I read Gods of Manhattan from the Gods of Manhattan series by Scott Mebus. The book is about a special boy who has a unique gift. The book takes place in the present day in Manhattan, but there are characters in the story that have lived throughout New York’s History, some who remember it as Mannahatta. These characters are the Gods of Manhattan.Gods of Manhattan

The main character is a boy called Rory Hennessey. Rory is a Light, a Light is someone who can see what regular humans can’t see, they see what is “really” there. Regular people just see normal stuff and what is happening in the present, Rory can see details and things that other people can’t see.  For example when Rory watches a magic show he can see how they do the “magic.” He can even see the Gods and all the other strange creatures and going ons around them. You might want to be a Light but it is very dangerous being a one. When Rory first found out he was a Light he was upset and didn’t want to be one, because he was worried about the safety of himself and his family. The main focus of the story is that Rory is the only Light left alive in Manhattan and he is the only one who can save the city and perhaps the world even if he doesn’t know it. To become a God you have to do something that everyone remembers. For example John Jacob Astor, a real person is the God of Success. All the other Gods and other worldly characters in the book were created by the life they led in their real life.

Rory begun to figure out he was a Light on his sister Bridget’s birthday. She had a magician come to their house whose name was Hex. In the past Rory had always been able to see through every magician’s trick no matter how complicated they seemed to be and Hex appeared to be like any other magician. However this time Rory had no idea how the magician had been able to do the trick. This disturbed Rory because he couldn’t work out how the trick was performed so he went to Central Park to think about it. When he was in the park he noticed a squirrel and a mouse having a kung fu fight, which is ridiculous and he thought he was going crazy. Next a Native American from another time period appeared in the park and chased him out. Rory ran straight into Hex and when Rory explained what had happened to him Hex explained he was a Light…

Another important part of the book is when Rory met a “Stranger” for the first time. A Stranger is a monster that looks like a kid but it has very sharp metallic teeth like knives. It walks up to you like a little child and asks you to come and then it attacks and kills you. Luckily for Rory he managed to escape the vicious attack but spends the rest of the book avoiding these horrible creatures.

These two events changed Rory’s life positively and negatively. As a result of these events Rory decided to go with Hex and try to save the world

Rory is very responsible; for example he takes his sister around New York by himself. He also made sure that Bridget was safe at home when he ventured out to save Manhattan. Bridget is brave because she fought a Plug Ugly (a gang member) and when someone tried to shoot Rory she jumped in front of him. Even though her brother left her behind at home, she decided to go after him to save him. Rory is very cautious and does not trust anybody. Throughout the story Rory is uncertain which side he should be on and questions everything. He thinks twice before he does anything and it took him a week before he joined Hex.

A good example of Rory’s responsibility is displayed when he said to bridget, “You can not come. It is too dangerous.”

I really enjoyed the Gods of Manhattan, but I got confused at times because the book has two different but parallel stories being told in each chapter and it was difficult to follow along all the time. I enjoyed the suspense in the book often created by the two parallel stories leaving you at cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. I would recommend this book to someone who likes Percy Jackson books because it has many similarities like Gods living with humans. It is a long exciting read and if you have problems remembering storylines in books this maybe too complicated for you. Rick Riordan the writer of Percy Jackson said, “it’s a fast and exciting read,” I think he commented on the book because it is has a very similar theme.

I would rate this book four stars.

By Jack Bbarker