Ah, Mythology. A nice topic that could be taken in multiple directions. Lucky for me, I didn't have to think all that hard about choosing to review this particular book, The Age of Zeus. It's right there in the title, 'cause everyone knows that Zeus = Mythology! Okay, "Mythology" might be a little broader than that, but whatever. We don't need to get that deep.

The Age of Zeus, by James Lovegrove is not a deep book. It's a military-esque sci-fi book that has a simple set-up. What if the Greek gods suddenly appeared in modern day and took over? That is what happened in the world of Sam Akehurst, a detective in London who has particular reason to hate the gods and their new world order.

Turns out the gods arrived several years previous and stated that they had remained in the background long enough and that humanity couldn't be trusted to govern themselves without destroying everything. People were not too happy with that, and thus there were various rebellions against the gods, during (and after) which there was much in the way of collateral damage amongst the innocents.

Enter the beginning of the story where Sam and a dozen others with similar reason to hate the gods are recruited by a wealthy arms dealer who thinks he has the equipment necessary (powered armor!) to finally take out the gods. Given the nickname of Titans, thus begins the latest rebellion via guerrilla warfare for Sam and her squad.

As said, this isn't a deep book, by any means. There are cursory discussions of whether or not having the gods in charge is actually a good thing or not for the world, as well as a few twists and turns (that aren't really all that shocking or surprising) about when/where the gods came from (and if they really are gods or not), but overall, it's more of just a fun, exciting read. We get the formation of the team, their initial training, their initial missions (taking out the gods’ pets, otherwise known as the monsters from Greek mythology -- Hydra, Cyclops, and the like), before they begin to take on the heavy-hitters themselves.

The writing is good and the action is fast-paced. Because it doesn't delve too deeply into things, there are a few unanswered questions that I had (why could Hermes teleport around, but no other god could?!) but whatever. The book didn't disappoint at all.

As it turns out, this book is actuality the second of a "series", though each book is stand-alone. Each takes some mythology and forms a story around the idea of "what if they were around in modern day?" The first is The Age of Ra, then The Age of Zeus, followed by The Age of Odin. You lucky readers get to read my review of the middle book, 'cause that's just the way I roll.

So if you like military-esque action stories and/or are looking for an interesting take on Greek mythology, give this a try. Though I should warn you that it is entirely possible that the entire book was written just so the author would have an excuse to include porn-versions of Greek myths (there is a plot reason for it -- really!), such as (don't hate me) Oedipussy or Perve-seus and his Winged Stallion Poke-Ass-Horse. It's always good to have a theme.
 
   -- K. Burtt