Rise of Gods

Slow, wandering, pointless story.  Dark and crude.

Paternus features one of the largest ensembles of deities and mythological figures I've ever come across. I even had to stop reading a few times to research names I was not familiar with! For a mythology fan, this is awesome.
It has a bit of a rough start and I almost gave up after a chapter of YA drama, but good stories take time to develop and this one is no exception. Sadly, I never quite related or cared for Fiona and Zeke, and I think this story would have benefited from a more mature cast.
I still loved how Ashton managed to include so many different deities and lore in this story. The cinematic scenes and dialogue were a treat, and the present tense narrative made this book even more enjoyable.

DNF.
The book introduced about 5 different points of views in the first 50 pages or so. The moment I thought I was kind of understanding things, we got a whole new group. Just too many things happened too fast.
Another issue is, I am just not super interested in the teenage girl protagonist. She is kind of... I don't know? Typical teenage girl protagonist? Not confident, quirky, has a super special life, but also everyone adores her.
At last, there was something that made me uncomfortable. At one point we get introduced to a kind of retirement home for mentally ill people who are also poor. It's a charity of sorts. The way the staff there is portrayed was... odd. They discussed the patients constantly, often right in front of said patients, calling them names and such. It was all light-hearted, but that's just not cool. Plus, one of the people working there is this big, burly gay man. We get told he is super huge and strong, he threatens people who are homophobic with physical violence (nice thing to do among legitimately mentally ill people, I am sure they never do or say weird shit because their brain is literally shutting down...), then he goes and REPEATEDLY sexually harasses an (as far as we know) straight dude half his size by badgering him constantly about having sex with him.
He also discusses the penis of an old male patient who literally can't even communicate and seems only semi-conscious. Not in a medical way either.... He is also super best friends with teenage protagonist girl, so we are supposed to like him.

Paternus: Rise of the Gods is an Exciting dark urban fantasy that brings you along on a wild mythological ride.

The Paternus series is one I have been hearing a lot about for years. Literally years. Usually, what I am hearing is in the form of gushing and squeeing. “Did you read Paternus? No. OMG you really have to!” Plus, the covers are gorgeous and done by cover artist John Anthony Di Giovanni. They are the kind of covers you want to display in your library and possibly have a print framed in there. Having finished the first book, all I can say to myself, “Why the hell did I wait so long?”

“A wielder of words is a wielder of power.”

The blurb sums up the overall feeling of the first book perfectly, “American Gods meets The Avengers, and Supernatural meets The Lord of the Rings, Paternus combines myths from around the world in a modern story of action and intrigue that is “urban fantasy on the surface, but so much more at its core!” It is a story about myths of legend from cultures throughout the world connected through time and all relating to one individual, The Pater.

“I seem to remember someone very close to me, and wise, or so I thought, once telling me—” “—anything is possible.”

The book starts a bit slowly, it lays solid foundations for the upcoming story, so I didn't mind the slower pacing. The main protagonists of the story are two older teenagers, Fi and Zeke. Fi and Zeke are in a relationship, and there is come “will they or won't they” back and forth. Typical stuff that one deals with at that age. Fiona was orphaned at a young age by a plane crash that killed her mother, and as she never knew her father, she now lives with her proper British uncle Edgar his weirdly huge dog Mol. Edgar raised Fiona from a young child, and Fiona looks to him as her father.

Fiona works as an intern at a local are hospital. She has been paying particular attention to an older man named Peter, whom she is drawn to to help. She has a particularly positive effect on him as he is responsive to her but otherwise vegetative. While Zeke is visiting the hospital, it is “attacked by strange and frightening men.” Fiona Patterson and Zeke Prisco work to save Peter from myths legend. They turn to Fiona's uncle Edgar for help, and that is where the story gets utterly wild.

“It was twenty-thousand years ago. The last Great Ice covered much of the planet, and the final battle of the Second Magnificent Holocaust raged. She'd sided with Father, of course – she was always Deva, his sister, Devi to the core. Her Truename was Artio, but at the time she was known by the humans as the Vanir giantess Jörd. When Bödvar saw her she was armored in a massive breastplate, with great golden wings on her helmet, spattered with gore – but beautiful.”

