Young, rebellious Kyra lives in Washington D.C. with her father who works for the government. This Washington D.C. is not quite the nation’s capital we know; however. Five years prior to the beginning of the novel, the gods of all myth came to life and in particular, many of the trickster deities have taken up residence in Washington, D.C. When we meet Kyra, there’s some tension between her and her father, which is not surprising since she’s a teenager. After another of their regular arguments, her father gets serious before they depart and urges her to simply leave town if something bad happens to him or he disappears.
Soon enough, while venturing with her friends, Kyra enters a museum and draws the attention of two of the trickster gods; one who warns her and the other who threatens her. Fortunately for Kyra and her friends Tam and Bree, emissaries from the Society of the Sun, the human governing body which oversees much of the deities’ activities, steps in to prevent any problems from exacerbating. One of these emissaries, Osborne “Oz” Spencer takes a liking to her. Kyra hates to admit it to herself, but she also feels an attraction.
What ensues mixes a thriller plot with government conspiracy and a dash of family drama in a stew of mythology. For the most, these elements come together well and each feeds off and into the other elements very well. The government is tied up with Kyra’s family, the government is tied up with the gods, and Kyra seeks to both escape and save both. Sounds quite twisty-turny, but it was pretty solid mix of elements for my reading tastes.
Most of the book is told from Kyra’s first person point of view, but for the supporting characters (Kyra’s best friend Bree; ex-boyfriend Tam; and Oz), Bond switched to a third person omniscient. A bit jarring at first, but in the long run, I thought it worked. The multiple viewpoints helped to flesh out the story from more angles. Despite that, because most of the novel (probably ¾ of it) is indeed told from Kyra’s POV, the supporting characters get a bit of a short shrift.
Bond does a lot of things well in her second novel. Her pacing is as brisk and frenetic as in her previous novel and her characters, particularly the protagonist Kyra, is far more than simply the “plucky, clever girl.” Kyra’s emotions come across very well; her urge to help her father, the conflict she feels over Oz, and the fear she has for her friends. I empathized and believed in her as a character and felt for her plight. She takes the full spotlight.
While I enjoyed the novel, I felt as if some pieces were missing throughout specific to the world-building. I appreciated the kitchen sink approach to including multiple pantheons, some more specifics here and there to flesh out how the gods were “woken” and their place in the wider world beyond Washington D.C. would have gone a long way for a stronger foundation for the world. While readers are informed of the gods appearance five years prior, there’s also a sense that other elements of this world are fantastically removed from ours but what that difference is does not come through as clearly. On the other hand, the events of the novel are clearly a time of change for the status quo of the world so on that level, keeping the focus on Kyra’s plight may have been a wise decision by Bond.
With The Woken Gods, Bond has seemed to merely scratch the surface of a world rife for stories. In a sense, while it was an enjoyable read, it seemed more of a snapshot or peek into the window of a larger story. I liked it but I would like to see more.
One last note, I love the cover for this book and overall, the design choices and covers by the folks at Strange Chemistry have been top notch.
Recommended
© Rob H. Bedford 2013
Strange Chemistry, September 2013
Trade Paperback 384 Pages
978-1-908-94425-5
eARC Review copy courtesy of publisher
