Gameboard of the Gods
First book in the Age of X series
by Richelle Mead
Epic.
…I’m afraid, is the only word I can think of to describe the awesomeness of the concept of this book. Imagine gods and goddesses from all mythologies you can ever think of in one book – real, though insubstantial. Set in an original modern world. That concept alone deserves thousands of stars! I couldn’t stop feeling giddy once I got the gist of the plot. Sadly though, the wholeness of the plot is a different story.
Gameboard of the Gods is set in an alternate universe where gods and goddesses co-exist with high technology. Mae is a praetorian for the RUNA, regarded as high-positioned soldier. Justin is a servitor who was exiled to Panama. Servitors are those who investigate religions and they serve as judges as to if a religion will one day cause ruckus to the government. If so, religious societies will lose permit to operate and shall therefore be disbanded. One of the job descriptions is to disprove the existence of the supernatural which is where the conflict stems out because Justin, as a servitor, should disprove deities but he, himself, is a living testimony to their existence.
Though Justin and Mae are likable and outstanding characters, they are not ones without flaws. Justin is a good guy. He doesn’t mean harm to people and he is also very perceptive but sometimes, he just doesn’t know when to do the right thing. Most of the time, he’s in self-denial and it’s very frustrating! Mae was very judgmental of Justin on the first part of the book but she overcame it as she really got to know him well. So unlike Justin, the readers can see her character develop into a much more understanding person.
I feel a bit smug for guessing the god and goddess trying to claim Justin and Mae long before they did, but also quite disappointed with them for the same reason. Odin is a very popular god and Norse is a very popular mythology. Had Justin been half as smart as he was supposed to be, he would’ve managed to piece the puzzle together before you can even consider it a mystery. I’m not a master of theology but even I know about Huginn and Muninn (though I have Iron Druid Chronicles to thank for that.) Also, the mere mention of darkness, crow and Celtic, should have hinted him about the Morrigan.
It was sort of anticlimactic, really. That and I was under the impression that Justin was supposed to be that overly witty, Sherlock-like character. But in spite of all that, I still managed to enjoy the book. I’ve only ever read Richelle’s YA’s which are all in first person POV so this really caught me off guard as soon as I realized that that weird feeling I had while reading this was because it wasn’t in first person. But weird isn’t always equal to bad, because I found myself really liking it.
