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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
This book had promise. Mesopotamian gods! Demons! Adventure!
First, the elephant in the room: the timing of this book could not have been worse. A book about a plague god decimating New York City, coming out in the midst of a global pandemic? As much as both Rick Riordan and Sarwat Chadda try to cover that issue, the book itself just feels...icky. Not that it's taking advantage of the situation, but just that it's missing some of the empathy and depth that should be required for a story like this. The fact that this came out in 2021 means they had time to do some editing to manage this and either didn't or were just incapable of it.
Bad timing aside, there are other issues that cannot be ignored. The protagonist is just...not great? Not that he's a bad person, but he doesn't particularly grow and there isn't much to like about him. After the story drags its feet a little at the beginning, it suddenly jumps from one big set piece to the next, but doesn't give enough time to actually deal with the emotional weight of some of these events. To avoid spoilers here: several massive events occur which should have resulted in large emotional moments by characters are just...shrugged off, mostly so they can just jump to the next moment. As long as the book is, it oddly feels like it could have used more time to properly handle some of the situations that occur.
First, the elephant in the room: the timing of this book could not have been worse. A book about a plague god decimating New York City, coming out in the midst of a global pandemic? As much as both Rick Riordan and Sarwat Chadda try to cover that issue, the book itself just feels...icky. Not that it's taking advantage of the situation, but just that it's missing some of the empathy and depth that should be required for a story like this. The fact that this came out in 2021 means they had time to do some editing to manage this and either didn't or were just incapable of it.
Bad timing aside, there are other issues that cannot be ignored. The protagonist is just...not great? Not that he's a bad person, but he doesn't particularly grow and there isn't much to like about him. After the story drags its feet a little at the beginning, it suddenly jumps from one big set piece to the next, but doesn't give enough time to actually deal with the emotional weight of some of these events. To avoid spoilers here: several massive events occur which should have resulted in large emotional moments by characters are just...shrugged off, mostly so they can just jump to the next moment. As long as the book is, it oddly feels like it could have used more time to properly handle some of the situations that occur.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4,5*
This book made me cry and laugh. And that's FANTASTIC for a book! I could always understand how Sik felt, and feel it too.
It was the first time I've read about mesopotamic mythology and, gods, every mythology has a really uhm, how to say it? monstruous monster hahahaha
I read little urban fantasy, and they're usually white characters. It was so nice to read a story from the POV of a muslim boy, and family, and mostly written by a muslim author who really understands the religion and culture.
All the characters make sense, and they all have a part in this story. Give a chance to Daoud, he's nice after all though Sik doesn't know much about him.
So, in cocnlusion, this book is good for introducing mesopotamian mythology, with lots of adventures, a MC that doesn't feel like a hero at all, and a muslim enviroment where racism is NOT the main theme (there is, but it's so subtle you won't notice it; same as other things the author pops but doesn't say huhuhu).
This book made me cry and laugh. And that's FANTASTIC for a book! I could always understand how Sik felt, and feel it too.
It was the first time I've read about mesopotamic mythology and, gods, every mythology has a really uhm, how to say it? monstruous monster hahahaha
I read little urban fantasy, and they're usually white characters. It was so nice to read a story from the POV of a muslim boy, and family, and mostly written by a muslim author who really understands the religion and culture.
All the characters make sense, and they all have a part in this story. Give a chance to Daoud, he's nice after all though Sik doesn't know much about him.
So, in cocnlusion, this book is good for introducing mesopotamian mythology, with lots of adventures, a MC that doesn't feel like a hero at all, and a muslim enviroment where racism is NOT the main theme (there is, but it's so subtle you won't notice it; same as other things the author pops but doesn't say huhuhu).
Huge thanks to Disney publishing and netgalley for a review copy of this book.
I love mythology and there aren’t enough books that have Mesopotamian Gods in them. And there’s a huge lack of Muslim/middle eastern heroes in books too.
This book was great in helping to fill that gap (though we need more!) and I can’t wait/hope there will be more about Sik and his friends especially if they’re as adventurous and imaginative as this book. And man do I really want some middle eastern food now!
