Book Review - God of War by Ian Thompson

I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

** I give God of War by Ian Thompson two stars. This is largely because, at less than halfway through the book, I no longer cared whether the characters lived or died. I’m not usually the type to quit on a book but this one simply wasn’t for me and there are too many others out there left to read to spend time on one that was a struggle.
 
What I Liked:

• There was a certain plot twist that caught me by surprise, so I give credit for that.
• I preferred the ancient Rome story line to the present-day tale. This is the opposite of what I expected.
• The scenes of ancient Rome seemed well-researched. I very much wanted to enjoy this one, but it didn’t work out that way.

 
What I Didn’t Like:

• The prologue. Because of the prologue, it felt as if I was following four different story lines within the first two chapters.  I could see how they were all going to meld together but it still made it hard to settle in and start to feel for the characters early on. For me, it made the story harder to get into.
• The dialogue ran hot and cold for me. Some of it was funny and seemed like legitimate interaction between the characters. But, some of it was full of explanation and some was very campy, horror-type “Mwah-ha-ha, here is our evil, villainous plan.” There was also sometimes too much explaining in the narrative. I didn’t need to be told that two women didn’t like each other, then shown through their interactions and dialogue, then reminded again and again in narrative.
• The creature read very unrealistically to me. I understand the importance of making the stakes high and creating a compelling and scary monster to fear but it just seemed to be unrealistically powerful to me. At first it seemed as though the monster was meant to be ground in reality – something that could’ve been bred from existing animals in Roman times. Then, the possibility of demonic qualities came into play. But, this creature had already lost my interest.
• I think the story was complicated by the serial killer plot line. Maybe, if I had finished, I would’ve seen other connections that made that story more relevant but as it was, it seemed like an attempt to amp up stakes that were already high enough and it didn’t serve to build the tension I believe it was meant to.

Would I Recommend and to Whom:
There is lots of gore in this one and near-constant action in the present-day scenes. It seemed well-researched as I said. I am sure there are readers who would love it and I always hate the idea that one of my reviews might put someone off of reading a book they would enjoy. It didn’t work for me, but I think it’s worth checking out a sample to see if it might be for you.