget and Fritz the roach instead. They end up at the bank, where Bridget and Fritz go in to face the same trials as her brother, which Bridget makes her way through completely by luck--in fact, she's evidently the luckiest girl in the world. At least, until they catch up to Rory and Hex in the vault. Rory hesitates to turn the key after putting on the magic belt (due to a dream Rory had of Wampage telling him NOT to free the Munsees because of the other evils such an action would turn loose). As he resists Hex's urging to turn the key, the magician goes crazy and, pulling out a "soul pistol", tries to shoot Rory--but Bridget pushes her brother out of the way and it ends up being her soul encapsulated in the bullet. Turns out Hex isn't a nice guy after all--in fact, he's the spirit of Aaron Burr, who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, and what he really wants is to find out what valuables Kieft has hidden under the Munsees in Central Park (he doesn't much care about the Indians after all). The Guards are on their way, so Hex steals Bridget's body and gets away before the Brokers (hired thugs working for T.R. Tobias, god of banking) can get him. Rory gets away by calling in the debt Tobias owes him (the $4.27 he paid to settle the snow beetle's sum owed) and bargaining for a 15-minute head start. He, Fritz, and Clarence the Rat escape through the tunnels clinging to the body of a dead alligator.
Meanwhile, Kieft's assassin (the one who's been killing minor gods here and there) is waiting for them outside, and is also involved in a plan to put the Rattle Watch out of business permanently. When Rory surfaces, though, events keep this from happening, and Rory finally meets up with Nicholas Stuyvesant of the Rattle Watch. Nicholas takes him first to Flavio, a paper-mache artists, who makes a temporary paper body to hold Bridget's soul so it doesn't go cold and lifeless in its soul bullet.
Nicholas leads Rory to Hex's hideout, and he again faces the choice of whether or not to turn the key in the lock to open The Trap. He's finally prevented from doing so when Toy steals the lock and runs away. Rory manages to get both Bridget's body and the belt, although Hex collapses the building. In the aftermath of the cave-in, Rory meets Caesar Prince (or re-meets him, since they've had a couple encounters on the subway already) and Prince points out that the belt will show Rory his real powers: as a truth-teller. In that function, he visits the Munsees in Central Park and find out that they really DON'T want him to turn the key just yet, and he also visits the assassin and causes him to tell the truth--right at the time when a gang, the Dead Bunnies, is about to ambush the Rattle Watch. Albert Fish, erstwhile member of the Watch, comes clean that Kieft has promised to make him a god by giving him one or two of the lockets belonging to the gods whom he's recently murdered with Kieft's evil knife. But once he spills the beans, the Rattle Watch is able to get away, with him in tow (and in cuffs).
Peter Stuyvesant decides that it's time to rejoin the Council of Twelve, and a couple of other good members are proposed who undermine Kieft's plans to take it over. Bridget is restored to her body, and Rory and she make it home in time for mac and cheese. However, on the final page, Bridget slips back into her paper-mache body to take a little midnight stroll, so even people without a crystal ball will be able to tell that a sequel is forthcoming!
June Cleaver’s ratings: Language PG; Nudity G; Sexual Content G; Violence PG-13; Substance Abuse PG; Magic & the Occult PG-13; GLBT Content G; Adult Themes (murder for hire!) PG; overall rating PG.
Liz's comments: Move over, Percy Jackson! Give this to any MS kid who likes "The Lightning Thief".
There's plenty of action here (and a little bit of extra US history can't be a bad thing!).
Rory Hennessey is the last Light in New York City--and he doesn't even know it. Before he witnesses a trick using real magic at his sister's birthday party, he's blind to the spirit level of Mannahatta, which co-exists side by side with Manhattan...but once he starts seeing the other side, things will never be the same. And although his sister Bridget isn't a Light herself, once he discloses to her the things he can see, she can also see them--which is not always a bonus. Before his Light manifested itself, Rory was safe from the invisible powers in Manhattan...but once he's outed, weird stuff starts to happen.
