Review by Booklist Review
It is modern-day Manhattan, and the immortal Greek gods and goddesses can feel their omnipotence dwindling. Meet Artemis, otherwise known as Selene to mere mortals, a Greek goddess known for her skills in archery and the hunt as well as her fierce protection of women. When she discovers a college professor savagely mutilated and murdered in what appears to be a ritualistic killing, the huntress emerges once again to track down the killer. Step one? Team up with the victim's former lover, Theo, an incredibly witty Greek- and-Roman-mythology professor who quickly concludes that the ritualistic sacrifice is in line with the Eleusinian Mysteries cult. As more victims are discovered, Selene believes a fellow god or goddess seeks to regain full omnipotence and immortality and it is up to her uncover the culprit and ultimately take the cult down before more bloodshed ensues. Brodsky's thriller feeds on the long-held love of Greek mythology in a reimagined, present-day world where gods and goddesses still walk among us.--Fann, Kelly Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Brodsky's impressive debut, the first installment of the Olympus Bound series, the Greek gods walk the streets of New York City, much faded since their glory days of millennia past. Artemis, now calling herself Selene DiSilva, is a vigilante investigating crimes against women; when she stumbles across the body of a Columbia professor who's been ritually slaughtered, she's drawn to dig deeper. Her inadvertent assistant in the matter is Theo Schultz, the victim's ex-lover, whose expertise as a classics scholar enables him to deduce that someone is attempting to resurrect and revitalize the Eleusinian Mysteries cult of ancient Greece, only with a new, murderous edge. Selene has cause to fear that the person behind the cult is someone she knows: a fellow god looking to regain immortality. Brodsky injects a melancholy air into this thoughtful thriller, taking her inspiration from the bloody, often contradictory, and frequently tragic Greek myths. She makes a wholly believable case for legendary figures to change and grow over time while retaining the echoes of their former lives. She also plays with more modern mythology, employing New York's own secret places and storied history to great effect. This intelligent, provocative fantasy breathes exciting new life into old, familiar tales. Agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM Partners. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Once the Greek goddess of the hunt, -Artemis now walks New York's streets as Selene DiSilva. Her powers may be a shadow of what they were when she was worshipped by so many, but they are still enough to help her in her vigilante efforts to protect women. One night, Selene stumbles upon a crime scene that smacks of ritual murder-specifically Greek ritual. She investigates, with the initially unwanted help of classics professor Theo Schulz, the victim's former lover. The more they uncover, the more the former deity realizes that someone is trying to revive the cult of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Selene's probing brings her back in contact with some of her fellow gods and goddesses, and it's fascinating to see how well (or poorly) they have adapted to 21st-century living. VERDICT Debut novelist Brodsky has obviously researched her Greek mythology thoroughly, yet her prose shows no signs of a writer trying to prove how much she knows. This series launch is a wonderful choice for fans of Greek myths and urban fantasy readers looking for something different.-MM © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A debut novel that imagines a modern world where ancient Greek deities still find themselves entangled in human affairs. Selene DiSilva's calling is avenging the wrongs perpetrated on women by men. She's been doing it for thousands of yearsever since she lived in ancient Greece and was known by the name of Artemis. When a Columbia professor is found murdered in what appears to be a revival of ancient cult practices, Selene realizes she has a new challenge on her hands. And though she usually works alone, the murdered woman's colleague (and ex-lover) professor Theodore Schultz becomes her unlikely sidekick: Selene must draw on his knowledge of the ancient world to help solve the mystery of the ritual murder before the ceremony's 10-day window of time closes. This isn't the only race against time Selene faces. As the Greek gods fade from cultural memory, and the realms they stand for (hunting, the hearth) become obsolete, she must try to catch the killer before her powersand her lifefade away. Brodsky is clearly having fun writing this novel; one can feel her relish on the page in imagining what Greek gods like Hades, the God of the Underworld, or Hermes, the messenger god, might be doing in the 21st century. Consequently, the novel's greatest strength is its detailed and engaging use of both widely known and more obscure elements of ancient Greek life and myth. However, lovers of ancient myth know that, despite the way mythological figures are often oversimplified to represent a few attributesphilandering, mighty Zeus, for examplethese characters are usually more complicated than they seem on the surface. While Brodsky has fun with the cartoonish aspects of the gods' personalities, these broad strokes unfortunately extend to the novel's human characters, too, which create portraits that border on stereotype. A fun, if flawed, treatment of myth and mystery. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
