Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Blog Tour (Review): Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure by Michael G. Munz



Official Blog Tour page can be found at http://michaelgmunz.com/zeus-is-dead-blog-tour/

And HERE is a quiz that will tell you which Greek god you are.


A hilarious mythological tale of god-like proportions. Munz has crafted a tale of bizarro comic fantasy that sits comfortably among the ilk of Gaiman and Pratchett.”
Andrew Buckley, author of Death, the Devil, and the Goldfish

BOOK DETAILS:


Title: Zeus is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure
Author: Michael G. Munz
Genre: Contemporary Mythological Fantasy
Release date: July 21st, 2014
Publisher: Booktrope Publishing
Length: 446 pages (paperback)

Synopsis:

The gods are back. Did you myth them?

You probably saw the press conference. Nine months ago, Zeus's murder catapulted the Greek gods back into our world. Now they revel in their new temples, casinos, and media empires—well, all except Apollo. A compulsive overachiever with a bursting portfolio of godly duties, the amount of email alone that he receives from rapacious mortals turns each of his days into a living hell.
Yet there may be hope, if only he can return Zeus to life! With the aid of Thalia, the muse of comedy and science fiction, Apollo will risk his very godhood to help sarcastic TV producer Tracy Wallace and a gamer-geek named Leif—two mortals who hold the key to Zeus's resurrection. (Well, probably. Prophecies are tricky buggers.)
Soon an overflowing inbox will be the least of Apollo’s troubles. Whoever murdered Zeus will certainly kill again to prevent his return, and avoiding them would be far easier if Apollo could possibly figure out who they are.
Even worse, the muse is starting to get cranky.
Discover a world where reality TV heroes slay actual monsters and the gods have their own Twitter feeds: Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure!

Find Zeus is Dead on:





MY REVIEW:

NOTE: I received the eARC via the publisher. My opinion is honest and true and is not influence by my relationship with the publisher.

This book was the most fun I've had with a mythological story ever. It has love drama (though no real romance to speak of), it has a murder mystery, sacrifice, heroism and a number of incredible, well-developed characters who play their roles so well, it's impossible to put any two of them in the same box. They are complex, realistic (as much as any mythological god can be), with depth that has you thinking 'Well, Munz definitely explored all the idiocy of the myths to create something spectacular.'

Writing style:
Dripping with irony and sarcasm in the places where the forth wall came down, Zeus Is Dead is a hilarious account of the stupidity, huge ego and super powers of the Greek gods. Munz's comments in the narrative had me snicker and appreciate his incredible sense of humor.

Story line:
Told from an omniscient POV, there is still a lot hidden from the reader. For example, the true mystery of the story isn't revealed until the exact opportune moment. Zeus Is Dead is the perfect comically dangerous epic adventure, where real monsters meet TV heroes, gods and titans battle each other and the humans save the day.

Themes:
- What makes a book into a worthy epic adventure?
- Greek mythology: the lovely, the ridiculous and the down right idiotic.
- The whims of the gods - how they dictate human life (or do they)
- Where there is power, there should also be knowledge and wisdom, but most of the time there isn't (obviously).

Characters:
Tracy is the most reasonable, down-to-earth person in this story. She's pragmatic and hates being manipulated. Also, love and romance aren't exactly called for where she's concerned - bad breakup and all that. Which is why she gets suspicious of anyone who tries to tell her how in love with her they are. She knows the meaning of loyalty and sacrifice and I liked that about her.

Leif, a geeky personal fallen under the spell of (a.k.a. playful arrow) of a naughty half-god, he is the one to always ask the stupid (and right and difficult) questions. He makes good points from time to time, though he's not the heroic type. He loves sci-fi fiction and calls himself genre savvy.

Apollo, the god of a myriad of things, is the boy to go to. For everything. You want to be healed? He's the right man. You want a sun chariot? Go to Apollo. How about you'd like to know the future? You guessed it - run to Apollo. What's worse is that for some reason he can't say 'no'. He is smart though, reasonable (for a god) and quite likeable.

Thalia, the muse of science fiction (and some other arts and crafts) is an amiable character who can bring humor or sarcasm to a scene, making it even more hilarious than it already is. She has good ideas from time to time, and I really enjoyed her reasoning.

Ares is the most idiotic character of them all. You can always trust him to say something stupid. He's the god of war, but he's more violent than reason dictates. But then reason isn't one of his strong points.

All other characters are incredible as well, but I don't have space or time to mention them all.

In conclusion:
Zeus Is Dead is the perfect read for lovers of mythology, humor and epic adventures. When you pick up this book, just expect the unexpected.

My rating is:




ABOUT MICHAEL G. MUNZ

An award-winning writer of speculative fiction, Michael G. Munz was born in Pennsylvania but moved to Washington State in 1977 at the age of three. Unable to escape the state’s gravity, he has spent most of his life there and studied writing at the University of Washington.
Michael developed his creative bug in college, writing and filming four exceedingly amateur films before setting his sights on becoming a novelist. Driving this goal is the desire to tell entertaining stories that give to others the same pleasure as other writers have given to him. He enjoys writing tales that combine the modern world with the futuristic or fantastic.
Michael has traveled to three continents and has an interest in Celtic and Classical mythology. He also possesses what most “normal” people would likely deem far too much familiarity with a wide range of geek culture, though Michael prefers the term geek-bard: a jack of all geek-trades, but master of none—except possibly Farscape and Twin Peaks.
Michael dwells in Seattle where he continues his quest to write the most entertaining novel known to humankind and find a really fantastic clam linguine.
Find out more about him at michaelgmunz.com. While there, it wouldn't hurt to get a FREE copy of Mythed Connections, the spiritual prequel to Zeus is Dead.

Contact Michael on Twitter / Facebook


Giveaway details:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

No comments:

Post a Comment

I absolutely LOVE comments!!! So, if you stop by my blog, please leave me something nice :)

NOTE: I'm sorry for putting the CAPTCHA back up. I know it can be annoying, but I've gotten so many spam comments in the past week, it's not even funny.