So where did the spirit side of Manhattan come from? If a New Yorker is famous, popular, well-liked, or even hated enough to be long remembered, upon death his spirit stays in Manhattan and becomes a minor sort of god. Even the children born to them AFTER they're dead get to hang around in a kind of immortality (which, since they don't have any powers, is not all that great a deal). Since a lot of them are politicians and gangsters, Mannahatta is not exactly heaven, either. Especially since the weather and other aspects of life on the island are getting crazier all the time--all because of evil Willem Kieft, leader of the Council of Twelve which, along with the Mayor, rules the place. In the 1800s, Kieft's group managed to trick the original residents of the island, the Munsee Indians, into ending their on-going warfare by getting them to agree to enter a sort of reservation (Central Park), not knowing it's a trap and that once they went in, they wouldn't be able to get out. The reason Manhattan is spiraling downhill is that the Indians control its natural spiritual powers, but have been unable to connect to the land for more than 150 years.
Rory and Bridget go looking for Hex, the magician whose trick caused Rory's abilities to start manifesting themselves. While in Greenwich Village, Rory is attacked by a Stranger (a fake child make of dark shadow that preys upon Lights; their success being such that Rory is the only Light in Mannahatta at this point). He's saved by Hex's Toy, a paper-mache automaton. and he and Bridget are introduced to the spirit side of Manhattan from a skywalk at the top of the Chrysler Building. Hex tells them that it's up to Rory to assemble four mythical objects (lock, key, belt and power, which Rory already holds) to free the Munsees from The Trap and enable Manhattan to get back to normal. Rory agrees to think about it, but doesn't immediately sign up to go break into the bank where the enchanted belt is under lock and key.
In the meantime, someone has just killed Adriaen Van Der Donck, one of the older gods of the city. Because one god is not able to take the life of another, most of them don't suspect any of the other gods of being behind it--but members of the Rattle Watch do. (Interestingly, all the names mentioned as being members of the council of the gods are actual historical figures, and even the Rattle Watch existed--the first NY police force, which patrolled the streets at night during Dutch times and shook large rattles to wake the inhabitants if a fire or other emergency broke out.) The current Rattle Watch are the post-mortal children of several of the gods, and Van Der Donck's daughter is one of them. They suspect Kieft of being behind the murder, and decide to consult a fortune teller to get the lowdown. They are aided in this, and other, quests by Fritz and Liv, the M'Garoth battle roaches, who act as tiny intelligence officers and spies. The fortune teller lets them know that, without Rory, every god will die. Only if Rory chooses well will the truth be uncovered.
While playing in Inwood Hill Park, Rory thinks he sees his long-missing father on a pirate ship, then is attacked by a Stranger and rescued by Wampage, the only Munsee not trapped in Central Park. Wampage juices up the wampum bracelet Hex gave Rory, and cautions the boy to try to free the Wunsees from The Trap only if his heart is really in it.
Rory realizes that the bad guys will never stop chasing him unless he helps free the Indians, so he lets Hex know that he's ready to Cooperate. Hex tells him they'll be breaking into the bank to steal the artifacts that very night, and off they go to run the gauntlet of challenges that keep the belt safe. They must find the lock in the middle of a Revolutionary War battle, a white wampum key in the middle of a treasury filled with gold, and sneak into the the next room past a Bowery Boy guardian with an alligator as a steed. Next they face a giant, fire-breathing snow beetle, which only wants to incinerate them because it's tied up--so when they pay its debt and free it from its shackles, it flies away and leaves them alone. They move on to the vault, where they find the belt--but also the skeletal remains of a teenage boy who turns out to have been Hex's son, Jason, a victim of the last attempt to turn the key 50 years ago.
Meanwhile, the Rattle Watch has gone to recruit Rory, but he's already gone--so they agree to take Bridget and Fritz the roach instead. They end up at the bank, where Bridget and Fritz go in to face the same trials as her brother, which Bridget makes her way through completely by luck--in fact, she's evidently the luckiest girl in the world. At least, until they catch up to Rory and Hex in the vault. Rory hesitates to turn the key after putting on the magic belt (due to a dream Rory had of Wampage telling him NOT to free the Munsees because of the other evils such an action would turn loose). As he resists Hex's urging to turn the key, the magician goes crazy and, pulling out a "soul pistol", tries to shoot Rory--but Bridget pushes her brother out of the way and it ends up being her soul encapsulated in the bullet. Turns out Hex isn't a nice guy after all--in fact, he's the spirit of Aaron Burr, who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, and what he really wants is to find out what valuables Kieft has hidden under the Munsees in Central Park (he doesn't much care about the Indians after all). The Guards are on their way, so Hex steals Bridget's body and gets away before the Brokers (hired thugs working for T.R. Tobias, god of banking) can get him. Rory gets away by calling in the debt Tobias owes him (the $4.27 he paid to settle the snow beetle's sum owed) and bargaining for a 15-minute head start. He, Fritz, and Clarence the Rat escape through the tunnels clinging to the body of a dead alligator.
