Tartarus

The author takes us back to a time when the gods of Olympus nearly destroyed the Titans, a race that had come to their world before they did. It was then that Echidna, Mother of Monsters, was captured and imprisoned in Tartarus. It took her hundreds of years but she finally managed too escape and come into a world that is modern and unlike where she had been before. The old gods are gone, and now she promises to destroy every descendant of the Olympians.

Moving to the modern period and the contemporary world, we meet Adrian and Annelise, twins who live in the contemporary Pacific Northwest and Having no idea that they are Olympians. When Adrian meets Zack, the two find themselves totally into each other and the more they get to know one another, the more they fall in love. During a rather rough attack arranged by Echidna, Zack reveals his divinity and he understands now that we must teach the twins about their own heritage, and how to best use their powers in the oncoming last battle between Titans and Olympians in which there will be no weapons, only magic.

Aside from an interesting read about the Olympians and Titans, we get a taste of mythology, magic and monsters. This is a wonderful study of how the heritage of the Greeks survives though contemporary time as it comes down via the DNA that is centuries old.

Annelise owns an art gallery and one of her recent exhibitions was by a local artist, Zack. Through this Zack meets Adrian, Annelise’s twin brother and the two man are attracted to each other. I should add here that the twins are 48 years old and Zack is close to 60-years-old. He sense something in Adrian, a kind of latent power, and he helps Adrian learn about and accept it as his own. At first, we have no idea who this Zack is and he remains mysterious for a while.

Everything here happens quickly because of the war that is coming and Adrian has two issues— he has to accept Zack and his otherworldly powers and he has to do the same for himself. They must also be prepared to face Echidna who, centuries after being imprisoned, has returned to see revenge on those that imprisoned her.

It is very easy to get wrapped up in this story and there is a lot that I have not summarized— I want you to have the same pleasures that I had when reading this. Eric Andrews-Katz is a fine writer with a great imagination that he shares with us here, His characters are well drawn but this is a novel that is driven more by plot than by characters.

Reviewed by Amos Lassen

Now this book was really a surprise for me. Why? Well, I usually don’t read anything on a fantasy basis, however as I like my historical stories then I couldn’t resist the premise of Greek gods, Titans, Olympians and all the myth and magic surrounding this. So yes, historical in the sense we have a super take on the Greek gods, monsters and legends; fantastical in the respect of myth, magic and underworlds.

The imagery the author creates in the first few pages is breath-taking. I was already swept away on my mythical Greek trip but it doesn’t take long before we are pulled back to the present day. This gave the story for me a whole new facet when we think that the DNA of the Greek gods have been passed down through mortals for generations but those who possess the gifts of magic are totally oblivious too it at first.

We meet Adrian and Annelise, two twins and both gay, the other fascinating thing I found that was worked into this book is the empathy that twins share. They almost have a sixth sense for what each other is feeling even when they are apart. Even today it is well reported that twins almost share a kind of empathy or telepathy with each other. Annelise has an art gallery and one of her recent exhibitions was for a local artist, Zack. Zack sees or recognises the latent power in Adrian and becomes integral in introducing him to and getting him to accept his powers. I loved the slow build up to all of this, you just know there is so much more to the eye than you think when you first meet Zack but what or who exactly is he and what does he see in Adrian? So from the offset we have the mysterious Zack but my goodness for a mature man he is certainly hot. This was something else that was very refreshing to read. We have mature gay characters, Adrian and Annelise are both 48 and Zack somewhat older with almost sixty. I love this as I don’t always have to read about buff 25 year olds and there is a certain eroticism from using mature characters that you don’t get from younger ones. I call it the Sean Connery syndrome, some men just get better with age!

Anyway, Zack and Adrian are attracted to each other especially considering both have had a bit of a dry spell on the sex front. But whether this all goes well is up to how Adrian can accept who is when it is revealed to him by Zack and also accept who Zack really is. They don’t have a lot of time for romantic fuss because the Mother of Monsters, Echidna, has escaped from her prison, Tartarus and is now out to wreak havoc among the mortals. Again I loved how all this was juxtaposed, how the author brought Echidna back from the underworld to the present day. How the plot develops until the point is reached where Annelise is abducted by Echidna is brilliantly done. All the way I was left holding my breath about what comes next. Now it’s up to Zack and Adrian to enter the underworld to get her back. Again this is the type of fantasy that I can really get to grips with where past magic and myth is connected with the present day. How this is done I found pure genius and loved the whole idea of it. Then the fight begins in the underworld with all the imagery that the author conjures up makes it a joy to read.

This book is pure entertainment from beginning to end without a single boring moment. It is plot driven and extremely light on the erotic but the few times Zack and Adrian do get it on then it is hot! This story treated me to a wonderful modern day Greek saga with all the legend, myth and magic to accompany it. A real page turner if ever there was one.

Reviewed by Mark Wills