#1 BESTSELLER IN THREE CATEGORIES Described as American Gods meets the X-Men, True Blood meets The Talisman, 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!” “Paternus is an imaginative…exhilarating ride … A refreshing take on contemporary … is an imaginative…exhilarating ride … A refreshing take on contemporary fantasy.” -Anthony Ryan, NYT Bestselling author of Blood Song and The Legion of Flame
“Epic, innovative urban fantasy. A great read!” -Mark Lawrence, Gemmell Award Winner and international bestselling author of Prince of Thorns and Red Sister
Even myths have legends. And not all legends are myth.
When a local hospital is attacked by strange and frightening men, Fiona Patterson and Zeke Prisco save a catatonic old man named Peter–and find themselves running for their lives with creatures beyond imagination hounding their every step.
With nowhere else to turn, they seek out Fi’s enigmatic Uncle Edgar. But the more their questions are answered, the more they discover that nothing is what it seems–not Peter, not Edgar, perhaps not even themselves.
The gods and monsters, heroes and villains of lore–they’re real. And now they’ve come out of hiding to hunt their own. In order to survive, Fi and Zeke must join up with powerful allies against an ancient evil that’s been known by many names and feared by all. The final battle of the world’s oldest war has begun.
“Terrific. Paternus is intelligent, intricate, suspenseful, and epic.” -Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld and Bloody Rose
“Wow! Ashton’s story is a crucible in which myths are melted and remade to thrilling effect.” -Mike (M. R.) Carey, author of The Girl with All the Gifts and the Felix Castor series
“One of my favorite reads of the year.” -Alec Hutson, author of The Crimson Queen
“A war of the gods unlike any you’ve read. Highly recommended!” -Michael R. Fletcher, author of Beyond Redemption
“This is urban fantasy done right. Don’t make plans to do anything else once you start reading.” -Graham Austin-King, author of Fae: The Wild Hunt and Faithless
“Ashton is a bloody, terrific genius. The action sequences are truly mind boggling. Miss out on this one at your own risk.” -Fantasy Book Critic
“Will keep readers flipping pages well into the wee hours … A harrowing, edge of your seat adventure.” -The Qwillery
“A wild romp through every religion, myth and culture, uniting them all in some sort of late night Urban Fantasy pan-dimensional smackdown … Paternus brings it on.” -Pornokitsch
“Utterly unpredictable. Fascinating and stylish.” -Fantasy-Faction
“A stunning debut. If you’re a fan of urban fantasy or mythology in your stories, let me repeat it once again, you MUST give this book a try.” -Petrik Leo, Booknest.eu
“So epic and vivid it played out like a movie in my head. I absolutely loved it.” -Beck’s Books
“An adventure packed riot of action, fast paced and definitely furious. Sit down and enjoy the unbridled chaos that is Paternus.” -Lynn’s Books
Paternus: Rise of Gods is the critically acclaimed debut novel by Dyrk Ashton, and the first book in The Paternus Trilogy. Labeled as both urban fantasy and mythic fiction, readers have compared it to works by such diverse and celebrated figures as Neil Gaiman, Joss Whedon, Jim Butcher, Kevin Hearne, Scott Hawkins, Anne Rice, Dean Koontz, Clive Barker, Roger Zelazny, China Miéville, Grant Morrison, and Alan Moore.
Book 2, Paternus: Wrath of Gods, releases July 10, 2018.
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Genre: Contemporary Fantasy / Urban Fantasy / Mythic Fiction.
Market: Adult to New Adult (as opposed to Teen or YA, though savvy 16 or 17 year olds might survive without permanent damage).
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Upon reading the first few chapters of Paternus it’s tempting to play the ‘this meets that’ game: it’s ‘American Gods meets Buffy’ or it’s ‘True Blood meets The Talisman’ etc. In fact, as the story progresses, this novel features a sufficient wealth of original ideas to make such easy comparisons redundant. Dyrk Ashton displays an impressively epic scope in the conception of his world and a keen eye for action and spectacle. I particularly liked how the complexity of the characters reflects the way people in the pre-monotheistic era conceived of their gods. The ancient, powerful beings that emerge from the shadows of the modern age to resume their age-old feud are a capricious, contradictory and treacherous lot but also capable of boundless courage, compassion, and benevolence. All in all, Paternus is an imaginative and frequently exhilarating ride and a refreshing take on contemporary fantasy – highly recommended.
One of my all time favorite series. If you like dark epic stories about Mythological creatures of all kinds with mega battles, humor and a sprinkle of love – look no further.
Paternus is a brilliant and wholly original mash-up of ancient mythologies brought screaming into the present day. Think Neil Gaiman writing Buffy the Vampire slayer with a heavy dose of every major world religion + high octane action and you’re starting to get an idea of how much fun this series is.
Not really sure how to describe this book, other than saying it’s impressive, crazy and incredibly researched (or just the author knows his stuff!) I’ve seen other reviews comparing it to American Gods, and I’d say this book is even better. I loved the characters and I was captivated by all the mythologies (from myriad cultures) that were woven together. The book has a sense of humour, which adds to the enjoyment. It’s also given me itchy feet. I shall be reading/listening on!
Fiona and Zeke, two normal teenagers, are swept into a war between the gods and devils of ages past. Being hunted by supernatural enemies, can they survive? And what part does the catatonic man Fi has been caring for, play in the whole thing?
I loved this book.
