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kayladaila's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Islamophobia, Grief, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
cheybrary's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a BLAST!!! It’s not afraid to shy away from darker themes - Islamophobia, death (accidental and on-page murder), grief, and sickness. There’s a TON of grotesque bug-related imagery that squicked me out, but that was the point, so I can’t be too mad lol.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Islamophobia, Grief, and Body horror
nicolewhopickedthisbook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
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https://youtu.be/X56hpdYkI_Q
https://youtu.be/X56hpdYkI_Q
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Death
Moderate: Islamophobia
Pandemicnytephoenyx's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
City of the Plague God is the first Rick Reordan Presents book I have read, and what a way to start! This new mythologically-inspired series by Sarwat Chadda revolves around Mesopotamian mythology and centers on a first generation Iraqi-American named Sik. The book has an excellent balance of Riordan-style humor and heroic recklessness placed alongside the microaggressions, overt racism, and islamophobia that a young man of Sik’s ethnicity would have to endure. I enjoyed the story, loved learning the new mythology, and found myself enraged on Sik’s behalf. Chadda’s world building and story building balance is incredible.
Most readers would come into City of the Plague God looking for a mythologically-driven story about a teen saving the day like heroes of yore. You absolutely get that story here, including the classic multi-part quest and multi-level bosses. Very few people are familiar with Mesopotamian mythology because it doesn’t permeate pop culture, at least not in the United States. I’ve read the epic of Gilgamesh, but it’s been over a decade, and I remember very little of the story – now I want to reread it. I adore mythology, so many of the books by either Rick Riordan or his Rick Riordan Presents label come adorned with deities I am familiar with and stories I’m ready to commentate. It was nice to be able to sit back for a change and learn about Ishtar and the other ancient gods of the Middle East. I loved the conversations between Sik and Ishtar about immortality and the nature of being a god. Definitely not the type of thing I would’ve thought about when I was the target age for these books, but as an adult, I appreciated the philosophical conversation.
Chadda does an excellent job of mimicking the Percy Jackson style. It’s a tribute to Riordan. The familiarity of the storytelling style makes it cozy and comfortable, but the new characters and situations give it a fresh face. City of the Plague God presents a modern day plague that breaks out in New York City, and although the book was finished and ready for publication before COVID-19 hit, it is somehow a stronger and more relatable story because of the enduring pandemic. In the foreword there is discussion about the decision to release the book despite coronavirus. Ultimately, they decided to publish despite the timing because everyone involved felt that the book had value despite (and maybe because of) the current situation. I absolutely agree. Although City of the Plague God is more than just details of the plague, the situation reminds us of the importance of perseverance and compassion. Because it is more relevant than the author could have imagined, it is more meaningful as well.
I absolutely recommend City of the Plague God to anybody interested in mythology or who were fans of any of Rick Riordan’s books or those of his label. Sik and Belet are excellent characters, Ishtar and Daoud are an absolute delight, and even our villain has some dialogue that hits home. It was entertaining, but it was also endearing and thought-provoking. The representation was fantastic on all levels and I appreciated that it was never a big deal, that these identities were not the center of the story but part of the characters in it. I’ve already got the next book on my TBR and I can’t wait to read it when it is published next year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Body horror, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Violence
emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was a really interesting and adventurous MG fantasy that showcased Mesopotamian mythology really well. It was also great at confronting serious issues such as the blame put on oppressed communities in times of crisis, and the experience of grief. Belet was definitely my favourite character as I loved how determined and sharp she was. My biggest criticism is that the pacing was a little slow considering this is 350 pages and a MG read.
As a side note, I listened to the audiobook and the narrator Vikas Adam did an absolutely phenomenal job.
As a side note, I listened to the audiobook and the narrator Vikas Adam did an absolutely phenomenal job.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Animal death, Islamophobia, Violence, Racism, Medical content, Gore, Blood, Murder, Child death, and Ableism
Minor: Vomit, Mental illness, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Excrement, Physical abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Car accident, Suicide, and Animal death
Pandemic, COVID-19 references, death of a loved one (brother), financial stress, sick parent, insects, refugees/seeking asylum, illness, adoption, HP referencequeer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 🌟 CW: violence, descriptions of blood and corpses, grotesque descriptions of organ and other gross things, disease and quarantine mentions, lockdown mentions, Islamophobia, grief, death of a loved one
City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda is a middle grade novel that was gifted to me. This was such a fun read! This was published by Rick Riordan Presents, and is based on ancient Mesopotamian mythology, and it has a Muslim hero!
