As a retelling of Greek myths, this is a book I was really excited to read. But I found myself struggling to start it, get into it, and finish it. The overall writing style is a bit stilted and awkward, especially during dialogue scenes. I pushed through it, since I rarely ever put a book down once I start, but this was absolutely not a book for me.
(Note: I received a copy of this book through the Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.) ( )

Reasonably interesting retelling of myths with much of Hephaestus’s

involvement. Library thing freebie ( )

God of Fire by Helen Steadman; an Early reader’s review:
If a detective were to write the opening lines of this book, it might read: baby thrown off mountain. Just the facts. Luckily Ms. Steadman is a detective with a word weaver’s talents because that fact became filled with sensations and emotions—after 24 hours of falling past stars toward an insignificant marble in the universe, the reader feels the baby-bone shattering impact with the sea, the invasive cold, the disorientation, the “brackish” nourishment ... it was a delicious taste of the writing to come.
This is a story not often told; most people can call to mind bits and pieces of the various well known Greek gods’ stories, but Hephaestus may be blurry. He was not famous in his own right, and even though this is his story, he almost becomes a secondary character who simply knits the other stories together. He was called upon often, but more for his abilities to create things that could scratch some other god’s itch rather than to be honored as a skillful smith and a source of inspirational pride in his own right. He is a god that could rightfully be cold and spiteful, but his desire to please and to belong makes him gentle and accommodating –a complete foil to the hateful childishness of the “in-crowd” gods. His puppy-like devotion to spoiled goddesses in his quest for love frustrates the mere humans reading the accounts.
The author brings all the characters to life with a tale full of explanations as to why the gods and goddesses acted the way they did. We are privy to the origins of the jealousies and squabbles amongst the pantheon—their plots and vanities—their lesser-known characteristics.
I enjoyed this book a lot and I will look for other works by this author. ( )

My reading of this book was interrupted by a family death so I was unable to finish it. I read about half of the book and was pleased by the quality of the writing. The interaction of the gods with the creation of humans was of particular interest to me. ( )

I definitely enjoyed this different take on Greek Mythology. So often Hephaestus is a god on the margins. Here he is the center of the story, with everything told from his point of view. The story is also told in a way that makes the gods seem less distant. Techniques like referring to them by nicknames give a sense of immediacy. They are bombastic, mostly self-centered, and immature, but the interactions feel real.

Told in short chapters, the story explores a wide array of Greek myths with the single, unifying thread being the involvement of the God of Fire. The book moves quickly but remains engaging.

Over the last several years, I've had a hard time focusing on "adult" books and have spent most of my time reading children's books (not unsurprising as a Children's Librarian), but this has been one of the first adult books, that was not a re-read of an old favorite, where I enjoyed coming back and working my way through it.

Thank you to the author and LibraryThing for a free, digital copy of the book in return for a review. ( )