Meanwhile, Kieft's assassin (the one who's been killing minor gods here and there) is waiting for them outside, and is also involved in a plan to put the Rattle Watch out of business permanently. When Rory surfaces, though, events keep this from happening, and Rory finally meets up with Nicholas Stuyvesant of the Rattle Watch. Nicholas takes him first to Flavio, a paper-mache artists, who makes a temporary paper body to hold Bridget's soul so it doesn't go cold and lifeless in its soul bullet.
Nicholas leads Rory to Hex's hideout, and he again faces the choice of whether or not to turn the key in the lock to open The Trap. He's finally prevented from doing so when Toy steals the lock and runs away. Rory manages to get both Bridget's body and the belt, although Hex collapses the building. In the aftermath of the cave-in, Rory meets Caesar Prince (or re-meets him, since they've had a couple encounters on the subway already) and Prince points out that the belt will show Rory his real powers: as a truth-teller. In that function, he visits the Munsees in Central Park and find out that they really DON'T want him to turn the key just yet, and he also visits the assassin and causes him to tell the truth--right at the time when a gang, the Dead Bunnies, is about to ambush the Rattle Watch. Albert Fish, erstwhile member of the Watch, comes clean that Kieft has promised to make him a god by giving him one or two of the lockets belonging to the gods whom he's recently murdered with Kieft's evil knife. But once he spills the beans, the Rattle Watch is able to get away, with him in tow (and in cuffs).
Peter Stuyvesant decides that it's time to rejoin the Council of Twelve, and a couple of other good members are proposed who undermine Kieft's plans to take it over. Bridget is restored to her body, and Rory and she make it home in time for mac and cheese. However, on the final page, Bridget slips back into her paper-mache body to take a little midnight stroll, so even people without a crystal ball will be able to tell that a sequel is forthcoming!
May 21, 2020
This is my second time reading this book and it still holds up really well. The main character breaks from other protagonists in this kind of book by not wanting to be involoved. His main goal is to keep his family safe and intact, notably, his powers run directly counter to that. When his powers manifest, his family is put in some serious danger and Rory wants nothing to do with it.
The book was surprisingly dark considering the target demographic. The main character harbours a deep seated resentment for his absentee father, there are some pretty brutal murders and this mystical new world is full of dangers that seem more out of Stephen King than Riordan.
The plot is fairly complicated compared to many of it's peers with shadowy villain plots interweaving with treachery and political conniving.
Now one of the criticisms levelled at the book is an apparent lack of diversity. It should be noted that it is established that godhood comes on a first come, first served basis. That is why so many of the gods are Dutch settlers. While it is possible that there are other people prominent in a certain feild, the godhood falls on the first and, after the Munsees, the Dutch were the first. Others have cited a lack of important female characters. Allow me to list a few key characters: Bridget Hennessy, Alexa van der Donck, Liv M'Garoth, the Fortune Teller, Soolewa and Soka, all female, all crucial to the plot of this book and the series as a whole.
It is also entirely possible that I just read this with rose-tinted glasses and it really just sucks. But I sure hope not; this was the most fun history lesson I ever had.
The book was surprisingly dark considering the target demographic. The main character harbours a deep seated resentment for his absentee father, there are some pretty brutal murders and this mystical new world is full of dangers that seem more out of Stephen King than Riordan.
The plot is fairly complicated compared to many of it's peers with shadowy villain plots interweaving with treachery and political conniving.
Now one of the criticisms levelled at the book is an apparent lack of diversity. It should be noted that it is established that godhood comes on a first come, first served basis. That is why so many of the gods are Dutch settlers. While it is possible that there are other people prominent in a certain feild, the godhood falls on the first and, after the Munsees, the Dutch were the first. Others have cited a lack of important female characters. Allow me to list a few key characters: Bridget Hennessy, Alexa van der Donck, Liv M'Garoth, the Fortune Teller, Soolewa and Soka, all female, all crucial to the plot of this book and the series as a whole.
