Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
Sikander Aziz is closing up his parents’ diner, Mo’s, when he’s attacked by demons and almost killed, and before he knows it, he has met two gods and a sword-wielding girl, and discovers that his parents are gravely ill with some unknown illness.
Sik is still grieving over the death of his openhearted, fun-loving, adventurous and kind brother Mohammed, and has let many of his friendships wither. Also, Sik feels a mix of deep sadness and anger over his brother, and inferiority about his place in his family.
And that’s just the start of his problems. He meets some very interesting cats, chats with a sword, and along with Belet, daughter of the goddess Ishtar, must figure out a way to save New York City from a fast-acting plague.
This story was a hoot! Lots of action in a fast-paced plot with great hero and villain interactions, lots of well-placed humour, and believable behaviour and dialogue between Sik and Belet, both carrying grief and anger in them, but dealing with it in their own ways.
The melding of Mesopotamian myth and Muslim influences in Sikander’s life was well done and welcome. Also, gross as some of the imagery was, I liked how Nergal made his powers felt in the city, with the proliferation of misshapen creatures, plagues, chaos, decay and disasters overtaking everything.
I’ve been pleased with each of the stories I’ve read under the Rick Riordan Presents series, and this story by Sarwat Chadda had everything I’ve come to enjoy in this series: myths, monsters, and terrific characters who learn to find strength within themselves, and display integrity, kindness and decency. I can’t wait to read more in the RRP series, as well as more Sikander stories.
Sik is still grieving over the death of his openhearted, fun-loving, adventurous and kind brother Mohammed, and has let many of his friendships wither. Also, Sik feels a mix of deep sadness and anger over his brother, and inferiority about his place in his family.
And that’s just the start of his problems. He meets some very interesting cats, chats with a sword, and along with Belet, daughter of the goddess Ishtar, must figure out a way to save New York City from a fast-acting plague.
This story was a hoot! Lots of action in a fast-paced plot with great hero and villain interactions, lots of well-placed humour, and believable behaviour and dialogue between Sik and Belet, both carrying grief and anger in them, but dealing with it in their own ways.
The melding of Mesopotamian myth and Muslim influences in Sikander’s life was well done and welcome. Also, gross as some of the imagery was, I liked how Nergal made his powers felt in the city, with the proliferation of misshapen creatures, plagues, chaos, decay and disasters overtaking everything.
I’ve been pleased with each of the stories I’ve read under the Rick Riordan Presents series, and this story by Sarwat Chadda had everything I’ve come to enjoy in this series: myths, monsters, and terrific characters who learn to find strength within themselves, and display integrity, kindness and decency. I can’t wait to read more in the RRP series, as well as more Sikander stories.
Sik is just going about his life, helping his parents run their deli, missing his brother Mo, dealing with his friend Daoud, when the deli is suddenly under attack by demons. They want Sik to give them "it", only Sik has no idea what they are talking about. Cue a crazy adventure where Sik is labeled as "Plague Boy", his parents are in the ICU, and the entire city is mutated by Nergal, the Plague God. Thankfully, he has a little bit of help from Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, her daughter Belet, some transforming cats, a talking sword (that cannot transform into a pen), Gilgamesh, Daoud (unexpectedly), and an even more unexpected ally (think underworld). Sik must figure out what Nergal wants and then how to save his parents and an entire city of people. #CityofthePlagueGod #NetGalley
This is one of the best books that I've read from the Rick Riordan Presents line. It does a good job of breaking the mold of urban fantasy plots. However, this book is more graphic than the Percy Jackson or Aru Shah books and may not be suited for younger readers.
More classic Rick Riordan Presents gold. I almost kinda wish there could be like a giant class reunion type thing where all the characters from the the RRP just meet up and talk about their adventures
This is my first book by this author, but definitely not his first. I'm very grateful to Rick Riordan for bringing this book to my attention through his Rick Riordan Presents imprint. The story grabbed my attention from the very beginning as we are introduced to Sik and Daoud. Sik is an Arab/Muslim whose parents own an Arab and Mediterranean deli in New York City and you can immediately picture the place and the wonderful smells that fill it and you know this place means a lot to Sik. The action begins pretty quickly and it never really stops from there as Sik is sucked into a secondary world full of goddesses and gods, although I loved the way the author was able to show Sik's acceptance that these minor deities/demons existed and yet never lose his faith and love for Allah. This is such a wonderful book because it represents Arabs and Muslims in a very human and positive way and it is very much in keeping with the RRP imprint. And although there was plenty of corrupted evil in this story, I loved the underlying message in the book that there was goodness in all people if only you looked. This was truly an exciting story, and although this book can completely stand alone, I think it leaves room for further adventures with Belet at least, and maybe with Sik and Daoud in the future. At least I hope so! I would love to visit with them again!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
While I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from "City of the Plague God", I enjoyed "Aru Shah and the End of Time," which was another book from the "Rick Riordan Presents" imprint, so I figured I would give it a try. I am always looking for books that would be good from my students to read. And, boy, was this one fantastic!
"City of the Plague God" is the story of Sikander "Sik" Aziz, a young man who lives in Manhattan. His days are spent working in his Iraqi parents' deli. His whole life revolves around the deli, especially since his brother died overseas while in Iraq. He only wants to keep his parents' dreams alive.
Unfortunately, all of that changes one evening when Nergal, the god of disease, crashes into the deli, looking for something that Mo had stolen. Sik has no idea what that might be, but Nergal and his demons aren't listening. Suddenly, Sik's world is turned upside down when Nergal's plague sweeps over the city, resulting in Sik's parents being hospitalized with an unknown disease. For some reason, Sik is not affected.
I don't want to share too many more details, but Sik is forced to go on an epic quest in order to stop Nergal and to save his parents and the city he loves. There are massive fights with demons, visits to the underworld, and encounters with other gods. As I was reading it, I was amazed at how much it reminded me of the Avengers movies. Mr. Chadda includes enough action to keep the story moving, enough gross stuff to make his readers happy (or squeamish), and enough heart to make everyone smile. There is one character that has a redemption arc that made me tear up.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book to all middle-grade readers. It might be a bit challenging for the younger end of that reading spectrum (early third graders), but advanced readers in third grade, as well as readers in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade will absolutely love this book.
"City of the Plague God" is the story of Sikander "Sik" Aziz, a young man who lives in Manhattan. His days are spent working in his Iraqi parents' deli. His whole life revolves around the deli, especially since his brother died overseas while in Iraq. He only wants to keep his parents' dreams alive.
Unfortunately, all of that changes one evening when Nergal, the god of disease, crashes into the deli, looking for something that Mo had stolen. Sik has no idea what that might be, but Nergal and his demons aren't listening. Suddenly, Sik's world is turned upside down when Nergal's plague sweeps over the city, resulting in Sik's parents being hospitalized with an unknown disease. For some reason, Sik is not affected.
I don't want to share too many more details, but Sik is forced to go on an epic quest in order to stop Nergal and to save his parents and the city he loves. There are massive fights with demons, visits to the underworld, and encounters with other gods. As I was reading it, I was amazed at how much it reminded me of the Avengers movies. Mr. Chadda includes enough action to keep the story moving, enough gross stuff to make his readers happy (or squeamish), and enough heart to make everyone smile. There is one character that has a redemption arc that made me tear up.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book to all middle-grade readers. It might be a bit challenging for the younger end of that reading spectrum (early third graders), but advanced readers in third grade, as well as readers in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade will absolutely love this book.
This is a really awesome book! Wow!! But, it does feel a bit 'too close to home' with the current pandemic, and the description of the plague gods is so well written, it's really, really gross! But that's a good thing too - I'm glad the author didn't pull any punches with the description. It's just unfortunate that we listened to it during dinner time!
Gilgamesh is an OLD story, and it was interesting to see the story come to life in this book. I liked the characters, the range of emotion and experience felt accurate to how a family may react. As I said, it's just unfortunate that the book is coming out right after we've experienced a year's worth of pandemic. I hope that people will give the book a chance, despite that fact.
Gilgamesh is an OLD story, and it was interesting to see the story come to life in this book. I liked the characters, the range of emotion and experience felt accurate to how a family may react. As I said, it's just unfortunate that the book is coming out right after we've experienced a year's worth of pandemic. I hope that people will give the book a chance, despite that fact.
Contributing to my understanding that there is always always always vast swaths of things that I'd love to know more about, this middle grades adventure story is deeply informed by Mesopotamian folklore, to the degree that I assume most of the plot points are taken directly from ancient tales. Sik is a good protagonist, damaged but resolved, and willing to do what he needs to do to make his corner of the world a little better, even if he is (for the most part) overwhelmed and underprepared. It's somehow comforting to know that gods the world around are both awe-inspiring and wholly self-serving and petulant.
I love it, loved the history, loved the action, loved the way grief was expressed differently for each person. A great read
This imprint has done everything so RIGHT so far. City of the Plague God was fun and fast-paced, and it was amazing to revisit The Epic of Gilgamesh, which I read for my literature minor a few years ago, in a completely different way. This perfectly walked the line between funny escapism (I mean, not really the right word at the moment, but you know), and in-depth exploration of culture and social commentary. I genuinely hope they will contract a second book as I would love to explore this mythology, this world and the characters a lot more!
Also, turns out my favourite trope is "badass girl with sick fighting skills constantly has to save the boy who has no clue what's going on and begrudgingly befriends him," who knew?
Also, turns out my favourite trope is "badass girl with sick fighting skills constantly has to save the boy who has no clue what's going on and begrudgingly befriends him," who knew?