I could probably stop there; after all, what more would you need to say? Well, why did I love it?
The level of detail and the amount of research into various world mythologies and religions must have been exhausting but it pays off, giving Paternus a level of history and authenticity that draws the reader in completely.
As it begins the novel follows several lines of narrative. Some focus on the beings that have lived among us for millennia, on both sides of the unseen struggle that forms the background of the novel. Another concerns the two young people; Fi and Zeke, who have been teetering on the verge of a relationship, when their lives are abruptly turned upside down.
Both Fi and Zeke are excellently drawn, their thoughts and feelings easily recognizable and understood, even as they are drawn deeper and deeper into the world of the Firstborn. Their story is the core of the novel,at first told through alternate chapters, until the third act when the focus is purely on them.
The third act also features a sustained set piece, with the small and beleaguered heroes under siege by a seemingly non-stop array of foes. The action is fluid, visceral and the suspense of these chapters is cranked up again and again. In fact, there are a number of battles between the godlike Firstborn during the book, all with their own methods, but each scene flows smoothly, placing the reader at the centre of the action.
The dialogue is well handled throughout; some times amusing, always realistic. And, for a novel that contains so much backstory and world building, I don’t recall a single piece that felt like an info dump. No mean feat.
I can’t recommend this book highly enough and eagerly await the next installment.
Gripped me from the start with two of the best opening chapters I’ve ever read. The tone, the prose, the world – it’s established with incredible aploom right from the start, and this effortlessly propelled me through the story.
Growing up, I loved the Percy Jackson series so much, and Paternus feels like a worthy successor*. Grittier, a bit darker, more mature, but nonetheless building off Percy Jackson in a way that I really enjoyed. At over 500 pages, it’s a long book, but the pacing and suspense just absolutely rips you through.
*It also gave me Skulduggery Pleasant vibes as well, which is one of my favourite continuing series to this day! So, more pros :).
My only real gripe is with some of the fight scenes. A few of them dragged way too long for my taste, and probably the biggest fight in particular felt somewhat boring and repetitive: faceless hoard of minions hurls themselves at the hero; the hero rips them apart without any strain; rinse and repeat for what felt like a hundred pages. Far more interesting were the smaller-scale fights between interesting mythological figures in unique settings.
I’ve heard people complain about the info dumps. That wasn’t an issue for me. Some of my favourite chapters were basically just unloading a whole heap of cool world building details about the various mytholigical figures involved. Also, on a random side note, I’m glad I read this on kindle. Ashton’s vocabularly was spectacularly novel for me, and kindle’s inbuilt dictionary feature meant that I learned about 30 new words from this. Some might find that pretentious, but I think it added another layer of archaic richness to the world.
Ultimately, this was a ridiculously fun read that made recovering from my wisdom teeth removal a whole lot better. I’m really excited to see where the next two books go.
4.5/5 stars.
**Bias note: I run a podcast with Dyrk, but I’d like to think that has a minimal impact on the honesty of this review.
I’m not usually an Urban fantasy reader but this book is amazing. If you like myths and legends then you will like this. The research that has gone into the characters is a great insight to their story. There are many things going on in this story and it’s a long one. As I read it my imagination went into overdrive. It is gruesome, funny, sad, frightening, enlightening, adventurous, breathtaking. Gods and monsters come to play.
It is quite a ride so hold on and enjoy.
This is the proverbial book that could not be put down. Ashton –if that is his *real* name — weaves a tapestry of impossible complexity, spanning literally the whole of creation. It’s the kind of novel that almost requires as many words to describe as the author took in writing it. In rich, sumptuous prose, Ashton will beat you into submission with detail and description. But don’t get the idea the book’s all talk and no action. There’s PLENTY of action. It’s almost as if — dare I say it? — the author is setting himself up for the inevitable blockbuster movie franchise that could be made of this book and its sequels. Seriously, Ashton must be firstborn himself, because no mere mortal could possibly know so much about mythology. Whatever the case, whether you’re a fan of folklore, ancient history, foreign cultures or rough-and-tumble action, you will love this novel.
Let me first off by saying that Urban Fantasy isn’t a genre I care about. That being said, here’s what I think. I was pleasantly surprised. This book is actually pretty good. It started off slow. Picked up about 1/3 of the way in. From there, it didn’t slow down. There was a lot of action & a lot of characters. A lot of surprises along the way. It was a good read.
Dyrk Ashton will blow your mind.
Blow. Your. Mind.
The Rise of Gods introduces the Paternus series, the brain child of what must be decades of research and study of the mythologies of every culture on earth. Ashton starts with the premise that everything is interconnected, and weaves a tale of how the ageless beings that mtoto (humans) worshiped throughout the millennia interacted in great battles and subtle intrigue. While masking their “Trueface” from the hapless mortals, the powerful beings shaped the planet (and other worlds), each to their own ends.
The principal story line follows Fiona and Zeke through their introduction into the knowledge of these beings, and sets the stage for an epic battle, giving the reader a simple taste with the opening gambit.
Although I love Rick Riordan, the concept that Ashton employs reads like Riordan on steroids. It brings the deity intrigue to a completely unprecedented level. And from a research perspective, there is a Dan Brown-like feel. It’s an incredible amount of information, woven together in an epic story line.
The complexity of the world-build and the “Game of Thrones” style descriptions leaves the reader wanting more, and this book provides a strong foundation for the upcoming series.
It’s no wonder it hit number one on Amazon!