It is also entirely possible that I just read this with rose-tinted glasses and it really just sucks. But I sure hope not; this was the most fun history lesson I ever had.
December 29, 2019
Inhalt: Rory kann Dinge sehen, die anderen verborgen bleiben. Er sieht Indianer im Central Park, eine Kakerlaken, die auf Ratten reiten. Doch dieses Mehrsehen, bringt ihn und seine kleine Schwester in große Gefahr.
Art des Buches: Fantasy ab 13 Jahre - Auftakt einer Reihe
Wie fand ich das Buch? Ich muss gestehen, dass mich die Story sofort in ihren Bann zog. Das Buch ist spannend und die Ideen brillant. So gibt es Götter in Manhattan, doch diese Götter sind anders und es gibt viele, für jede Gelegenheit der passende Gott. So trifft Rory auch auf einen Jungen aus Papier und einen Zauberer. Besonders gut hat mir auch der Zusammenhalt der Geschwister gefallen. Das Buch bezaubert auch durch das schöne Setting und man nimmt als Leser einiges an Wissen über die Stadt New York mit. Im Anhang findet man ein Personenregister und es soll eine Manhattankarte geben, die bei dem ausgeliehenen Buch nicht vorhanden war. Ich freue mich schon sehr auf die beiden anderen Teile und auf ein Treffen mit Rory, Bridget und der Rasselwache.
3 passende Wörter zum Buch? New York - Götter - Fantasy
Wem empfehlen? Wer sich für New York, Götter und Fantasy interessiert, hat gute Chancen, dass man die Reihe mag.
Art des Buches: Fantasy ab 13 Jahre - Auftakt einer Reihe
Wie fand ich das Buch? Ich muss gestehen, dass mich die Story sofort in ihren Bann zog. Das Buch ist spannend und die Ideen brillant. So gibt es Götter in Manhattan, doch diese Götter sind anders und es gibt viele, für jede Gelegenheit der passende Gott. So trifft Rory auch auf einen Jungen aus Papier und einen Zauberer. Besonders gut hat mir auch der Zusammenhalt der Geschwister gefallen. Das Buch bezaubert auch durch das schöne Setting und man nimmt als Leser einiges an Wissen über die Stadt New York mit. Im Anhang findet man ein Personenregister und es soll eine Manhattankarte geben, die bei dem ausgeliehenen Buch nicht vorhanden war. Ich freue mich schon sehr auf die beiden anderen Teile und auf ein Treffen mit Rory, Bridget und der Rasselwache.
3 passende Wörter zum Buch? New York - Götter - Fantasy
Wem empfehlen? Wer sich für New York, Götter und Fantasy interessiert, hat gute Chancen, dass man die Reihe mag.
Read
October 14, 2021The Gods of Manhattan begins with an genuinely interesting premise that spins off the Percy Jackson/Harry Potter model - a chosen one discovers a world behind the normal, populated by magical beings, and becomes drawn into it's machinations and wars. The twist is that instead a wizarding world, or mythology, the "Gods" of Manhattan are historical figures from Native Americans to early Dutch settlers to Revolutionary War heroes. Unfortunately, we don't really get a lot of history to go with our historical figures - the book never explains who many of the major "gods" were in life, starting with Adriaen van der Donck, with whose murder the book (and plot) begins. Perhaps later in the series, readers will meet Babe Ruth and other, better known New Yorkers. Perhaps they'll get to know who Peter Stuyvesant was? It's an odd choice, since a tiny bit of text would go a long way.
At any rate, the book isn't without it's charms - mostly the break-neck plot, and protagonist Rory Hennessy's much more interesting younger sister Bridget, although the tiny roach warriors are a pretty fun invention too. I don't think I'm going to read the rest of the trilogy, which was recently donated to our library, but I won't hesitate to add then them to our collection.
At any rate, the book isn't without it's charms - mostly the break-neck plot, and protagonist Rory Hennessy's much more interesting younger sister Bridget, although the tiny roach warriors are a pretty fun invention too. I don't think I'm going to read the rest of the trilogy, which was recently donated to our library, but I won't hesitate to add then them to our collection.
