Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Solaris
Published: 2016
Reviewer Rating: 
Book Review by SJ Higbee
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The first thing to say is — like all the other books in this entertaining godpunk series — Age of Heroes is entirely standalone. The only thing linking these books is they feature gods or, in this case, demigods. So there is nothing to prevent you plucking this one off the shelves and diving straight in.
CHILDREN OF THE GODS!
Born of the Gods, created to be their champions, their names echo in eternity: Theseus, Perseus, Hippolyta, Heracles, Helen of Troy and all their half-mortal ilk. But the Age of Heroes is long past, and no more epics are told of their deeds. Blessed — and cursed — with eternal life, they have walked the Earth for millennia, doing their best to fit in among ordinary humans, taking new names and living new lives. And one by one, the demigods are meeting terrible, bloody ends.
Now it’s up to Theseus, comfortably ensconced in New York and making his living as a crime fiction writer, to investigate the deaths. His search for the culprit draws him back into the lives of his dysfunctional extended family, and into a world of tragedy and long-held grudges that he thought, and hoped, he’d put behind him.
The blurb gives a flavor of this mystery whodunit with a divine spin on it. These ancient demigods and goddesses have, more or less, managed to fit in with modern society and scattered across the globe. I haven’t read every book in the series, but Age of Aztecis one of my most memorable and enjoyable reads and Lovegrove is a favorite author anyhow. So this was a must-have book and I was delighted when Netgalley approved my request. Did it fulfill my expectations? Oh yes.
Lovegrove has a knack of writing enjoyable protagonists I care about, even when they shouldn’t be all that likable. One of the main characters is a hired killer, but I found myself rooting for him. In contrast, the antagonists are suitably nasty and formidable, particularly the vile Holger Badenhorst, who I loathed as a racist, sexist pig.
As for the demigods, once more I am impressed how Lovegrove manages to depict ancient beings who aren’t quite human, yet keep them sympathetic — it’s harder to pull off than he makes it look. Plenty of humor in the exchanges between the characters leavens the inevitable violence, while the action drives forward at a brisk clip, making this one hard to put down.
As for the denouement — I didn’t guess who the perpetrators were until the reveal and enjoyed the full-on action and the subsequent poignancy of the demigods’ existence revealed as the dust settled.
While this adventure hasn’t achieved the heights of Age of Aztec — not many books do — it is an accomplished, satisfying read that made me chuckle in places and had me reading late into the night to discover what happens next. And I surfaced from the adventure wishing I could do it all over again… a familiar feeling when reading a book written by Lovegrove.
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