Gods of Strife

by S. Evan Townsend

They live among us. We know they are there. No government can control them; no authority can stop them. Some are evil. Some are good. All are powerful. They inhabit our myths and fairy tales. But what if they were real, the witches, wizards, and fairy godmothers? What if they were called "adepts" and an ancient evil stalks them? An assassination attempt on the head of the American Meta Association guild sends adept Peter Branton looking for who wants him and his leader dead. Finding the beautiful, shape-shifting assassin leads him to his real enemy, an enemy that is much worse and much more dangerous: living gods of Atlantis. Branton must team with up with his would-be killer and a mysterious warrior to defeat the gods of strife that are intent on starting a war that could devastate all mankind.

310 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2014

About the author

S. Evan Townsend is a writer living in central Washington State. After spending four years in the U.S. Army in the Military Intelligence branch, he returned to civilian life and college to earn a B.S. in Forest Resources from the University of Washington. In his spare time he enjoys reading, driving (sometimes on a racetrack), meeting people, and talking with friends. He is in a 12-step program for Starbucks addiction. Evan lives with his wife and has three grown sons at various stages of getting out of the nest. He enjoys science fiction, fantasy, history, politics, cars, and travel.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars and I'm torn. I really should start by saying just how excited I was to read this book, for me, paranormal and fantasy are my absolute favourite type of book to read. The mythological aspect of it just added to my excitement. So heres the thing, I didn't actually know this was part of a series and would have actually guessed it to be the first part of a series at best as there seemed to be a lot of time devoted to world building. I cannot comment on any of the other books as I haven't read them but I will more than likely find time to give them a go at least in the not so distant future. For me this book had its pros and cons. The amount of time dedicated to world building would likely be a con for me, I'm super impatient and it felt like I had to wait a while for things to really kick in, with that being said though the writing style was such that although impatient, I never wanted to skip over parts or contemplated not finishing the book. On the plus side would have to be the fact that the story really came to life, you almost felt as if you were a part of the action, and it was really well researched. There were a couple foreign words that I would've liked a translation for built in as they obviously had some meaning to the story but other than that it was really well done. When the Gods come into play the story really started to get interesting but in order to avoid spoilers all I am willing to say is that it was really well done, the storyline overall was unique and well executed. The book certainly has more than its share of action for those who like that and a;though there is a tiny bit of romance that is certainly not the focus in any way and there is absolutely nothing explicit whatsoever. The book for me personally wasn't really a quick read, I had to concentrate on what was happening in order not to miss anything but it was worth it. Overall, an enjoyable read with just a little too much in the build up otherwise it likely would've been five shiny stars from me.