Read
December 18, 2024In The Gods Of Manhattan by Scott Mebus, a 13-year-old boy named Rory gets special abilities to see through another world due to a magician who was simply showing a group of children a magic trick. After he discovers that he can see another world, he soon meets death multiple times due to creatures from other worlds finding out about his powers and being afraid of what this child is capable of. In this place, there are Indian sachems, warrior cockroaches, and paper-mache children, ruled by immortal Gods. In my opinion, I loved this book. This book really intrigued me because it caught my attention to keep reading more. The reason for that is because the story had multiple twists and turns which I didn’t expect to happen. I didn’t think this story would have any pivotal moments but it did have multiple moments where the characters had to make decisions that led to death and sorrow. I truly recommend this to an age group because if you're the type of person to like Greek Mythology this book is the one for you.
March 15, 2017
"Gods of Manhattan: Alexander Hamilton Mentioned Numerous Times"
When writing this Percy Jackson reminiscent (e.g., The Lightning Thief) juvenile supernatural action-adventure story, what were the odds major minor character Alexander Hamilton would become the hottest ticket on the planet due to Lin Manuel Miranda's Broadway show for the ages? Spoilers, Hamilton shares the stage with an Olympus of New York historical royalty who provide a backdrop against which our young heroes / reader stand-ins operate. All the basic elements are here: shortcut worldbuilding using preestablished characters (famous New Yorkers), Wall Street bankers as the bad guys (although there are a lot of antagonists), a chosen one (Rory), a damsel in distress (his sister), and a long series of tunnels and hallways with traps that must be overcome. The story feels both inventive and familiar. At 352 dense pages, it also feels a little much given the story it tells.
The writing crams in a lot of ground in a given chapter and more than once you wonder why Mebus didn't leave it at the cliffhanger and then pick up next chapter. Some scale issues annoy particularly with Fritz - the warrior cockroach (Thewestchestarian is not making that up) - who contributes to conversations with full-sized humans from the back of either a rat or mouse. How did they hear him from 3 inches from the ground? How did he manage not to get stepped on? Speaking of conversations, scenes, where the titular deities kick around decisions, involve so many speakers (Lincoln, Hamilton, Stuyvesant, Burr, Hex, etc.) it is hard to keep track of who said what. There's also a frequent "book-y" feel to the proceedings at times such as when 4 people float through a series of tunnels on a dead alligator (as one does).
In short, a decent, thick, story for the tween / teen male demo.
December 29, 2017
Mebus, Scott Gods of Manhattan, 340 p. Dutton (Penguin), 2008.
The magical trick of a party magician opens Rory's eyes to the real magic going on around him every day. Now, however his very life is in danger, as the Gods of Manahatta, the spirit world companion of modern Manhattan Island, have no desire for a Light, which Rory is, to interfere with their plots and schemes. Someone has figured out how to kill the gods, who should be immortal, and Hex, the magician, needs Rory to use his powers to free the Indians of ancient times, who have been trapped with the confines of Central Park for centuries.
Every situation and every character has ulterior motives and unplumbed depths in this richly written tale - the beginning of a series. Any school that has students reading Harry Potter should add this to their shelves ASAP.
EL, MS - ESSENTIAL
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2008/...
The magical trick of a party magician opens Rory's eyes to the real magic going on around him every day. Now, however his very life is in danger, as the Gods of Manahatta, the spirit world companion of modern Manhattan Island, have no desire for a Light, which Rory is, to interfere with their plots and schemes. Someone has figured out how to kill the gods, who should be immortal, and Hex, the magician, needs Rory to use his powers to free the Indians of ancient times, who have been trapped with the confines of Central Park for centuries.
Every situation and every character has ulterior motives and unplumbed depths in this richly written tale - the beginning of a series. Any school that has students reading Harry Potter should add this to their shelves ASAP.
EL, MS - ESSENTIAL
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2008/...
April 14, 2023
Growing up in NYC, finding this book at age 9, and dragging my older cousin around the city looking for the Manhattan deities, I was soooooooo into this series it was insane. Percy Jackson book 5 had just come out too so I was going through that phase (all the way til Son of Neptune came out-- I got copies of the other books in HoO on release dates but I really did not vibe with the series after SoN). Anyway I'm sitting in my Orthopedic Science and Engineering class right now, 14 years later, thinking about this book instead of paying attention to this gory asf video of skin grafts. Will be getting a copy (of the book, not this video) for every friend's kid because they need to go through what I did looking for fantasy within our favorite rat infested city 😔😔✌
January 13, 2020
While some kids can ruin all the fun by seeing through your sleight-of-hand magic tricks, sometimes it just means they are blessed with a gift that could save an entire imprisoned civilization. It also means they are likely to be hunted to their doom by the ones who strive to keep that Trap firmly in place.
