Mythology

'What if all we had consigned to the pages of folklore was in fact reality?'

As a small boy, Jack Thompson witnessed a creature killing a homeless man. Now, some forty years later, Detective Thompson still holds the belief that creatures exist within society. Most of his colleagues mock him, except for his young partner, Detective Spencer Kane, gifted with a power that allows him to see more than any normal eye would see.
A crime wave is sweeping the city and just when the Detectives think they have seen every cruelty man can impose on his kind, they are called to investigate a shocking multiple homicide. A family of four lies butchered in their apartment like pieces of meat.
When Spencer’s gift leads him to another startling revelation, he learns of a race of mythological beings controlled by an evil sorcerer who is using the beasts to create a dark army, hell-bent on destroying society. Spencer also discovers he is more than just a simple seer, and that he alone holds the balance of power between good and evil as the two warring sides vie for his allegiance.

Believe everything you can't see.

Review:

Buy it.

Oh, I need to expand? Very well…

I was stunned by the quality of Mythology. Not only was I impressed by the attractive cover but also with the story and its talented teller. Self-publishing often gets a bad rap, but Mythology really sticks up a metaphorical finger at the more traditional publishing world.

Here’s why…

The novel’s tagline reads thus: ‘What if all we had consigned to the pages of folklore was in fact reality?’ This sentence basically sums up the novel. Picture it. There’s Jack – a detective who does believe in these creatures and then there’s Spencer Kane, who doesn’t. Sounds like a homophobic Mulder and Scully right? Well it’s not. What it is is a story of humour, sadness and discovery. The relationship between Jack and Spencer is dynamic and carefully drawn. So it’s with great emotion that you witness the dramatic event which blasts Spencer’s scepticism out of the water. It’s this event that drives the rest of the novel and sees Spencer reluctantly drawn into a secret world of sub-races and magic.

What really makes this novel work is the decision to portray high fantasy against a sharply real urban background. This contrast makes the introduction to elves and dwarves and undiscovered gifts utterly believable. I was initially confused by the character switching right at the start (though it was necessary) but after that, Sharples sucks you in and doesn’t let go. Spencer is truly enigmatic as the reluctant cop-hero who doesn’t often do anything by the book and with a whole host of other engaging characters including the ice-elf Arabella, there’s so much more to enjoy.

My review copy was inscribed with ‘enjoy the ride’. And for all this waffling, as I try to figure out how to tell you how great this book is, Sharples has already hit the nail on the head. Mythology is a wild ride, full of sweeping highs and lows, laughter, secrets and tears. There’s even a smidge of cross-species romance – ooer!

Mythology combines the best of crime and fantasy (thus broadening its reader base) and entrances you with a dazzling end product, the likes of which I have never before encountered. Sharples is an author to watch out for. There’s passion in these pages and I don’t just mean the love scene, I mean the thought and care that’s gone into these deftly written words. Not since Elizabeth Hand have I encountered an author with such a fertile imagination who also has the skills to back it up.

Expect big things.

Reviewed by Sarah Dobbs
Scifantastic.com