SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Okay so in the last year or so I've really been getting back into fantasy books. I've found that the theme of gods being real, specifically almost every god out there, has been a fun one. Several of the books that have really hit this theme for me have been American Gods, the Mercy Thompson series (starting with Moon Called), and now the Iron Druid series (starting with Hounded). My question is...

Anyone know of any more books along this theme of gods being real?

I've always been into mythology and so when stories are set in a world were more than just one culture's gods are real, that's fun for me.

Heh. This is a popular theme. If you like graphic novels and comic books you might pick up TOP TEN, which has many fun appearances by dieties. A classic SF novel would be LORD OF LIGHT, by Roger Zelazny, which revolves around the Hindu pantheon. There's a 12 vol. YA series (Riordan? I think that's the author) about teens who are secretly Greek Gods -- the first book is THE LIGHTNING THIEF, as I recall, and it was made into a movie. Judith Tarr has written extensively about ancient gods of one type or another in fantasy novels.

LORD OF LIGHT is great, but is really science fiction SPOILER ALERT the 'gods' aren't 'really' gods SPOILER ALERT.
Zelazny also wrote CREATURES OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS which is a gonzo sf adventure set in the far future and loosely based on the ancient Egyptian pantheon.

William Buck did a translation of the Hindu epic the Ramayana and managed to work it into a reasonably cohesive novelistic narrative - for a book that's not actually a fantasy novel I found it worked remarkably well in that regard for me.

Gregory Frost turned the Irish folk epic Tain Bo Culaigne into THE TAIN, a fine sword & sorcery novel that also works as a damn good introduction to Irish mythology.

I'll second TOP TEN - so much fun on so many levels.

Okay. This book has a love or hate it reputation but I'll recommend it to you anyway. Like you I love gods and mythology and I loved it. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

I can't think of any others along the lines of what you're asking for. Although I know I probably should be able to.

Oh, and of course you could read BRIDGE OF BIRDS by Barry Hughart. Chinese mythology.

Other UF where gods are real:

The Stormwalker series by Allyson James:
Stormwalker Firewalker
Shadow Walker

The Trickster series by Rob Thurman:
Trick of the Light The Grimrose Path

PNR with gods:

The: Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Lords of the Underworld by Gena Showalter

AMEERICAN GODS by Neil Gaiman is one of the best =P

Sandman GN, also by Gaiman, fits.

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett is a good read about gods and religion, though it's Discworld's gods.

The Nightside series, by Simon Green, has a Street of Gods, but I'm not sure it's quite what you're looking for.

The Nicholas Flamel, Alchemyst series has various gods, but I didn't really like how they were handled (and didn't like it much in general, really).

That's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure I've read more. I'll think on it.

Case of the Toxic Spell Dump is a fun one along these lines. You'd better have a high pun tolerance though.

Incidentally, Jaime - if you want to hide a spoiler in your GR posts, you can type [spoiler]spoiler goes here[/spoiler] - except replace [ with < and ] with >. Result:

(view spoiler)[spoiler goes here (hide spoiler)]

That way no one can accidentally read a spoiler in your posts.

You can try a series i am currently reading Wolfblade. It is a very good epic fantasy story, the gods are very present and real here.

Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaughn

Various gods have turned up in the Dresden Files universe as well.

The bible or Quran.High fantasy here you come.

Thanks so much folks! The response here was great! I only had one of those on my TBR (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms) so I've got a lot to read for a while :).

@Colleen and Brenda: I've moved away from graphic novels in recent years but I might try those out. I'm wary of Sandman because it looks really dark though I've liked the Gaiman I've read so far (I've also got Anansi Boys on my TBR which is set in the American Gods universe).

@Peggy: I've loved Dresden files and devoured them all very quickly. So, I should've added them to the original post ;)

@Brandon31577: That is the first time I've heard someone call the Bible high fantasy. An interesting perspective indeed...

SANDMAN varies greatly; some of them are very dark indeed, so dark that I am careful not to read that one before bedtime. A good free-standing story to begin on is DREAM OF A THOUSAND CATS, which is collected in the Sandman collection CALLIOPE. (I hope that is right; all my books are packed pending a home renovation.)

The Children of Húrin and The Broken Sword both use Scandinavian mythology. And are two of my favorite books.

The Immortal Prince follows its own mythology but the main character is a god-like immortal with a "family" full of other immortals. Good series.

If you like the whole idea of gods playing with man, think Clash of the Titans, you could try the Malazan books starting with Gardens of the Moon.

@Traci: I really enjoyed The Children of Hurin and the rest of the early Tolkien works. I'll have to look into The Broken Sword and The Immortal Prince. I have started the Malazan series and I am enjoying the "all the gods are real" spin in those as well. Thanks!

I was trying to remember the name of this trope and failing until today — All Myths Are True has a list of other books that qualify for this.

There's also JERICHO MOON by Matthew Woodring Stover wherein Barra the Pict and her swords for hire find themselves in Palestine facing down Joshua and his army, who've got themselves the ultimate backup: YHWH (who's painted as an implacable, vengeful and almost Sauron-esque figure)! I haven't read it yet, but I'm a sucker for poker-faced snark in the vein of Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser. Plus an entertainingly blasphemous premise like that? I am so in!

I've long been of the opinion that deities as real as the number of people that believe in them or use them as archetypal spiritual tropes or aspects of humanity. The neo-Pagan renaissance have revitalized many of the old deities. I have had this opinion long before I read American Gods

I have recently been reading some new mythic fiction that brings to life the old gods and goddesses. Of particular note is the excellent Tapestry of Bronze series by Victoria Grossack and Alice Underwood. It is about Pelops and Niobe and their families from the Houses of Tantalus and Atreus during the Mythic Greek period. Their gods were real to them. This series is superbly researched and written and is an exciting read. I think it compares to Mary Renault in quality. The series should be much better known. Highly recommended.

Another recent read was The Song of Achilles which is a retelling of The Iliad from Patroclus' POV up to the death of Achilles. It opens up The Iliad for modern readers and hopefully encourages more to read the original Homer.

A good SciFi series is Dan Simmon's Troy series Ilium and Olympos. The gods are indeed real and dangerous.

Oooo, you invoked Mary Renault. LOVE her. Now I have to read the series you recommended. Thanks!

I was not all that impressed with SONG OF ACHILLES, but Mary Renault is indeed solid gold.