What does it mean for Rory? Well, basically that he’s being hunted, that he has to be extra careful to watch out for his eager little sister and inevitably save her from doom, too, and basically his whole world as he knows it is even more complicated than adult’s make it out to be. In fact, there are entire political systems we don’t even know about, unless you “wake up” or are born as a child of a god of Manhattan.
So, if you’re like Rory, it means you have to brace yourself for one dangerous, unbelievable, suicidal mission that could either save or destroy Manhattan as we know it. You’d also have to figure out pretty quick who you should believe. Not all strangers are as they seem. In fact, Strangers are downright deadly.
So it may mean following your little sister’s route, and join the fray with a rat-riding cockroach. Too much to believe? That’s cuz it hasn’t been pointed out to you yet. Then you’ll see.
What does it mean for Rory? Well, basically that he’s being hunted, that he has to be extra careful to watch out for his eager little sister and inevitably save her from doom, too, and basically his whole world as he knows it is even more complicated than adult’s make it out to be. In fact, there are entire political systems we don’t even know about, unless you “wake up” or are born as a child of a god of Manhattan.
So, if you’re like Rory, it means you have to brace yourself for one dangerous, unbelievable, suicidal mission that could either save or destroy Manhattan as we know it. You’d also have to figure out pretty quick who you should believe. Not all strangers are as they seem. In fact, Strangers are downright deadly.
So it may mean following your little sister’s route, and join the fray with a rat-riding cockroach. Too much to believe? That’s cuz it hasn’t been pointed out to you yet. Then you’ll see.
May 12, 2020
The first hundred pages were really horrible - I didn't like the writing at all and couldn't get warm with the characters. The little sister is probably the exception, but everyone else seems pretty generic or unfinished and the protagonist is annoying until the very end.
The story is also rather improvised, although it had good ideas - with the trapped Central Park and the paper bodies for example. I even like the different types of gods, they're just not present enough and some of them could really be a little more over-the-top.
The reading got better in the second half, but it's no book I would want to read a sequel to.
The story is also rather improvised, although it had good ideas - with the trapped Central Park and the paper bodies for example. I even like the different types of gods, they're just not present enough and some of them could really be a little more over-the-top.
The reading got better in the second half, but it's no book I would want to read a sequel to.
April 8, 2018
A lot of stuff happen in the book. There are a lot of surprises in the book which makes it a exciting read. The end of the book ends kinda mysteriously. In the book there is the spirit world of Mannahattana where there are gods and spirits. If you do something great in your life you can become a spirit and if you get remembered you become a god. You can be the god of anything. Roryhennesay is a light which means he is a mortal who can see and let others see the spirit world.
July 24, 2018
After witnessing apparently real magic tricks at his sister's birthday party, Rory begins to see talking cockroaches and hidden Indians around Manhattan - and they draw him into a dangerous world of gods being murdered and living paper people! Mebus Will have young readers enjoying every page of this funny and exciting story that begins what is sure to be a wonderful trilogy. Where can all these suspicious rats and American demigods lead Rory and his sister?
Read
March 2, 2019I’m not going to rate this book because I personally felt the book was racist. First off, about 90% of the characters are white: in New York City. What really made me start to question this was the treatment of Indians in the book and when he referred to black boys as “homeboys” I was done. The story was good with great potential. I don’t know if the author knows how he came off or if it was intentional.
June 2, 2024
Yes, this book is riding the popularity of Percy Jackson, but it stands just fine on its own. Rory, our young protagonist, is pulled into a secret fantasy world in Manhattan. It fuses historical figures, Native American mythology, humor and drama. There are plenty of fun characters and exciting adventures, and affirmation of the value of family. Very enjoyable.
June 6, 2012
Mebus, S. (2008). Gods of Manhattan. New York: Puffin Books.
340 pages.
Appetizer: When thirteen-year-old Rory witnesses a magic trick at his little sister's ninth birthday party that can't be explained, he starts to realize that magic is real and that he has the special ability to see magic throughout New York City.
