I know I’ve been shamefully absent. I blame summer (and summer romance for that matter). But just because I haven’t been writing, doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading. And since I’m becoming increasingly intimidated by my review backlog, I’m going to do a quick review blitz, since apparently no one wants to read a long review online anyway.
Gods Behaving Badly, by Marie Phillips
This one was an enthusiastic recommendation from a fellow KIRBCer, and it certainly was an amusing little romp – easy to read, but sharp and intelligent. Philips explores what would happen if everyone’s favourite Olympians were still alive, living in London in the modern day, forgotten, their powers waning. The plot is driven not only by their predicament, but, as in the old tales, the ambroisa-eaters meddling in the affiars of mortals – specifically, two almost-lovers: Neil, an architect, and Alice a cleaning lady. When Eros spears Apollo with one of his famous arrows, Apollo falls in love with Alice, and everything goes to . . . Hades. Philips knows the mythology well, and the novel is filled with intelligent barbs as sharp and true as Eros’ arrows (Aprodite to Hermes: “You’re the God of coincidences aren’t you?” [...]
