Book Review

Basic Details:

Book Title: Challenge of the Gods

Subtitle:

Author: Michael Siddall

Genre: Science Fiction

Part of a series?

Order in series:

Best read after earlier books in series?

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24861543-challenge-of-the-gods

Overall score:

I scored this book 4/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

The book started a little slow. I almost abandoned it after the first chapter but was glad I didn’t. After a few chapters, the pace picked up and the book became a pageturner.

Enter a group of warrior friends who try to complete a challenge and gain the favour of the Gods. Several warriors die, three survive. And then, they settle down. However, the warrior blood runs deep. Will they be able to resist another challenge?

What I liked about the book:

How the friends still looked after each other despite being adversaries.

What I didn’t like about the book:

The slow pace at the start.

My favourite bits in the book:

When Fafnir was able to go back in time to attempt changing the order of affairs.

My least favourite bits in the book:

When Fafnir lost Iona so close to the end of their quest.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and as I understand, the first fantasy book.

What books could this be compared to and why?

This is a different genre from what I usually read. I can’t compare it with any other books at present.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would recommend this book for the following readers:

Children No

Young Adult Yes

Adult Yes

If you like fantasy and myths, this book may be the book for you.

Book Description by Author:

In the terrifying darkness of the silent night there parades a carnival of lost souls... ugly, black, dreadful things... and even worse lurking in the shadows behind them.

In the World of the Blackhawks the formidable and fearsome face of evil comes in many guises, all of them deadly, but none deadlier than Morbious, an old enemy.

Now the Warrior-Rangers' cunning and courage will be pitted against their ultimate adversary; an invisible Hunter-Killer-Shadow-Warrior in the quest... Challenge of the Gods.

About the Author:

Michael Siddall was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England and his aspirations to become a writer began after devising the board game: 'Challenge of the Gods'.

Educated at Newfield School in Sheffield he left with exemplary grades in his final exams and went on to Granville College where he studied Art and Design, Literature and History.

Times were hard and he left to become a carpet fitter. As a child of nine, Michael contracted Rheumatic Fever, spending a whole year in the Northern General Hospital, laid flat on his back for the first six months and in a wheelchair for the following six. To occupy himself he wrote his first short stories and poems and has continued to write every day of his life since.

He was told that as a consequence of his illness he would have a weak heart and spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Michael proved the specialists wrong. Not only did he walk again; he joined the army and became a P.T. I in the R.E.M.E., stationed at Borden in Hampshire with a heart as strong as a lion.

He holds the rank of 5th Dan Black Belt with instructor status in three different styles of martial arts - Shotokan Karate, Aikido and Korean Kempo. A writer since school, he has written eight novels and self-help book, 'Challenge of the Gods' being his first serious attempt at fantasy writing after completing a creative writing course. He still resides in Sheffield where he plays hockey at Ice Sheffield