First and foremost, I need to compliment Dyrk Ashton for the sheer magnitude of research he put into creating this story. Many mythological figures from all countries and timeframes play parts in Zeke and Fiona's quest. Some figures, so long-lived, their legends bisect multiple cultures, and contextually, it works perfectly in the story. Ashton lays a solid foundation for all of these characters. As a reader, I went from “Huh?” to “Oh, how cool. Who is going to play a part next?” As for what happens next, and who is a god or legend is spoiler territory. But it gets pretty exciting.

Worldbuilding-wise, there are quite a few information dumps. We have a lot to learn about these characters and their history and connections. It is all-important and valuable information. Usually, I shy away from pages of backstory, but in Paternus, it worked. We need that information as readers. Ashton had me googling with glee.

The narrative starts a little young, as Fiona and Zeke are younger characters. But don't let that fool you; this is not a YA novel. Paternus: Rise of the Gods is a very adult and often brutal story. There is violence, torture, and fighting that could rival any action movie. Climax-wise, Paternus: Rise of the Gods does not have much of a mini-arc. Instead, it is a huge vibrant story that spans three books and close to 2000 pages. But, the ending of Paternus: Rise of the Gods is satisfying and intensely fun to read and gets you ready to jump into book 2.

Paternus: Rise of the Gods is one of the most unique Urban Fantasy stories I have ever read, and I have read quite a few. The series has a solid place in my top ten favorite series of all time. Even with a slow start, this is still a solid five-star read for me. Screw American Gods, Paternus: Rise of the Gods is my mythological urban fantasy of choice.

I sincerely want this one to be a 5 star book, so many concepts,unheard of mythological creatures, so much information, but unfortunately that is what hurt this one..............too much info and the author's narration/take on the said info.........

I have lived my life with the stories of the Greek pantheon, the Norse Mythology, the Aztec's bloodthirtsty religion, the Christian Belief, the numerous saints, deities of both Japanese and Chinese culture, and yes this is how excited I was to read this narrative, ten pages in, excitement rose to barely contained glee, so much characters and then.............um focus just got entangled, ahhhhh.......ok so this trio went in search of who??? Oh, they have a master and this master is????? then the narrative ends on to the main story...........

Ok, now the life of the main human protagonists are introduced, and yes Chapter Two, and what a new character???? Oh this one is not human, and ok Chapter 3 and we switch to the humans again, and Chapter 4, oh new characters different from Chapter 2, and???!! and???!!! and..........well that was how I read the whole book, different point of views by different characters, you would get someone introduced, ran several pages of story, jump again to the previous characters and so forth and so on, I love books that narrates the different characters' points of views, because it makes the heroes and villains of this books seem alive!!! But sometimes too much of something is also bad, like this one, of course the main human protagonists story continued, but the non human or Deva characters got the short changed method, further along the book, the narration gets better, but my excitement of reading a new take on the those aforementioned deities and demons, slowly disappeared, I love the characters Tanuki, Asterion, Arges, Ao Guang, Baphomet, and A WHOLE LOT MORE, but Mr. Ashton did not elaborate on them!!!

Maybe this was supposed to be Fiona and Zeke's origin story, but why go to the trouble of introducing a whole lot more, if they were just a prelude of things to come and the saving grace of the three Baphomet, Ao Guang, and Dimmi got captivated and in effects becoming a thrall of another major(?) character.......................

Even with the helter skelter type of story telling it still was an enjoyable book, hopefully the second one would truly tell the story of the other Deva's and not just snatches of info.

Absolutely thrilling!

I could not put this book down! If you're a fan of ancient history and myth, then you must read this book! Ashton has deftly crafted a tale reminiscent of American Gods, but aside from a similar subject, the book is completely unique and to itself. The author weaves together myths, tales, and religious pantheons in a way that is truly above par. The battles are breathtaking and exciting, the characters are well written and deep, and the myths behind them are extremely well researched. I can't recommend this book enough!