The Broken Pantheon

by Adam Berg

After being crippled during temple guard training, eighteen-year-old Hagano has settled into the lowly position of a courier. During the festival of his god, Ecret, Hagano witnesses the emergence of a creature made of bone, shadow, and rust. The once banished Sylph King has returned, leading an attack against Ecret.While Hagano fights for his life, he sees the impossible--the death of his immortal god. His faith shatters. The world crumbles. His hope dies--until an unexpected gift from Ecret leads Hagano on a path to fulfill his god's dying wish.

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Fiction

214 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2021

About the author

Adam Berg is a real human boy and not a figment of his dog’s imagination. He started his career in sketch comedy, spent six years writing and acting for Studio C, and now works for JK Studios. Feed him cookies, please.

Find him online—
Instagram, Threads, Tiktok: @heyadamberg

Reviews

[Camille Hoffmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the entire book in a day- I couldn't put it down! Fair warning, it is a little more on the gory/graphic side (I'd compare it to the Mistborn series- nothing terrible, but definitely not pg). I also felt there were some things at the end that just weren't wrapped up or explained, but overall it was a great read. So creative, and again, one I had a hard time putting down. If you're just looking for something to suck you in, this is a good one!

[JennaOtterReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book Title: The Broken Pantheon
Standalone or Series: Book 1 of a series
Author: Adam Berg
Genre(s): Fantasy, Religion, Middle Grade
Recommended Age Rating: 7-11
Reasons Why: No swearing that I noticed but the word Damnation is used a few times. It's very faith-based and is very "preachy" in my opinion. It also includes a lot of meat eating (which is a big part of the book) and promotes the consumption of animal products including ivory. Not that this is inherently bad but as a vegetarian this rubbed me the wrong way.
Recommended for Fans of: Adam Berg and religious fantasy books.
Overall Rating: D--
Brief Summary: About a boy named Hagano who witnesses his seemingly immortal god die. He then goes on a quest to bring back his dead god and defeat the evil that killed him. When he is given a special power, he must learn to balance it in the face of combat.

Going into this, I didn't realize how faith-based this book was going to be. I'm not religious. I don't believe in a god, but if you do that is totally cool. I am a vegetarian, and am really big on inclusivity in books. Maybe that's why I hated this book so much.

I guess I should've known that it would be. It's kinda my fault. The only reason I didn't DNF the thing was because I held on to the small hope that it would get better. It didn't. It wasn't even funny.

The book was also written for a younger audience than me so that's another factor to consider.

Overall, I just really didn't like this book and I don't see myself ever reading it again. What a waste of money.

[Rebekah Isert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adam Berg versus Productivity

I started this book thinking that I’d be able to read a couple chapters here and there, work on my own stuff, and just enjoy a nice, well paced story. What happened was a complete disregard for my own workload, a missed meal or two, and a couple of loads of unfolded laundry.

I really, really loved this book. Including fantasy deity is always a really interesting balance, and I think Mr. Berg has far and away done a good job at capturing that struggle, and exploring what it can mean to have a physically present dirty, particularly one that is not perfect. It brings to mind a lot of the Nordic, Greek, and Roman mythologies. The magic system was also fascinating, and although there were a couple of moments where I had to take a deep breath seeing how it was going to play out, I was ultimately well-satisfied.

This was also a very well balanced book. Humor and drama played out in turns, but never undermined each other, (something that is a personal pet peeve of mine). All in all, a great romp, and one that I will be recommending to my fantasy-loving friends. Another winner, Mr. Berg!

[Sherwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and thought provoking

Well written and very entertaining. Unexpected yet very satisfying ending. Highly recommend to anyone that wants a clean, enjoyable read

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this at all. It took me forever to read. Only reason it's more than 1 star is because I liked the author in the old Studio C videos. 1.5 stars.

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little on the gory side. Includes some cannibalism. Yum. Provides moments of food for thought.

[Leticia Bench · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super unique concept, lots of interesting ideas. A great read but more violent than expected. Probably the last 40-45% of the book is a long fight scene.

[Rennick Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is truly something. Full of serious moments lightened with subtle humor, twists, turns, and well-written characters, it can be difficult to put down.

[Montana Cheyenne · Rating 3 out of 5]

After being hurt during temple guard training, eighteen-year-old Hagano has settled into the lowly position of a courier. During the festival of his god, Ecret, Hagano witnesses the emergence of a creature made of bone, shadow, and rust. The once banished Sylph King has returned, leading an attack against Ecret.

While Hagano fights for his life, he sees the impossible--the death of his immortal god. His faith shatters. The world crumbles. His hope dies--until an unexpected gift from Ecret leads Hagano on a path to fulfill his god's dying wish.

I enjoyed this book! It is full of fast-paced action and is one big fight/battle scene. A lot goes on and I really took my time reading so I can follow everything happening. I recently saw the new Demon Slayer movie and some of the sylphs that Hagano encounters actually reminded me of some fights in the movie! Definitely recommend for people who like fast paced fantasy novels.