But when a sorcerer, the gods of the city (who are historical figures--Walt Whitman is the god of optimism!), the gods' children, the memory of the Munsee Native Americans who originally inhabited the city and other magical creatures learn that there is a boy with the power to see the many layers of reality, some will try to protect him while others will try to use him for their own purposes.
On top of all that, for the first time ever, someone has found a way to kill the gods as part of a way to grab power. It falls to Rory and his sister Bridget to figure out who to trust and the best way to maintain balance within the city.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Gods of Manhattan. At first I was a little suspicious because both Rory and Bridget didn't really feel very child-like to me. Well, Bridget did feel young. But no way her voice was that of a nine-year-old. Plus, the book jumped point of view A LOT. So, it didn't feel very middle grade or even YA.
But as I kept reading, I really started to like the story. It reminded me of Harry Potter. At one point Rory has to break into a bank to steal a magical object, at another point Bridget magically becomes the luckiest girl in the world (and the way her luck works manages to be even more amusing than when Harry takes the Felix Felicis potion in The Half-Blood Prince.
I liked Rory's reaction when he started to realize that magic existed in Manhattan:
He dives "back into the safety of his apartment, his room, his bed, his world--where everything was just as it was supposed to be" (p. 13).
I liked this because this is very similar to my reaction when I encounter something that upsets me: Take a nap. Works every time when I feel the need to avoid reality.
And whether like a nine-year-old or not, I absolutely loved Rory's little sister, Bridget. She was a very fun character. Intent on protecting her brother, she buys steel toed boots and imagines herself to be a heroine, Malibu Death Barbie.
I also like the way the story attempted to take on the historical mistreatments of the Munsee Indians. In the spirit world of the story, Mannahatta, the Munsee spirits were trapped in Central Park by the gods of the city. Throughout the story questions of guilt and reparations are addressed, which could trigger some very thoughtful discussions about American history and the modern implications. (This aspect of the book has *totally* made it into Dudley the Dissertation.)
This series may not be for everyone. But if a middle grade reader already waded their way through Rirodan's Percy Jackson epics, chances are good they'll be up to the challenge of taking on Scott Mebus's Manhattan and seeing some figures of New York's history as gods (which can also lead to a lot of googling about the founding of the city. I know that's what I did.).
On to the second book, Spirits in the Park!
Dinner Conversation:
"Adriaen van der Donck raced over the Henry Hudson Bridge at the northern tip of Manhattan, urging his steaming horse to go faster as he made a break for the Bronx. Maybe he'd be lucky. Maybe his enemy had neglected to pick an assassin with the right kind of blood" (p. 3).
"Maybe he'd save his city, though he couldn't save himself. The assassin sprang, and Adriaen van der Donck stepped forward to meet him, his final trick ready to be played" (p. 4).
"Rory Hennessy, thirteen years old and never fooled, leaned in closer to watch the magician at work. There had never been a magic trick, or a sleight-of-hand maneuver, or any other so-called illusion, that had not been picked apart, seen through, or laid bare by the eagle eyes of the elder Hennessy. He could always spy the magician slipping the twenty-dollar bill into the volunteer's pocket. He unerringly knew where the five of spades was hidden. He would point to the shell with the marble under it every time. He couldn't really explain how he knew. He just did. Rory would look a magician in the eye and suddenly the performer would no longer be a mystical practitioner of wonder, he'd be a sad little man with a weird hat. He'd start to stammer, his rabbit would fall out of his sleeve, and he'd press the wrong button and pour water all over his pants. Rory didn't do it on purpose. It was just his gift" (p. 5).
"There is a world all around you that most mortals cannot see. We call it Mannahatta. Some say it is the spirit world, while others believe it is the city itself dreaming, or rather remembering. If something or someone was important enough, loved enough, feared enough, imagined enough, remembered enough, then it is reborn here in Mannahatta" (p. 59).
"But I'm giving you another option, a chance to take control of your destiny. You can do what they're afraid you'll do--ruin all their plans--and then it will be too late for them. You'll do a great service to our city and protect yourself forever at the same time" (p. 62).
340 pages.
Appetizer: When thirteen-year-old Rory witnesses a magic trick at his little sister's ninth birthday party that can't be explained, he starts to realize that magic is real and that he has the special ability to see magic throughout New York City.