We follow 13 year old Sik (Sikander Assiz), a Muslim boy working in his parent's deli, wishing he were somewhere else while also still grieving the loss of his older brother, Mo. Life quickly gets turned upside down for Sik after he gets detention for laughing while his classmate, Belet (the only other Iraqi girl in school) argues with the teacher.
Instead of actually going to detention, Sik discovers Belet's mom is actually the goddess Ishtar. Cue the heroes journey.
It was so great to read about a Muslim hero and to read the words 'jihad' and 'Allahu Akbar' without any negative connotation. As someone who loves mythology, it was wonderful to read more about Gilgamesh and other Mesopotamian stories and gods. It also had great commentary on the plight of folks of Middle Eastern descent only getting cast as villains and terrorists, but never the hero or the lead. (Get on this Hollywood).
My favorite character of this whole book was a sword. Yes, a sword. Not only a sword, but a talking scimitar. Kasusu was snarky, sassy, and great at cutting remarks (see what I did there? Cutting? I crack myself up 😂). If Kasusu could only be voiced by one person, it would have to be Billy Porter, because that's whose voice I heard in my head the whole time lol.
I highly recommend this for young readers and anyone who is a fan or Rick Riordan or mythology in general.
City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda is a middle grade novel that was gifted to me. This was such a fun read! This was published by Rick Riordan Presents, and is based on ancient Mesopotamian mythology, and it has a Muslim hero!
We follow 13 year old Sik (Sikander Assiz), a Muslim boy working in his parent's deli, wishing he were somewhere else while also still grieving the loss of his older brother, Mo. Life quickly gets turned upside down for Sik after he gets detention for laughing while his classmate, Belet (the only other Iraqi girl in school) argues with the teacher.
Instead of actually going to detention, Sik discovers Belet's mom is actually the goddess Ishtar. Cue the heroes journey.
It was so great to read about a Muslim hero and to read the words 'jihad' and 'Allahu Akbar' without any negative connotation. As someone who loves mythology, it was wonderful to read more about Gilgamesh and other Mesopotamian stories and gods. It also had great commentary on the plight of folks of Middle Eastern descent only getting cast as villains and terrorists, but never the hero or the lead. (Get on this Hollywood).
My favorite character of this whole book was a sword. Yes, a sword. Not only a sword, but a talking scimitar. Kasusu was snarky, sassy, and great at cutting remarks (see what I did there? Cutting? I crack myself up 😂). If Kasusu could only be voiced by one person, it would have to be Billy Porter, because that's whose voice I heard in my head the whole time lol.
I highly recommend this for young readers and anyone who is a fan or Rick Riordan or mythology in general.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, and Death
grotesque descriptions, disease and lockdown mentionskommatator's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Minor: Bullying and Islamophobia
gracew's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Not exactly the escapism one usually finds in Riordan's imprints but really great regardless. It's great fun to watch a Muslim lead be amazing and interesting and cool. The world building is really great, too, with lots of interesting themes and motifs throughout. There were parts that dragged for me, however, with moments where I thought to myself "ok, can we move on to the plot please" and then the final battle ended pretty abruptly for my tastes. Still, overall a super fun read even with the pandemic going on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Child death
luckykosmos's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
In the foreword, Riordan worries about the timing of this book, but I honestly think it helped the book - reading this in a time when things are finally, hopefully, turning around, it was cathartic to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Pandemic aside, seeing the loving relationships carrying these characters through, and how that same love was their weakness, was heartwarming. Even more, as much as every book in the RRP universe is a love letter to the author's culture, its particular place here - whether it's Sik's parents being refugees, or responses to Islamophobia - made things feel even more personal and even intimate. I hope dearly this one gets a sequel.
Pandemic aside, seeing the loving relationships carrying these characters through, and how that same love was their weakness, was heartwarming. Even more, as much as every book in the RRP universe is a love letter to the author's culture, its particular place here - whether it's Sik's parents being refugees, or responses to Islamophobia - made things feel even more personal and even intimate. I hope dearly this one gets a sequel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Gore and Islamophobia
mfieldshalva's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Islamophobia, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Terminal illness and Hate crime