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Pantheon
Lars grew up in the desert with only his mother for company. She didn't teach him many social skills, but he's handy with a sword.
When she passes, she leaves Lars instructions to cross the sea to Mundir. Apparently he has a whole family there, and he might even be the heir to their fortune.
Mundir isn't like the desert, though. Its gods are real, and they grant magical powers to their followers. When Lars kills someone in self-defense, he discovers he has unwittingly offered a prayer to the Mundiri god of death, Nex. Now she's sent her minions to claim his soul, and he's very sure he doesn't want to part with it.
With a couple of new friends and a man with a mysterious past who has access to bizarre technology, Lars will have to find his family and solve his mother's secrets to have any hope of saving himself.
When she passes, she leaves Lars instructions to cross the sea to Mundir. Apparently he has a whole family there, and he might even be the heir to their fortune.
Mundir isn't like the desert, though. Its gods are real, and they grant magical powers to their followers. When Lars kills someone in self-defense, he discovers he has unwittingly offered a prayer to the Mundiri god of death, Nex. Now she's sent her minions to claim his soul, and he's very sure he doesn't want to part with it.
With a couple of new friends and a man with a mysterious past who has access to bizarre technology, Lars will have to find his family and solve his mother's secrets to have any hope of saving himself.
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Published May 23, 2018
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About the author
Scott Beckman
7 books12 followersLet's face it; our world is boring. There's no magic. No dragons. No quick-witted rogues or evil witches. There's just people and politics and work and school.
Scott likes to imagine far more interesting worlds. Ones with gods who give their followers super powers or dragons build mountain cities; where adventure is always just over the hill and through the dale; and where young heroes explore and discover the fantastic nature of their worlds for themselves. These are worlds that only exist in imagination, but maybe they could be real, if only we could find them.
Scott lives in Denver, Colorado with his cat, Evie. He enjoys a daily cup of coffee, a weekly exercise regimen, a regular bottle of gin or whiskey, and the occasional trip to far-off places. His biggest influences are Tolkien, Palahniuk, Vonnegut, LeGuin, and McCarthy. He believes there's nothing more awkward in the world than having people look at you while they sing to you, though writing about yourself in the third-person comes close.
Scott likes to imagine far more interesting worlds. Ones with gods who give their followers super powers or dragons build mountain cities; where adventure is always just over the hill and through the dale; and where young heroes explore and discover the fantastic nature of their worlds for themselves. These are worlds that only exist in imagination, but maybe they could be real, if only we could find them.
Scott lives in Denver, Colorado with his cat, Evie. He enjoys a daily cup of coffee, a weekly exercise regimen, a regular bottle of gin or whiskey, and the occasional trip to far-off places. His biggest influences are Tolkien, Palahniuk, Vonnegut, LeGuin, and McCarthy. He believes there's nothing more awkward in the world than having people look at you while they sing to you, though writing about yourself in the third-person comes close.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 16, 2018
See this FULL review on my blog along with others at: shesgoingbookcrazy.com
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
I wasn't really sure what this book was actually about going into it. The synopsis provided was vague and short. It's not a long book, and after getting through it, I understood why such little information was provided. It'd be too revealing (and perhaps, confusing) otherwise.
I was surprised, however, at how much was packed into its pages. While I feel that I didn't get to know the characters as intimately as I had hoped, I appreciated that the necessities for understanding each of them was still given. The main character Lars didn't really have a positive or negative impact on me personally. His character was indifferent, and I remained indifferent to him throughout most of the plot, until finding out the truth about him in the end (which I didn't see coming.)
What I appreciated most about this book was how the characters interacted with the world, and mythology around them.
It's not very often that we see a "hero's" consequences for taking a life, especially in fantasy tales. There's normally bloodshed, with little-to-no afterthought about those actions, or the lives that were lost. The gods of Mundir hold everyone accountable for their actions. I thought it interesting how no one escapes their choices. Which god one serves is determined by each character's individual actions.
These gods are very relevant and influential in day-to-day life. Lars finds this out the hard way when he kills a man in Mundir. Doing so literally changed part of his physique, marking him as a "worshipper" of Nex, a god not highly-esteemed in comparison to the others.
I wished this story was more detailed and had more page time. I think there is a lot here that could be elaborated on in ways that wouldn't be overwhelming or overkill. I really enjoyed this story, but wanted more in context of the mythology, and more of the setting itself. What information is given on the world is well-written, detailed, and unique. I think this would be an enjoyable read for many fantasy-lovers, however, the length of the book may be a point of frustration as well. Either way, I'd still recommend it! If it were ever rewritten into a longer story, I would definitely be reading it again.
Vulgarity: Some.
Sexual content: Some, but nothing explicit.
Violence: Moderate.
My Rating: ★★★½
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
I wasn't really sure what this book was actually about going into it. The synopsis provided was vague and short. It's not a long book, and after getting through it, I understood why such little information was provided. It'd be too revealing (and perhaps, confusing) otherwise.
I was surprised, however, at how much was packed into its pages. While I feel that I didn't get to know the characters as intimately as I had hoped, I appreciated that the necessities for understanding each of them was still given. The main character Lars didn't really have a positive or negative impact on me personally. His character was indifferent, and I remained indifferent to him throughout most of the plot, until finding out the truth about him in the end (which I didn't see coming.)