This is a great book for young kids and adults alike, and wonderful for representation and teaching kids about heroes from other parts of the world and cultures.
I love mythology and there aren’t enough books that have Mesopotamian Gods in them. And there’s a huge lack of Muslim/middle eastern heroes in books too.
This book was great in helping to fill that gap (though we need more!) and I can’t wait/hope there will be more about Sik and his friends especially if they’re as adventurous and imaginative as this book. And man do I really want some middle eastern food now!
This is a great book for young kids and adults alike, and wonderful for representation and teaching kids about heroes from other parts of the world and cultures.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a really fun book! I learned a lot about Mesopotamia and the mythology and legends from there. I can’t wait for more from this series!
Very enjoyable read based in Mesopotamian mythology (of which I knew very little). The writing style is great (though some parts got a little muddled) and the characters are uniquely likable. Would recommend for fans of Percy Jackson or Magnus Chase (which makes sense given it’s part of Rick Riordan Presents).
Every time I pick up a Rick Riordan Presents book I wonder, do we really need another? And as always, just a few pages in, my skeptical heart screams YES, yes we do! Sure, they feel repetitive and tend to have too much teen sarcasm but boy, do they entertain. Sarwat Chadda's addition brings to life the ancient gods of Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq as well as Iran, Syria, and Turkey) and rings a little bit too true as Nergal, the god of plagues, takes over NYC with a mysterious illness and utter destruction. Sikander Aziz, son of immigrants, tirelessly helps run his parents deli after his older brother Mo is killed while abroad. With the help of Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, her daughter Belet, and illusive former hero Gilgamesh, Sik must journey to help save the city and his parents
Chadda's hero has a slightly different background than the usual Riordan stock. While we do have children of gods running around, Sik is actually a human unknowingly aided by his botanist brother's discovery. There are also less gods (and other heroes who are also not sons/daughters of gods) at play which made the adventure much more contained and I enjoyed that. Though these books seem repetitive, I do love their concepts. I have a fascination with ancient gods and like Riordan in his intro, a fascination with ancient Mesopotamia. I like the creativity it takes to give bodies and histories to such mystical beings and to apply their qualities to events of the course of human history. Chadda also does a good job to bring up anti-Muslim sentiment and racism in modern day NYC while also celebrating it's normal-ness, it's culture and it's history. I also loved the addition of Gilgamesh and his legend vs. what actual happened (at least for this book)! The teenage sass can get tiring but it also makes me laugh sometimes at the utter ridiculousness of it. We do have the usual talking, magical weapons (plus some snark at the OG sword/pen concept in Riordan's books) and NO ROMANCE (at least so far) which was refreshing!
This was an enjoyable, light read and I look forward to reading any other installments as well as Chadda's other series.
Thank you to Rick Riordan Presents and NetGalley for the ARC.
Chadda's hero has a slightly different background than the usual Riordan stock. While we do have children of gods running around, Sik is actually a human unknowingly aided by his botanist brother's discovery. There are also less gods (and other heroes who are also not sons/daughters of gods) at play which made the adventure much more contained and I enjoyed that. Though these books seem repetitive, I do love their concepts. I have a fascination with ancient gods and like Riordan in his intro, a fascination with ancient Mesopotamia. I like the creativity it takes to give bodies and histories to such mystical beings and to apply their qualities to events of the course of human history. Chadda also does a good job to bring up anti-Muslim sentiment and racism in modern day NYC while also celebrating it's normal-ness, it's culture and it's history. I also loved the addition of Gilgamesh and his legend vs. what actual happened (at least for this book)! The teenage sass can get tiring but it also makes me laugh sometimes at the utter ridiculousness of it. We do have the usual talking, magical weapons (plus some snark at the OG sword/pen concept in Riordan's books) and NO ROMANCE (at least so far) which was refreshing!
This was an enjoyable, light read and I look forward to reading any other installments as well as Chadda's other series.
Thank you to Rick Riordan Presents and NetGalley for the ARC.