But when a sorcerer, the gods of the city (who are historical figures--Walt Whitman is the god of optimism!), the gods' children, the memory of the Munsee Native Americans who originally inhabited the city and other magical creatures learn that there is a boy with the power to see the many layers of reality, some will try to protect him while others will try to use him for their own purposes.
On top of all that, for the first time ever, someone has found a way to kill the gods as part of a way to grab power. It falls to Rory and his sister Bridget to figure out who to trust and the best way to maintain balance within the city.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Gods of Manhattan. At first I was a little suspicious because both Rory and Bridget didn't really feel very child-like to me. Well, Bridget did feel young. But no way her voice was that of a nine-year-old. Plus, the book jumped point of view A LOT. So, it didn't feel very middle grade or even YA.
But as I kept reading, I really started to like the story. It reminded me of Harry Potter. At one point Rory has to break into a bank to steal a magical object, at another point Bridget magically becomes the luckiest girl in the world (and the way her luck works manages to be even more amusing than when Harry takes the Felix Felicis potion in The Half-Blood Prince.
I liked Rory's reaction when he started to realize that magic existed in Manhattan:
He dives "back into the safety of his apartment, his room, his bed, his world--where everything was just as it was supposed to be" (p. 13).
I liked this because this is very similar to my reaction when I encounter something that upsets me: Take a nap. Works every time when I feel the need to avoid reality.
And whether like a nine-year-old or not, I absolutely loved Rory's little sister, Bridget. She was a very fun character. Intent on protecting her brother, she buys steel toed boots and imagines herself to be a heroine, Malibu Death Barbie.
I also like the way the story attempted to take on the historical mistreatments of the Munsee Indians. In the spirit world of the story, Mannahatta, the Munsee spirits were trapped in Central Park by the gods of the city. Throughout the story questions of guilt and reparations are addressed, which could trigger some very thoughtful discussions about American history and the modern implications. (This aspect of the book has *totally* made it into Dudley the Dissertation.)
This series may not be for everyone. But if a middle grade reader already waded their way through Rirodan's Percy Jackson epics, chances are good they'll be up to the challenge of taking on Scott Mebus's Manhattan and seeing some figures of New York's history as gods (which can also lead to a lot of googling about the founding of the city. I know that's what I did.).
On to the second book, Spirits in the Park!
Dinner Conversation:
"Adriaen van der Donck raced over the Henry Hudson Bridge at the northern tip of Manhattan, urging his steaming horse to go faster as he made a break for the Bronx. Maybe he'd be lucky. Maybe his enemy had neglected to pick an assassin with the right kind of blood" (p. 3).
"Maybe he'd save his city, though he couldn't save himself. The assassin sprang, and Adriaen van der Donck stepped forward to meet him, his final trick ready to be played" (p. 4).
"Rory Hennessy, thirteen years old and never fooled, leaned in closer to watch the magician at work. There had never been a magic trick, or a sleight-of-hand maneuver, or any other so-called illusion, that had not been picked apart, seen through, or laid bare by the eagle eyes of the elder Hennessy. He could always spy the magician slipping the twenty-dollar bill into the volunteer's pocket. He unerringly knew where the five of spades was hidden. He would point to the shell with the marble under it every time. He couldn't really explain how he knew. He just did. Rory would look a magician in the eye and suddenly the performer would no longer be a mystical practitioner of wonder, he'd be a sad little man with a weird hat. He'd start to stammer, his rabbit would fall out of his sleeve, and he'd press the wrong button and pour water all over his pants. Rory didn't do it on purpose. It was just his gift" (p. 5).
"There is a world all around you that most mortals cannot see. We call it Mannahatta. Some say it is the spirit world, while others believe it is the city itself dreaming, or rather remembering. If something or someone was important enough, loved enough, feared enough, imagined enough, remembered enough, then it is reborn here in Mannahatta" (p. 59).
"But I'm giving you another option, a chance to take control of your destiny. You can do what they're afraid you'll do--ruin all their plans--and then it will be too late for them. You'll do a great service to our city and protect yourself forever at the same time" (p. 62).
January 2, 2022
I really enjoyed the interplay of history and mythology in a setting so many of us love: the boroughs of New York. the characters are compelling and I am looking forward to reading more in the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews