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Pantheon
Not even gods can change the past, but the world's future is fair game.
Lamont Price is afraid. A loner by choice, his life is defined by running—from relationships, from the law, and from his own guilty conscience. Once a boy who dreamed of adventure, he now wishes for nothing more than to slide through life unnoticed.
Emma Sutter is also on the run, leaving behind a painful past of abuse and neglect and stepping boldly toward a future of wonder and possibility. Independent and strong-willed, she’s searching for a fresh start and the loving acceptance she hasn’t known since girlhood.
When the gods, disguised as mortals in the windswept town of Pantheon, call Lamont and Emma together, neither seems a likely choice for a hero. Destiny, however, does not always work out the way one expects. With the fate of the universe at stake, these two must stand against a Legion of evil, battling their own demons in the process—But first they’ll need to see past themselves and discover the power within their reach.
- See more at: http://www.musapublishing.com/index.p...
Lamont Price is afraid. A loner by choice, his life is defined by running—from relationships, from the law, and from his own guilty conscience. Once a boy who dreamed of adventure, he now wishes for nothing more than to slide through life unnoticed.
Emma Sutter is also on the run, leaving behind a painful past of abuse and neglect and stepping boldly toward a future of wonder and possibility. Independent and strong-willed, she’s searching for a fresh start and the loving acceptance she hasn’t known since girlhood.
When the gods, disguised as mortals in the windswept town of Pantheon, call Lamont and Emma together, neither seems a likely choice for a hero. Destiny, however, does not always work out the way one expects. With the fate of the universe at stake, these two must stand against a Legion of evil, battling their own demons in the process—But first they’ll need to see past themselves and discover the power within their reach.
- See more at: http://www.musapublishing.com/index.p...
- GenresFantasy
180 pages, ebook
First published March 23, 2010
13 people want to read
About the author
Josh Strnad
24 books30 followersJosh Strnad has possessed a deep love of books since he was just a wee lad. When not guzzling down hot tea and typing stories on his old computer, he also dabbles in film making, writing music, and drawing cartoons. Josh lives in South Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 4, 2011
Pantheon / B003CV7T08
Two settings, two characters: Lamont, a quiet cowboy on the run from the law, who spends his nights in restless dreams in the wild, at the mercy of the elements; and Emma, a young woman leaving behind her mysterious past into the embrace of a frighteningly open and unsure future.
The writing here is nicely descriptive and colorful - little touches like Lamont's soggy bread in his soaked saddle bag, and Emma's mussed hair after a night in the sleeper car really paint the scene and setting for the reader. Indeed, this excerpt so far reads almost like a painting - there are so many little details about the colorful dresses of the ladies and the rain droplets on the train window - and all the vivid descriptions are evenly spaced out so that the reader is never overwhelmed by the scenery.
The characterization of the two main characters is also very nicely done, even if the characters may verge on the edge of stock types - nevertheless, good effort is made to characterize them as individuals rather than stereotypes. If I may make a suggestion, however, it would be that a little more characterization of inner thoughts and possibly even some details regarding what they are both running from might help the story seem like less of a slow-starter. It's not that the pacing is bad - I think the pacing is excellent, and the scene changes are well-done - but a little more characterization to fill out Emma and Lamont might help the reader see where all this is going and hook them a little more into caring about (and staying with) the protagonists.
I do love the writing style, though, and that alone would cause me to read more.
NOTE: This review is based on a sample excerpt of this book provided through the ABNA contest.
~ Ana Mardoll
Two settings, two characters: Lamont, a quiet cowboy on the run from the law, who spends his nights in restless dreams in the wild, at the mercy of the elements; and Emma, a young woman leaving behind her mysterious past into the embrace of a frighteningly open and unsure future.
The writing here is nicely descriptive and colorful - little touches like Lamont's soggy bread in his soaked saddle bag, and Emma's mussed hair after a night in the sleeper car really paint the scene and setting for the reader. Indeed, this excerpt so far reads almost like a painting - there are so many little details about the colorful dresses of the ladies and the rain droplets on the train window - and all the vivid descriptions are evenly spaced out so that the reader is never overwhelmed by the scenery.
The characterization of the two main characters is also very nicely done, even if the characters may verge on the edge of stock types - nevertheless, good effort is made to characterize them as individuals rather than stereotypes. If I may make a suggestion, however, it would be that a little more characterization of inner thoughts and possibly even some details regarding what they are both running from might help the story seem like less of a slow-starter. It's not that the pacing is bad - I think the pacing is excellent, and the scene changes are well-done - but a little more characterization to fill out Emma and Lamont might help the reader see where all this is going and hook them a little more into caring about (and staying with) the protagonists.
I do love the writing style, though, and that alone would cause me to read more.
NOTE: This review is based on a sample excerpt of this book provided through the ABNA contest.
~ Ana Mardoll
May 23, 2014
Josh Strnad does not look like a horror writer. He's not dark and brooding, or dressed in black leather. Rather, he's young and blond, fresh faced and apple-cheeked. He looks like he just came straight from a Wisconsin dairy farm. (And for all I know, he did.) Yet he writes horror. It says so right there on his website.
You probably didn't need me to tell you that. Quite likely you've caught one of his stories. He first came to my attention with Hellevator, in Eric J. Guignard's 2013 collection, After Death. . . An Anthology of Dark and Speculative Fiction Stories Examining What May Occur After We Die. But you may prefer If You Should Die Before I Wake which appeared Nightmare Stalkers & Dream Walkers, from Horrified Press, also in 2013.
He has not slacked off with the new year. His H.P. Lovecraft tribute, Goddess of Our Fathers, is featured in the new Dark Hall Press Cosmic Horror Anthology. And his latest story The Last Kiss (he tells us this is unlike anything else he's ever written) will soon be available in Vignettes From The End Of The World.
In short, he's written a lot of good stories. Which means it's time for a novel. So. . . here it is! Pantheon is not, strictly speaking, horror, although it has its horrific moments. It's more a cross-genre work, merging Greek mythology with the old West. Of course, Greek mythology may not count as a genre, but no matter. This isn't the same Greek mythology you got from Edith Hamilton in school.
Mr. Strnad is clearly very interested in religion. What are the commonalities between faiths? What does religion offer that makes it adherents so devoted? How has it survived millennia of rationalist thought? In Pantheon he blends Greek imagery into Judaeo-Christian themes to produce a surprisingly satisfactory synthesis.
The book opens with Lamont Price, and Lamont Price is afraid. He was a bold child once, but the past has taught him fear. Emma Sutter has always been afraid, and is now determined to learn courage. We are not told at first what they are running from. It is sufficient that they both need desperately to leave the past behind them.
They have no idea where they are going—but it wouldn't have mattered if they did. They are caught up in divine machinations and re-directed, whether they like it or not. No one says 'No' to a god. You could call them pawns, or you could call them heroes, but either way their lives are no longer their own, if they ever were. Their fate was decreed before they ever reached this particular cross-roads.
The past is inescapable. As the story progresses, we learn more of what drove Lamont and Emma to this point, and how their failures and weaknesses are the source of the strength they must summon to face a supernatural challenge. And the supernatural challenge is an exciting one. When gods clash, they do it in grandiose style.
Mr. Strnad paints in broad strokes and primary colors. Perhaps one of the reasons he selected the Old West as his venue was the moral clarity we used to see in movies where the villains wore black hats and the sheriff wore white. Here, he presents characters who must commit to good or evil within a world where those choices are clear but costly. It is a choice that we have all confronted.
You probably didn't need me to tell you that. Quite likely you've caught one of his stories. He first came to my attention with Hellevator, in Eric J. Guignard's 2013 collection, After Death. . . An Anthology of Dark and Speculative Fiction Stories Examining What May Occur After We Die. But you may prefer If You Should Die Before I Wake which appeared Nightmare Stalkers & Dream Walkers, from Horrified Press, also in 2013.
He has not slacked off with the new year. His H.P. Lovecraft tribute, Goddess of Our Fathers, is featured in the new Dark Hall Press Cosmic Horror Anthology. And his latest story The Last Kiss (he tells us this is unlike anything else he's ever written) will soon be available in Vignettes From The End Of The World.
In short, he's written a lot of good stories. Which means it's time for a novel. So. . . here it is! Pantheon is not, strictly speaking, horror, although it has its horrific moments. It's more a cross-genre work, merging Greek mythology with the old West. Of course, Greek mythology may not count as a genre, but no matter. This isn't the same Greek mythology you got from Edith Hamilton in school.
Mr. Strnad is clearly very interested in religion. What are the commonalities between faiths? What does religion offer that makes it adherents so devoted? How has it survived millennia of rationalist thought? In Pantheon he blends Greek imagery into Judaeo-Christian themes to produce a surprisingly satisfactory synthesis.
The book opens with Lamont Price, and Lamont Price is afraid. He was a bold child once, but the past has taught him fear. Emma Sutter has always been afraid, and is now determined to learn courage. We are not told at first what they are running from. It is sufficient that they both need desperately to leave the past behind them.
They have no idea where they are going—but it wouldn't have mattered if they did. They are caught up in divine machinations and re-directed, whether they like it or not. No one says 'No' to a god. You could call them pawns, or you could call them heroes, but either way their lives are no longer their own, if they ever were. Their fate was decreed before they ever reached this particular cross-roads.
The past is inescapable. As the story progresses, we learn more of what drove Lamont and Emma to this point, and how their failures and weaknesses are the source of the strength they must summon to face a supernatural challenge. And the supernatural challenge is an exciting one. When gods clash, they do it in grandiose style.
Mr. Strnad paints in broad strokes and primary colors. Perhaps one of the reasons he selected the Old West as his venue was the moral clarity we used to see in movies where the villains wore black hats and the sheriff wore white. Here, he presents characters who must commit to good or evil within a world where those choices are clear but costly. It is a choice that we have all confronted.
September 7, 2014
I kinda wanna giggle, because what I’m about to say may seem weird, but it works. So think Wild Wild West meets Hercules. LOL Yeah, it’s kinda western, with Greek myths wrapped in. It actually was really cool and a very unique concept. And that came to being fun and interesting for me.
So, Lamont and Emma are out main people. Lamont is in trouble with the law, and Emma doesn’t wanna be a prostitute anymore. Somehow, these two have come together, and then are thrown into chaos by the Gods to keep everyone else alive. And with those Gods, it’s a little reversal that has some very intriguing twists that I really wasn’t expecting. These are both people with trouble pasts and present, and they have some troubles but it became a story that you just wanted to cheer them on and make things work out for them, just this once. It’s not what I expected, for them to be saviors, but this unlikely pair had me on my seat’s edge rooting for them!
The world building is pretty great, and the character are very well written. You don’t learn what Emma and Lamont’s troubles are right away, so you learn to love them and fear with them, before you even know the whole story. And the way the Gods can mix with humans in a western town is just crazy, but cool. There are some happy times, and some damn scary times. Things get really nasty when a God tells you to do something, even if it means life or death, not just for you, but the world. It’s such a unique, and really interesting storyline. It’s definitely not something close to anything I’ve read before, and that gets an A+ in my book for thinking out of the box. I enjoyed this one. Alot. And I’m also trying really hard not to spoil too many things for you before you read the book yourself. :) 4.5 SHOCKING, INSPIRING, FANTASTIC PAWS!!
So, Lamont and Emma are out main people. Lamont is in trouble with the law, and Emma doesn’t wanna be a prostitute anymore. Somehow, these two have come together, and then are thrown into chaos by the Gods to keep everyone else alive. And with those Gods, it’s a little reversal that has some very intriguing twists that I really wasn’t expecting. These are both people with trouble pasts and present, and they have some troubles but it became a story that you just wanted to cheer them on and make things work out for them, just this once. It’s not what I expected, for them to be saviors, but this unlikely pair had me on my seat’s edge rooting for them!
The world building is pretty great, and the character are very well written. You don’t learn what Emma and Lamont’s troubles are right away, so you learn to love them and fear with them, before you even know the whole story. And the way the Gods can mix with humans in a western town is just crazy, but cool. There are some happy times, and some damn scary times. Things get really nasty when a God tells you to do something, even if it means life or death, not just for you, but the world. It’s such a unique, and really interesting storyline. It’s definitely not something close to anything I’ve read before, and that gets an A+ in my book for thinking out of the box. I enjoyed this one. Alot. And I’m also trying really hard not to spoil too many things for you before you read the book yourself. :) 4.5 SHOCKING, INSPIRING, FANTASTIC PAWS!!
July 26, 2016
Pantheon is a decidedly different book, one that mixes Greek mythology with a western. It may seem like an odd combination, but like peanut butter and bananas or blueberries and beef (try it, trust me) they actually go together quite well.
The setting of the story is that of a western. The two main protagonists are Lamont and Emma, two throw-away people on the run. Lamont got involved with a crime and is a fugitive, and Emma is fleeing a life of prostitution. Somehow, these two people on the bottom of the social ladder have been selected by the King of the Gods to take action to keep hope alive among humanity. Assisting the unlikely pair are Apollo and Hades, but opposing them is mighty Zeus.
The book is well-written with very nice characterization. Each major and even minor player has his or her own voice and personality. These are not cookie cutter characters. While the gods were somewhat distant, as befitting their very existence, it was easy to empathize with Lamont and Emma.
The book flowed well. There were no dead spots. The action scenes were well-written and kept the storyline moving along.
Proofreading was generally satisfactory. Editing was good, although there was at least one minor inconsistency that should have been caught. Overall, though, proofing and editing were mostly invisible, exactly as they should be. They did not interfere with the story.
