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ReDeus: Divine Tales
The gods have returned. All of them! The change promised by the ending of the Mayan Calendar in 2012 manifested itself in an unexpected manner. Every pantheon of gods and goddesses, from every belief the world over, has returned ... changing the world forever. As the pantheons settle into their ancestral lands, they vie for worshippers, gaining or losing power along the way. They find the world of man a bewildering, crazy quilt, and each wishes to remake their lands in their own image. Come and meet some of the inhabitants of this strangely familiar world in eleven new tales that explore what it means to worship in this new reality. A Knight Templar hunting mysteries. A rookie pitcher with a unique belief system. A wounded solider returned to battle by a goddess. A reporter who isn’t sure what to believe. A homicide detective on the Manhattan beat. A man out to kill the gods. A single father trying to survive in a world without Santa Claus. And many more! Chronicling this new tomorrow are Dave Galanter, Allyn Gibson, Phil Giunta, Robert Greenberger, Paul Kupperberg, William Leisner, Scott Pearson, Aaron Rosenberg, Lawrence M. Schoen, Dayton Ward, and Steven H. Wilson. Join them and discover a world where everything old is new again—even the gods themselves.
- GenresShort StoriesFantasy
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 3, 2012
2 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 14, 2018
Given the premise, I was looking forward to many intriguing tales. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Maybe because the idea that the gods were actually gods and not just an advanced alien (sort of like Apollo in the Star Trek episode, Who Mourns for Adonis?) is hard to swallow. I think it’s too ingrained in our culture that god created us and the universe, and wouldn’t be confined to power over just a certain aspect of our lives. So what goes on between humans and “the gods” is more clever than deep.
Two stories that did have some depth were Tricks of the Trade, by David Galanter, and No Other Gods Before Me, by Paul Kupperberg. Both dealt with how those who remained faithful to the one god, dealt with finding their place in this new world. In these stories, one could almost believe that a world existed where the old gods had returned, though, again, without them actually being gods.
if the rest of the stories had been like these two, I would have given the book five stars. As it is, they only managed to pull it up from getting just two.
Two stories that did have some depth were Tricks of the Trade, by David Galanter, and No Other Gods Before Me, by Paul Kupperberg. Both dealt with how those who remained faithful to the one god, dealt with finding their place in this new world. In these stories, one could almost believe that a world existed where the old gods had returned, though, again, without them actually being gods.
if the rest of the stories had been like these two, I would have given the book five stars. As it is, they only managed to pull it up from getting just two.
November 3, 2012
A fun, shared world anthology that explores what happens when the gods return. All of the gods. From every culture and pantheon. It's not pretty, but it's pretty darn entertaining. Sometimes it's even a little scary.
Each story has its pluses and minuses, and together they create a good picture of what this new world is like and how people are trying to survive. A definite recommendation to SF fans (and I have it on good authority that two more anthologies in this universe are in the works for next year).
Each story has its pluses and minuses, and together they create a good picture of what this new world is like and how people are trying to survive. A definite recommendation to SF fans (and I have it on good authority that two more anthologies in this universe are in the works for next year).
August 16, 2015
Look, I'll be honest. I helped conceive this world and co-edited the anthology so I'm quite prejudiced. Having said that, I am really proud of this collection and think it has some really terrific writing and storytelling. Is it perfect? Few things are. Is it entertaining? You bet. Do I recommend it? Absolutely.
December 27, 2012
In 2012, the old gods returned. All of them. The Olympians, the Celtic, the Norse, The Native American and Mexican... this anthology of stories is set against the background of a world redefined by the return of the ancient powers, and their demand to be worshipped. The book reminds me most of the Wild Cards anthologies, but without a framing story. Each tale introduces different characters and scenarios against the backdrop, and adds new layers to an altered world. I enjoyed the smaller stories the most, little moments in little lives redefined by the return of the gods, while bigger tales of extraordinary events left me a little disinterested, but overall the standard of the stories is consistently high. My only complaint is that several of the most interesting seem to be the start of something that doesn't conclude here - character introductions and origins that set up possibilities to be explored later, but which are never returned to. It could be that a further volume will revisit them, but it's annoying that some of these potentially intriguing tales offer little by way of an interim conclusion, and so leave the anthology on its own feeling incomplete.
March 9, 2013
A friend recommended this book. At first the topic didn't interest me -- Ancient Gods Returning to Earth. But as I read the stories I realized that there was much more to the idea than I had imagined. The tales focus on different gods, many I had never heard of before. What I enjoyed most was how the authors dealt with the culture shock experienced by the characters, not just the mortals, who are now lorded over by these mythological figures, but also the gods who must come to grips with a world that has moved on without them. Hope to see future volumes.
May 26, 2015
When I finished this book I wasn't nearly as happy as I wanted to be. It seemed like a good idea, then it just didn't work for me. There were a couple of stories that were better than others.
The two stars show this as "It was OK". I wanted to like this book more than I did. I particularly want to like it more because I have met one of the editors and really, really enjoyed our conversation. There are two more out in this series and I am considering checking out the next one since getting to chat with the editor.
The two stars show this as "It was OK". I wanted to like this book more than I did. I particularly want to like it more because I have met one of the editors and really, really enjoyed our conversation. There are two more out in this series and I am considering checking out the next one since getting to chat with the editor.
September 13, 2014
You may be inclined to discount my review as I'm one of the contributing authors but I just finished reading all of the stories in this anthology and I can honestly say that Divine Tales is a brilliant start to an imaginative, fertile concept replete with storytelling potential. All of the writers involved did an outstanding job building this world of returned gods created by Aaron Rosenberg, Bob Greenberger, Paul Kupperberg, and Steve Savile. I'm confident that readers will feel the same.
September 13, 2014
You may be inclined to discount my review as I'm one of the contributing authors but I just finished reading all of the stories in this anthology and I can honestly say that Divine Tales is a brilliant start to an imaginative, fertile concept replete with storytelling potential. All of the writers involved did an outstanding job building this world of returned gods created by Aaron Rosenberg, Bob Greenberger, Paul Kupperberg, and Steve Savile. I'm confident that readers will feel the same.
July 6, 2017
I really enjoyed this book, and hope the series continues without succumbing to "shared world syndrome". I was less bothered than expected by bias towards "the book", but the lack of female voice bothered me more than I'd expected. Hopefully future volumes will address the issue.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews