Genre:
Urban Fantasy/Mythology/Contemporary
Description:
“Steve—Diomedes
Tydides to his Trojan War buddies—just had a bad day on his charter
fishing boat in San Diego, but when the goddess Athena calls on her
faithful warrior for another secret mission, he’s ready. The bomb
that exploded inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art isn’t the crime
American authorities’ think it is. Someone also stole the Cup of
Jamshid, and Diomedes knows its fortune-telling abilities won’t be
used for anything benign.
Though
Diomedes recovers the Cup from a determined shaman holed up beneath
Central Park, when he finds his allies slain and the Cup taken once
more, he knows he’s up against a truly powerful enemy. Over a
millennium has passed since Diomedes last contended with Medea of
Colchis, deranged wife of Jason the Argonaut, but neither her madness
nor her devotion to Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, has waned, and she
intends to use the Cup of Jamshid to release across the world a dark
brand of chaos unseen in human history.
Immortal
since the Trojan War, Diomedes must once again fight for mortals he
understands less and less, against a divine evil he may never truly
defeat.”
Author:
“Brian S.
Leon is truly a jack of all trades and a master of none. He writes
just to do something with all the useless degrees and skills he’s
accumulated over the years. Most of them have no practical
application in civilized society, anyway. His interests include
mythology and fishing, in pursuit of which he has explored jungles
and museums, oceans and seas all over the world.
His
credentials include an undergraduate degree from the University of
Miami and a master’s degree from San Diego State University, plus
extensive postgraduate work in evolutionary biology at the University
of Massachusetts Amherst, where he studied animals most people aren’t
even aware exist and theories no one really cares about anyway…
Brian currently resides in San Diego, California.”
Appraisal:
Havoc
Rising isn’t the type of
Urban Fantasy I generally enjoy reading. The Mythology, Gods, and
Goddesses sucked me in. Diomedes Tydides is a Guardian, who was
recruited thousands of years ago by the Goddess Athena to protect
humankind. The story starts with a suicide bombing at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we are introduced to the bomber and
his mind ramblings, which explains his motive to the reader.
As
authorities are scrambling at the scene, Athena, as head of the Metis
Foundation, employs Diomedes, who goes by Steve Dore, to join the
investigation and recover a stolen item. The foundation’s primary
focus is finding peaceful solutions to human conflict. It is known
as one of the most respected think tanks in the world. Athena is sure
the bombing served as a distraction for a theft of an ancient bronze
cup on exhibit in an upper level of the museum. The novel is told
through Diomedes point-of-view, and he readily tells us he
excels at clandestine
operations, intelligence gathering, and combat. He also admits he
does not play well with others. But he's forced to overcome this and
build a small team to help him.
The plot is
fast moving and has many surprising twists as the drama unfolds. The
battles are vivid, tense, and grisly as magic is thrown around
against seemingly impossible odds while battling unearthly
monstrosities. Humor is interspersed throughout to lighten the
severity of the story. Diomedes is the perfect tragic hero; he is
engaging, courageous, and intelligent, with just the right amount of
biting wit.
I found it
easy to get totally swept away in this thoroughly engrossing tale.
The relationship develops between Diomedes and Sarah is
cautious and endearing. The story comes to a satisfying close with
some promise of Sarah being included in future missions, which left a
smile on my face, especially after she decked Diomedes. I would
highly recommend Havoc Rising
to any reader who enjoys mythology brought forward in a contemporary
setting that includes epic battles between good and evil.
FYI:
Havoc
Rising contains graphic
violence and gore. Colorful obscene adult language with plenty of
F-bombs.
Format/Typo
Issues:
I found no
proofing or formatting issues.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 120-125,000 words
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