Horsemen (City of GodsII)

I received a print copy of Horsemen the second entry into the City of Gods series, from author Jonathan Maas with no expectation of providing a review. You know I'm going to do it anyway.

I may have a problem here. I gave the first book in the series; Hellenica 5 stars in all the places that require such things, and it fully deserved that rating. But what am I supposed to do now? I'm all out of stars. Giving Horsemen another five stars seems to be damning it with faint praise. Horsemen has taken the story to new heights. Considering the four main characters (Horsemen) are teens, we must believe this book is to be pigeonholed as YA. That would be so wrong, so limiting. 

Our "teens" are tasked with bringing order to the "Conurbation" while dealing with petulant, scheming, greedy, and double dealing Gods. Thankfully the Gods here are second tier. Most are recognizable as deities, but they are not the "Big Guys". Poseidon is probably the highest ranking god mentioned. Okay, maybe Zues, but both of these appear mostly as backstory. We instead, spend time with lesser gods; Loki, Heracles, Oshun, Dagon, Lillith and more of that ilk.

Author Jonathan Maas has created such a wonderful "conurbation" of districts which worship all these lesser gods. This really facilitates the interactions between various districts. 

Our Horsemen are familiar, in principle, to most readers: Death; Kayana Marx. War; Gunnar Redstone. Pestilence; Tommy Alderon, and the White Knight Saoirse Frost. This group destroyed my ability to call Horsemen as a YA book. These characters are incredibly wise and consider their actions deeply before acting. Many YA stories have young people who are the smartest or most clever around, but these four are so far beyond that, there age becomes irrelevant. 

We have violence, political intrigue, no sex (kind of difficult when the slightest touch from two of the characters causes death), loyalty and distrust. 

The story is so well crafted, the character and world building is superb, and the author speaks to his audience with such respect and intelligence that Horsemen holds its own in any age group from YA on. I think it appropriate for even the mature middle grade reader.

There is some veiled social justice message hanging around the periphery. Why else would Frost Giants, Spartans, Apaches (yes, Geronimo and Cochise), Norse and Amazons all live so closely together? Can you say diversity? Thankfully the focus is on the story and not the social justice. The balance works for me.

If I haven't been clear, I think Horsemen (City of Gods II) is an incredibly good followup to Hellenica and has definitely hooked me. Jonathan Maas has hit this one out of the park. Bring on more! I encourage everyone who has even a passing interest in epic fantasy to check this one out. Enjoy! 

Mike