This was a clever, entertaining book. I enjoy covering new ground when I read, and this book fit the bill. I think the author has a good future in writing in front of him, and I look forward to reading more of his work.
The setting of the story is that of a western. The two main protagonists are Lamont and Emma, two throw-away people on the run. Lamont got involved with a crime and is a fugitive, and Emma is fleeing a life of prostitution. Somehow, these two people on the bottom of the social ladder have been selected by the King of the Gods to take action to keep hope alive among humanity. Assisting the unlikely pair are Apollo and Hades, but opposing them is mighty Zeus.
The book is well-written with very nice characterization. Each major and even minor player has his or her own voice and personality. These are not cookie cutter characters. While the gods were somewhat distant, as befitting their very existence, it was easy to empathize with Lamont and Emma.
The book flowed well. There were no dead spots. The action scenes were well-written and kept the storyline moving along.
Proofreading was generally satisfactory. Editing was good, although there was at least one minor inconsistency that should have been caught. Overall, though, proofing and editing were mostly invisible, exactly as they should be. They did not interfere with the story.
This was a clever, entertaining book. I enjoy covering new ground when I read, and this book fit the bill. I think the author has a good future in writing in front of him, and I look forward to reading more of his work.
May 7, 2014
In the first pages of his debut novel, Josh Strnad takes the reader to the windswept world of the wild west - but this isn't the west you would expect. Instead, here in the dusty town of Pantheon, mortals mingle with the gods. Although this crossover combination may seem strange, Strnad has created a vivid and cohesive universe in the pages of Pantheon.
Far from being a standard adventure/fantasy story, Pantheon explores sweeping themes of hope and redemption in the midst of broken people and a broken world. Fans of C.S. Lewis are sure to see his influence on Strnad's storytelling style.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable story that quickly drew me in - I truly cared about the characters and felt encouraged by the way that they overcame their individual struggles. I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a new type of adventure.
Far from being a standard adventure/fantasy story, Pantheon explores sweeping themes of hope and redemption in the midst of broken people and a broken world. Fans of C.S. Lewis are sure to see his influence on Strnad's storytelling style.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable story that quickly drew me in - I truly cared about the characters and felt encouraged by the way that they overcame their individual struggles. I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a new type of adventure.
March 8, 2012
A fast-paced adventure through the dusty landscape of the wild west, Pantheon skillfully weaves elements of classical Greek mythology into the rough-and-tumble world of cowboys and saloons.
Fans of crossover-genera westerns (like the TV series Firefly), and imaginative insprational fantasy (such as C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia) are sure to enjoy this book.
Fans of crossover-genera westerns (like the TV series Firefly), and imaginative insprational fantasy (such as C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia) are sure to enjoy this book.
June 21, 2014
I was curious how the author would be able to combine the wild west with Greek gods, it's definitely an unusual mix, and I thought Josh Strnad did a great job in blending the two ideas seamlessly together. It's a testament to Strnad that it didn't feel odd seeing Hades - god of the underworld - as a gunslinger.
Characterisation was done well; both main characters developed over the course of the book, particularly Lamont who started of whiny and self-preserving but steadily grew into his role as protector.
The writing did feel stilted at the beginning with the dialogue feeling a little contrived, but as the book progressed, the sentences got sharper and the dialogue more polished.
One major problem I had with the book was that I wasn't enraptured by the storyline. It was an OK plot, but just didn't fuel my excitement. Which was a great shame really as I liked the concept of the book and I applaud Josh Strnad for being bold by doing something different in a genre where everyone seems to be churning out the same material.
While this book may not be in my 'top ten books I've read this year' it certainly wouldn't be it in the worst pile. If you're looking for something quirky, something which has the temerity to blend Greek gods and cowboys then I definitely recommend this book.
Note: I received this book for a free, impartial review.
Characterisation was done well; both main characters developed over the course of the book, particularly Lamont who started of whiny and self-preserving but steadily grew into his role as protector.
The writing did feel stilted at the beginning with the dialogue feeling a little contrived, but as the book progressed, the sentences got sharper and the dialogue more polished.
One major problem I had with the book was that I wasn't enraptured by the storyline. It was an OK plot, but just didn't fuel my excitement. Which was a great shame really as I liked the concept of the book and I applaud Josh Strnad for being bold by doing something different in a genre where everyone seems to be churning out the same material.
While this book may not be in my 'top ten books I've read this year' it certainly wouldn't be it in the worst pile. If you're looking for something quirky, something which has the temerity to blend Greek gods and cowboys then I definitely recommend this book.
Note: I received this book for a free, impartial review.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews