Stevie‘s review of Fury’s Bridge (Afterlife, Inc, Book 1) by Brey Willows
Lesbian Paranormal Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 14 Mar 17
I have a slightly uneasy relationship with books that draw on Greek mythology in a modern setting. Some work really well for me, but others just make me cross. This novel’s blurb drew me in however, especially since it drew on the legends of the Furies, rather than the flashier, better known gods and goddesses. Then, once I started reading, I discovered that the story itself draws on some very wide influences across the whole spectrum of past and current belief systems, with the idea that gods are brought into being, and then sustained, by the faith of the humans who worship them, or who call upon their names. So far, so good.
The gods of old, and a few more modern entities, have joined forces and now work out of one huge campus of office and accommodation suites in Santa Monica. This enables them to keep up with the demands of an increasingly scattered, mostly dwindling, pool of believers, but some still cannot be sustained by the faith of their remaining flocks and fade from existence, while others have integrated with the human world to a much greater extent, and got themselves normal jobs and homes away from the main buildings. Recently, however, it appears that more gods are disappearing, and at a greater rate, than ever before, so Alec, one of the three avenging sisters known as The Furies, has been tasked with finding a way of slowing the decline of her companions, and with tracking down the subject of a prophesy on the issue.
That subject turns out to be Selene, a philosophy professor who has no time for what she considers outdated beliefs, and who encourages her students to think likewise. Just as she’s realising that her current relationship is never going to satisfy her, Selene bumps into Alec – posing as a candidate for the new theology professorship on Selene’s campus – and the two strike up an unlikely friendship that slowly turns into a romance. Meanwhile, a fellow philosopher – and pop icon – invites Selene to join him in educating the public with the aim of creating a new movement based on logic rather than superstition. Obviously he’s up to no good…
This was an imaginative, well-thought-out take on religion and mythology, with a lot of consideration given to how millennia-old beings might cope in the rapidly changing modern world. Ultimately, however, the execution of the main plot fell a little flat, and it felt a little too much like the pilot episode of a series rather than an action movie in its own right. This being a new (or at least new-to-me) author, however, I’m very tempted to stick around and give the next in the series a chance to redeem things when it comes out.
Grade: C
Summary:
If you knew the gods worked from a building in Santa Monica, California, would it change you?
Avenging fury Alectho (Alec) Graves has been tasked with saving the world, when she isn’t out seeking justice for those innocents who suffer at the hands of evil-doers. If she fails in her mission, those she loves will cease to exist.
Selene Perkton is a philosophy professor in Los Angeles. She lives an ordinary, well scheduled life, and knows her place in it. When Alec appears, the world she thought she knew becomes a very different place.
Read an excerpt.