What I appreciated most about this book was how the characters interacted with the world, and mythology around them.
It's not very often that we see a "hero's" consequences for taking a life, especially in fantasy tales. There's normally bloodshed, with little-to-no afterthought about those actions, or the lives that were lost. The gods of Mundir hold everyone accountable for their actions. I thought it interesting how no one escapes their choices. Which god one serves is determined by each character's individual actions.
"I do not serve any of your gods."
"In Mundir, you do," Rogan said. "They are gods, Lars! They don't care about your thoughts or beliefs. They make the laws. And in Mundir, every time you take a human life unjustly, you pray to Nex."
These gods are very relevant and influential in day-to-day life. Lars finds this out the hard way when he kills a man in Mundir. Doing so literally changed part of his physique, marking him as a "worshipper" of Nex, a god not highly-esteemed in comparison to the others.
I wished this story was more detailed and had more page time. I think there is a lot here that could be elaborated on in ways that wouldn't be overwhelming or overkill. I really enjoyed this story, but wanted more in context of the mythology, and more of the setting itself. What information is given on the world is well-written, detailed, and unique. I think this would be an enjoyable read for many fantasy-lovers, however, the length of the book may be a point of frustration as well. Either way, I'd still recommend it! If it were ever rewritten into a longer story, I would definitely be reading it again.
Vulgarity: Some.
Sexual content: Some, but nothing explicit.
Violence: Moderate.
My Rating: ★★★½
October 29, 2018
The story was very simple and quite clear and to the point. It was a bit confusing at first but the meat of the world was revealed in dramatic fashion. I really enjoyed Mr. Beckman's presentation and the unique world he created. I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure but I just wished it was a little more in depth. It seemed the story could've had more substance which prevented me from giving a five star. I met Scott Beckman at the Denver Comic Con 2018. I found him to be very friendly, approachable, and very passionate about his writing. I would definitely recommend his book as I will be reading more of his works.
Brian Espinoza
Brian Espinoza
September 4, 2017
I had high hopes for this story about a boy setting off to find his family after the death of his mother. He was raised in a desert on the outskirts of a nation with unique gods. As he reaches his first stop, he meets two people who become traveling companions and who begin to teach him about the gods and the society. But the story was lacking. It was confusing and the lack of depth to the characters was disappointing. They were good moments but overall it just wasn't fleshed out enough, especially at the beginning. Good enough idra, but just didn't hold up..
Full disclosure - I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Full disclosure - I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
June 7, 2018
I really appreciated the storyline and pacing of this book. It also had some nice twists that caught me by surprise! I enjoyed the concept of worshipping different gods to gain different advantages and how that plays out throughout the book. The opening is shrouded in mystery about the main character's identity and you get to see that unfold along side him. It's binge worthy - could easily read on a weekend. Would gladly read any sequels from this.
July 13, 2018
Fun read
June 8, 2018
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for a review. My opinions are honest and my own.
So this is the ARC I’ve had the longest. I got accepted for it while I was in South Africa, and I kept pushing it back in favour of ARCs that had to be read sooner. Well, I ran out of ARCs during exams, so I finally read this one.
For some reason, when I read the kind of vague synopsis on Netgalley I figured the author was using already existing gods in their book. I’m not sure why on earth I thought that, having just read the synopsis again, but it’s fine. To what slowly became my horror, the author made up their own Pantheon of gods. Why horror? Well, the gods aren’t particularly well explained, and their names all blended together into one for me. Also, there is an epilogue featuring all the gods together, which has what I’m pretty sure are some gods that haven’t even previously been mentioned having a conversation that makes absolutely no sense, even after having read the rest of the book. The epilogue reads like the author is setting up for a sequel, but there isn’t a sequel listed on Goodreads at the time of writing this, and I’m not sure what the plot for it would even be. Everything feels pretty resolved at the end before the random epilogue.
There is never really any conflict. The “villain” is introduced as the villain closer to the end, and everything is resolved in a few chapters. Before that, this book is mainly Lars wandering his way through a land he’s never seen before. It is super exciting because nothing of consequence actually happens other than Lars adding some dude who happens to know everything Lars needs to know to his band of misfits comprised of the first 2 people Lars spoke to.
Every time someone suggests a course of action to Lars he immediately does as suggested 98% of the time. Because of it, he really doesn’t feel as if he could be a real person. Practically the only decision he makes is to go on this ridiculous and boring journey, and it wasn’t even his idea in the first place. It was his mother’s dying wish. There’s no substance to him.
That isn’t to say the other characters are any better. Lars’ mother is from this super rich family, and they immediately announce him as one of their own after he shows them a ring that could have easily been forged. There is only one family member out of a whole lot of family members that is even mildly sceptical of this. One family member! And I’m pretty sure said family member married into the family, so she isn’t even related to Lars.
Lars’ companions are also under-developed. Like I can tell you that the guy flirts a lot, and I can’t even really describe the girl. They aren’t even particularly useful companions, as they also don’t know where they are going and they explain the world to Lars after he does nearly irreversible damage.
