3.5 stars ( )

REVIEWED: Bottled Abyss
WRITTEN BY: Benjamin Kane Ethridge
PUBLISHED: June, 2012

This is an epic novel that furthers Greek mythology by bringing it into modern times. Fascinating and thoughtful explanations as well as a rich plot and diverse characters. This is not the kind of book that you can skip a few pages and think you're going to understand what's going on - there's a lot of information and sub-plots the author has woven together, and it takes some endeavor to keep up with the reasoning for events. There were several points that I thought the book would have closed nicely, but then it kept going, taking the reader down deeper and darker levels until the final fantastic conclusion. I personally enjoyed some of the background characters more than the leads, but that is a strength of Ethridge, in that every character is so different and well-rounded.

Four-and-a-Half out of Five stars ( )

I thought this was a great book. Towards the end when chapters got short it left a little to be desired though.

Bottled Abyss is a story about a resurrection of Nyx and her river. Beginning with a couple, falling apart nearing a year after the death of their daughter, and the discovery of a bottle containing water with life saving powers. The apex sees the destruction of the end of the first era of Nyx, and the pinnacle shows the beginning of a new era of Nyx. The story is full of suspense.

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I found that the first chapter of this book pulled me in very quickly, though it was a little too dark and dreary to be something that I wanted to keep reading for very long. I walked away from it and came back to it with numerous days in between.
It's a well written story, and the vaguely mythological plot - particularly the conclusion - are a novel approach to writing. Having said that, it left a generally bad taste in my mouth - very bleak, with a lot of imagery that was particularly distressing from a female perspective. (Incidentally, there is a great deal of adherence to traditional gender roles in these characters. Their assigned genders are a massive part of who they are, to the point where I found it a little distracting that none of them really had a personality evolved enough that you could swap their gender and still have a believable character.)
I applaud the author's talents with prose, and with interweaving elements of the fantastical with realistic modern scenes, but his work is not something I will be pursuing further. I also do wish that the plot had had more of a cleaner ending, though I think that's more a matter of personal preference.

This was the second Ethridge novel that I have had the privilege to read, though I will confess, it was definitely the most confusing of the two. The plot revolves around elements of Greek mythology, of which I know very little. Thus, coming from this perspective, I found the book difficult to fully grasp, as the author clearly assumes that the reader will have a working knowledge of this unique background. Now, having said that, I still found the book enjoyable, as it was clear that substantial effort was expended to ensure the content was reasonably accurate. The author introduces us to the major characters, though I must state I felt they were somehow underdeveloped-- too little was said early on, and I did not feel a connection to their plight. I also felt that the author did not adequately describe the various settings to help create that ever important 'mental image' of the scenes. I have often felt that one of the joys of books is that they offer the reader a chance to imagine the world in which they are set-- and in this instance, I felt the book did not afford the reader enough content to draw that connection. However, despite the concerns, I do feel the book is worth trying out, especially if one is familiar with their Greek mythology, and is ready to delve back into the world where the supernatural can wreck a profound influence on modern day. ( )