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rogoreads's review against another edition
4.0
A fun read with a great setting. I liked mythology as a child, but obviously not as much as the author! He took that knowledge and put it to good use, imagining a world where gods and demigods still roam the earth and leave behind godborn children who have a variety of powers. However, our main character, Sophia, is a hot-headed cop in Egypt who starts out as a mere mortal.
I wasn't too attached to the main character at first, and the fast paced action made it hard for me to take a breath (I was a little frustrated at how often plans were derailed by someone we just met getting killed by a sniper) but by the end I was on board. Sophia's relationship with her family members was a strong and rewarding throughline. My favorite characters were Caelistra, Sophia's jaded Fury partner/mentor, and Ixtele, a globetrotting academic who studies magical tech. The villain was also really compelling too.
I don't normally read detective stories, so that took a little getting used to (and rooting for a police officer feels weird in the political climate I'm in right now), but the mythology angle was enough to keep it interesting. It sometimes reminded me of [b:Trail of Lightning|36373298|Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World, #1)|Rebecca Roanhorse|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1515788168l/36373298._SY75_.jpg|52833355], which is another good urban fantasy book. The appendix at the end, of one of Ixtele's lectures, clinched it for me. Overall, I had fun and learned/relearned some mythology to boot.
I wasn't too attached to the main character at first, and the fast paced action made it hard for me to take a breath (I was a little frustrated at how often plans were derailed by someone we just met getting killed by a sniper) but by the end I was on board. Sophia's relationship with her family members was a strong and rewarding throughline. My favorite characters were Caelistra, Sophia's jaded Fury partner/mentor, and Ixtele, a globetrotting academic who studies magical tech. The villain was also really compelling too.
Spoiler
In fact, for a little while I was kind of rooting for the villain, and I was somewhat disappointed when she turned out to be a super-powerful fighter whose original noble intentions got kind of forgotten. I was a little confused about the original explosion incident and why the bomb was so important, plus why it would be so bad for Setesh to die--didn't Sophia want to root out the corruption he brought?--but by the big climax I understood better.I don't normally read detective stories, so that took a little getting used to (and rooting for a police officer feels weird in the political climate I'm in right now), but the mythology angle was enough to keep it interesting. It sometimes reminded me of [b:Trail of Lightning|36373298|Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World, #1)|Rebecca Roanhorse|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1515788168l/36373298._SY75_.jpg|52833355], which is another good urban fantasy book. The appendix at the end, of one of Ixtele's lectures, clinched it for me. Overall, I had fun and learned/relearned some mythology to boot.
ktp92's review against another edition
4.0
This isn't the sort of thing I'd usually read, but it was bonkers and fun! I wasn't particularly drawn in by the first few pages but when the main character died at the end of the first chapter and woke up in the reception facing a choice of afterlife, i knew it was worth sticking with the book!
The book is very action and dialogue driven, and the descriptions of various settings were brief but functional. I enjoyed being swept up in the action and not having to wade through lots of lengthy descriptions.
The reason I've not given 5 stars is that I didn't find the motivations of the MC's brother or the villain to be very credible.
The book is very action and dialogue driven, and the descriptions of various settings were brief but functional. I enjoyed being swept up in the action and not having to wade through lots of lengthy descriptions.
The reason I've not given 5 stars is that I didn't find the motivations of the MC's brother or the villain to be very credible.
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