On top of that, the romance comes completely out of left field. Just like with the rest of this book, it’s not well developed. The girl just suddenly wants to kiss Lars and will be incredibly hurt if he rejects her, despite them only having known each other for a very short period of time and there having been no indication whatsoever before this that they were at all interested in each other.
The writing also feels really choppy. There just isn’t any flow to it. I can’t tell you if it was a showing vs. telling issue, because I don’t remember enough about it to really comment on it. All I can say is that the writing could definitely use some improvement.
Overall, Pantheon is poorly written and under-developed, earning it 1 star out of 5.
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
So this is the ARC I’ve had the longest. I got accepted for it while I was in South Africa, and I kept pushing it back in favour of ARCs that had to be read sooner. Well, I ran out of ARCs during exams, so I finally read this one.
For some reason, when I read the kind of vague synopsis on Netgalley I figured the author was using already existing gods in their book. I’m not sure why on earth I thought that, having just read the synopsis again, but it’s fine. To what slowly became my horror, the author made up their own Pantheon of gods. Why horror? Well, the gods aren’t particularly well explained, and their names all blended together into one for me. Also, there is an epilogue featuring all the gods together, which has what I’m pretty sure are some gods that haven’t even previously been mentioned having a conversation that makes absolutely no sense, even after having read the rest of the book. The epilogue reads like the author is setting up for a sequel, but there isn’t a sequel listed on Goodreads at the time of writing this, and I’m not sure what the plot for it would even be. Everything feels pretty resolved at the end before the random epilogue.
There is never really any conflict. The “villain” is introduced as the villain closer to the end, and everything is resolved in a few chapters. Before that, this book is mainly Lars wandering his way through a land he’s never seen before. It is super exciting because nothing of consequence actually happens other than Lars adding some dude who happens to know everything Lars needs to know to his band of misfits comprised of the first 2 people Lars spoke to.
Every time someone suggests a course of action to Lars he immediately does as suggested 98% of the time. Because of it, he really doesn’t feel as if he could be a real person. Practically the only decision he makes is to go on this ridiculous and boring journey, and it wasn’t even his idea in the first place. It was his mother’s dying wish. There’s no substance to him.
That isn’t to say the other characters are any better. Lars’ mother is from this super rich family, and they immediately announce him as one of their own after he shows them a ring that could have easily been forged. There is only one family member out of a whole lot of family members that is even mildly sceptical of this. One family member! And I’m pretty sure said family member married into the family, so she isn’t even related to Lars.
Lars’ companions are also under-developed. Like I can tell you that the guy flirts a lot, and I can’t even really describe the girl. They aren’t even particularly useful companions, as they also don’t know where they are going and they explain the world to Lars after he does nearly irreversible damage.
On top of that, the romance comes completely out of left field. Just like with the rest of this book, it’s not well developed. The girl just suddenly wants to kiss Lars and will be incredibly hurt if he rejects her, despite them only having known each other for a very short period of time and there having been no indication whatsoever before this that they were at all interested in each other.
The writing also feels really choppy. There just isn’t any flow to it. I can’t tell you if it was a showing vs. telling issue, because I don’t remember enough about it to really comment on it. All I can say is that the writing could definitely use some improvement.
Overall, Pantheon is poorly written and under-developed, earning it 1 star out of 5.
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
September 22, 2017
This was rather surprisingly enjoyable. It was a simple enough tale, and short. I found myself rather immersed in the story.
Although, I do not really like Lars that much at all. He is rather okay, readable and definitely have something that goes for him which makes me like him to a certain degree but again, he doesn’t really have much other than that reliability. And it has been a long time since I have truly invested myself in a character, but given it all, he’s not all too bad.
A very important thing to note is that the world is quite well builg and for once I don’t feel as though I’m just thrown into it with absolutely no idea what is going on. That happened to me so many times that it wasn’t funny, just annoying. Here, I think the author skillfully handled throwing me into its world. Careful, subtle and enough to keep me reading.
Also, the world is rather fascinating. They have their own unique culture, and a lot of time was invested in it to make all of it.
Overall, can’t say that I hated it. Although it does suffer a bit from having forgettable characters, but it is a rather nice tale with one that is about discovery for Lars as much as it is for Lars. My Verdict: Recommended.
Although, I do not really like Lars that much at all. He is rather okay, readable and definitely have something that goes for him which makes me like him to a certain degree but again, he doesn’t really have much other than that reliability. And it has been a long time since I have truly invested myself in a character, but given it all, he’s not all too bad.
A very important thing to note is that the world is quite well builg and for once I don’t feel as though I’m just thrown into it with absolutely no idea what is going on. That happened to me so many times that it wasn’t funny, just annoying. Here, I think the author skillfully handled throwing me into its world. Careful, subtle and enough to keep me reading.
Also, the world is rather fascinating. They have their own unique culture, and a lot of time was invested in it to make all of it.
Overall, can’t say that I hated it. Although it does suffer a bit from having forgettable characters, but it is a rather nice tale with one that is about discovery for Lars as much as it is for Lars. My Verdict: Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews