Review: Against All Gods (The Age of Bronze #1) by Miles Cameron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I saw this title on Apple Books recently and the description intrigued me. I’ve always been interested in stories that play with tropes and turn them on their heads because these stories often build fascinating plots in the process. I’ve found that stories doing this often stay with me long after I finish, and it sounded like Miles Cameron would attempt something like that.
Once I dove in, I found an interesting world with captivating power dynamics that made it very hard to put down! By the end, I found myself wanting more of the world and struggle Cameron has created!
Before I go too far into it, let’s see what the main plot is about.
Summary
The gods have gotten used to ruling over the mortal world. They showcase their power with an iron fist, using their authority to oppress others, including each other. However, not everything is perfect in Heaven, as a conspiracy to take them down from the inside begins to form thanks to the more powerful gods controlling those with less power.
Meanwhile, a group of mortals are dissatisfied with the gods’ rule, banding together to do something about it. With the gods’ authority weakening as conflict grows from both inside and out, the fate of Heaven and the mortal world below hangs in the balance.
Thoughts
This story is set in a fascinating world! While the sprawl of the setting and the politics involved can get rather complex, I still found myself captivated! I love how Miles Cameron incorporates elements of Greek mythology into this system, showing a polytheistic setup with a few major gods getting fascinating personalities as their stories are fleshed out. While some readers might consider it a flaw that this treatment is only given to a select few characters, I personally prefer it because – to me – it keeps the story focused.
The mortals are also enjoyable to follow! Seeing their stories first built as single character arcs, only for those arcs to begin to come together, is awesome! I love when narratives take seemingly disconnected character plights and connect them in a way that feels natural. Each character has something about them that is unique, and they all have gripping goals, even if they’re not always sympathetic. While there were times where I forgot parts of certain backstories, I think this can be chalked up to so many individuals being focused on, so it’s only a small flaw in my eyes considering how strong the rest of the narrative is.
Speaking of those characters, let’s discuss them some more!
Characters
Gamash
I found myself feeling for Gamash right off the bat. Miles Cameron wastes no time in setting up this character and building his motive to revolt against the gods. His entire reason for joining the rebellion makes sense and I found myself hoping he would achieve his goal after seeing the gods’ actions. I feel like Gamash is one of the most sympathetic characters in the entire narrative because his big heart is shown clearly in his arc.
His powers are also interesting. As the story goes on, we see these abilities used in combative situations, and what he can do both to his adversaries and himself while using them is captivating! Despite this power, however, he does not underestimate the danger he often ends up in. I like that he is not cocky about what he can do and treats his powers with respect. He came off as incredibly wise to me for this reason.
Well, I think that’s all I have on Gamash. Let’s talk about Era and Daos next.
Era and Daos
Era is a fascinating person to follow as well. It is made clear throughout the story how difficult things are for her, and her perseverance in continuing despite all the danger in the setting had me rooting for her in no time. Her struggles with her sexuality, her desire to have someone close in her life, made me feel for her and how hard it must be to have to go it alone in this world. Seeing her realize what she wants personally along with what she must cope with in the plot makes her easy sympathize with.
Speaking of relationships, part of what I like about her is how she and Daos grow closer throughout the story. Daos is an intriguing character, being rather mysterious in nature given his personality and his age. He is young, but he is so wise that I often found myself captivated by his abilities and expansive knowledge. His matter-of-fact way of conveying information suggests to me that there is more to be discovered about him down the line, and I hope it is something the next volume will continue to flesh out.
With that said, that covers every sympathetic character I was aiming to discuss. Let’s look at the darker side of this cast of characters next.
Enkul-Anu
Enkul-Anu is, to me, the most unlikable character. I can’t stand him. Everything he did in this story, every line he had, served to make me angry. I suppose it is somewhat fitting with his role in the narrative, but his actions don’t win him any points with the reader.
Story-wise, though, his character is captivating! His attitude creates a terrifying environment in the chapters focusing on Heaven, showing just what the mortals are up against in trying to bring the regime down. I like the situations that arise in Heaven due to his actions. They lead to fascinating scenarios that make perfect sense within the context of the story, and I find myself hooked on whatever comes next!
With all that said, that’s every character I was looking to discuss. Let’s move on to structure next.
Structure
I really like how Cameron has constructed this story. Seeing the narrative go back and forth between Heaven and the mortal world helps to illustrate the full context of each situation in the story beautifully. This setup also helps to illustrate the dichotomy between where the mortals reside and where the gods watch over them. I love the nods to Greek mythology Cameron incorporates in the setting as well. It makes the world seem more believable in my eyes. I also appreciate the map provided at the beginning of the novel, showing the setting in full. If anything, though, I wish the character list hadn’t been put in before the narrative kicked off. I think something like that is better suited for when the story is finished in the back of the book, because by that point the reader knows the characters and can better understand the information being provided.
I also have a minor nitpick about the different perspectives being used as well, unfortunately. Miles Cameron will often switch between character perspectives within the same chapter, and I found these changes to be confusing at times. While the pacing itself is mostly a positive for me, there isn’t enough time in certain instances for the reader to get their bearings before moving to a new point of view. This problem mostly seemed to occur in moments of high intensity, which made those gripping moments go almost too quickly.
Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let’s look at the writing next!
Writing
Miles Cameron’s prose ended up pulling me in early on. The writing beautifully illustrates the dynamics of this world. The dialogue is captivating, showing how the gods and mortals interact, creating relationships that lead to gripping character arcs and storylines! It is probably one of the best aspects of the writing in this story, showing how character interactions inform events. There is a perfectly cohesive blend between the prose and dialogue that hooks the reader and keeps them asking questions throughout the story!
The pacing surprised me. There are chapters in my copy that go over one hundred pages, but those long chapters feel like they fly by. I suspect this happened because of the way each chapter is split up, first focusing on the mortal world before closing out by switching the narrative’s attention to what is going on in Heaven. I remember feeling a little nervous about the pacing when starting the story, but it doesn’t drag like I had feared it would. While there is that issue I highlighted earlier with the switching of character perspectives, that’s the only problem with the pacing. Otherwise, it works perfectly in every other aspect it needs to.
Well, I think that covers everything I was hoping to talk about. I’ll move on to my final thoughts next.
Conclusion
I am definitely picking up the second book in this series, without question! I think Miles Cameron has constructed a fascinating world that is amazing to explore, along with a gripping conflict that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout! While not every character is entirely fleshed out, I think the ones that are fully developed provide enough substance for the reader to become fully invested!
If you’re looking for a captivating fantasy story to get lost in, I can’t recommend this one enough! For this reason, I will be giving it five stars.
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