Forge of the Gods

Rating 3.5 stars<br /><br /> Not bad. I have been watching Forged in Fire recently where they make blades and swords and this was very similar. The synopsis was a little misleading. It made it seem like since Cameron was the only male demigod to be born in a generation and he was surrounded by a all female demigods, then there was going to be a lot of sex happening. That didn't really happen. His being a male demigod didn't really make much of a difference in the story. <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="8dfe8dbc-69ff-4824-bc6e-4a5540522db6" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="8dfe8dbc-69ff-4824-bc6e-4a5540522db6"> He was attracted to his recruiter Hailey right from the start but she was an officer, even though she looked like a supermodel. He did have one sexual encounter with his neighbor, but that sort of came out of nowhere. I was expected there to be at least some flirtation or sexual innuendos since he was the only male demigod on campus, but that didn't happen. Him being the only male didn't really give him any advantage. What gave him a bigger advantage what that he was the son of Hephaestus and there hadn't been a child from that god in a long time. </label> <br /><br /> The story follows Cameron. He is a blacksmith working in an old time museum. He has an ability that he can't get burned. He doesn't know why or how, just that he has always had it. A beautiful woman shows up and wants to hire him for a commission but needs to check his credentials. She tells him to make a test sword. When he shows up and the sword passes the test, she tells him that his a demigod and the son of Hephaestus. She proves this by saying she is the daughter of Apollo and turns into a living ball of light and fire. She tells him she is a recruiter that is trying to bring in more soldiers to help with their war. Not only are the gods and demigods real, but so are the monsters and it is the job of the demigods to stop them. She tells Cameron about a college that is used to train the next generation of warriors. He will be able to advance his blacksmith skills. <br /><br /> When he gets to school, he has to deal with problems more than just being a blacksmith. The head of the school/army is the only other male demigod and he doesn't like Cameron at all. There is also a divide between the gods. The 12 main gods children are treated better than all the rest. there is a bias towards anyone that isn't a child of one of the twelve. Cameron later finds out that there is a prophecy in which he might be involved. An Ultimate weapon will be forged that can stop the monsters for good and the council thinks he is the one that is supposed to make it. No pressure right? <br /><br /> I only rated this 3.5 stars because I thought it was missing something. There was nothing bad, just nothing stood out. The characters were okay. The story was okay, though there were a couple of "that doesn't make sense" moments <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="6a38e280-3526-4652-8911-7c66a22bfe0b" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="6a38e280-3526-4652-8911-7c66a22bfe0b"> The compound is attacked and they use weapons that Cameron made. He tells them there is something wrong with the weapons and they shouldn't be used, but they use them anyway and they fail. The head of school arrests him for murder since he made the weapons. That didn't make sense. </label> There could have been more with Cameron and the other women. With the setup of him being the only man surrounded by beautiful women, that felt like a missed opportunity. The world building was okay, and there was a lot of Greek mythology that I liked.

It's nice to get a book aimed at crafting. Fun concept and book.

<b> It starts out great! and then it's like he finished writing it drunk on cough syrup </b><br />Simon Archer books are hit or miss. Some are great, wile others are a waste of time. This one is both.<br />Forge of the Gods is a Percy Jackson clone with tepid sex scenes that just appear with no build up or sexual tension present before hand. <br />Now this book starts out pretty good. I was thinking that I liked where it was going, and it was in several ways a better book than the lightning thief. And then it just all falls apart.<br />There are two big problems with the second half. Number one, the book contradicts itself. The hero tells us he has never done, or is incapable of doing something The damn book has shown him doing.<br />Number two, out of context emotional reactions. Characters react and overreact to nothing, to things that are common place, or to things that have happened several times before in the book with no reaction. There is an especially perplexing scene where after a fire, our hero wants to go visit a friend in the medical ward. The staff and his classmates wrestle him to the ground to keep him from going to the med ward, wile he screams to be let go. What makes this even more confusing is that they were just trying to get him to go there, but he insisted that he didn't need to go. Oh by the way, after they eventually let him up, he calmly walks over to the medical ward and visits his friend but he stops along the way to threaten and terrorize a nurse. There was absolutely no point to that whole exchange. It advances nothing, resolves nothing, contributes nothing, and the thuggish behavior is completely out of character for the hero.<br />I'm giving this book 3 stars, but it ends as a two star book. The second half meanders around pointlessly and the writing style gets very sloppy like Simon was punchy from pulling an all nighter and then never proof read what his sleep deprived brain had written.

Audiobook review. <br />What is wrong with you people? 5 stars? really? By far the most cringe worthy story so far. Dont’t get me wrong, i think the plot is good but the execution is horrible. The MC is the guy who is buff but doesn’t show off; okay that good. However, holycow such low self esteem and zero self worth. No one wants a blacksmith in this day an age? What a load of bull. NOT EVERYTHING is done by machines in China. They make it sound like he is the last blacksmith in the world. I guess, stone masons and carpenters don’t exist in this world too? Also, a school trip full of boys not interested in blacksmith that make swords , spears and knives? What alternative universe is this?<br /> Also, for a 26 year old, he acts like a 17 year old mama’s boy. His mother drives 4 hours to see him because he didn’t call her at the regular appointed time? Geez, i guess they never really cut that cord when he was born. I just stop listening after that. I don’t expect a HE-man OP MC, but it is hard to respect or care about a character who is mentally and emotionally 16. I am getting the impression that this is all the author’s wishful thinking. I like a story where I don’t have to think too much about everything, but this book constantly breaks the illusion with the lack of real substance. Also, it also show’s the author’s lack of life experience, actual knowledge or the character's work skill and it shows the author's lack of research.<br />

So, <br />First of all, how can someone give this book over 3 stars is beyond me, but I guess fake reviews exist for a reason.<br />The book is basically a serious case of lazy writing to avoid actual plot and world building, and so much retro self projection that is starts to hurt after the first hour into the book. The author has some serious issues.<br /><br />Now let me rant some,<br /><br />For those who want to skip the details, it's like this, the book is a basic story of magic boot camp, with high school setting, u got classes, u got exams, u got teachers, u got the class bitch, ofcourse we don't learn anything about any of that beyond the simple, here u are deal with it. The book is not bad, but it's not for people above 13. <br /><br />Now for some details,<br />The mc is not a whinny little shit, but pretty much as close to it as u can get, I know depressed people who think more highly of themselves than this twit. And he does it not for reasons, it more like padding from author to avoid actual conversation, hence a lazy author.<br /><br />Now, I am going to explain a scenario that happens at the start, and don't worry it won't spoil anything, but it pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the book.<br /><br />So at the start when the mc is approached by two girls, they ask him to makes a weapon, he does it, they like it, and he passes the test, they inform him about the god existing stuff, then they ask him wether he wants to go or not. He accepts, now they are in the car, and mc is in the back seat, and this is where we start mc thought train, and boy it is a serious case of self projection.<br />So as any normal human being, when on a long road trip, u either listen to music or chat, in this case the mc decided to try the music option, but hold it right there, guess why he decides to try the music?, As a normal person it would be simply to remove boredom or anxiety right, but noooooo, for the mc to go for music, he needs to have a serious case of car sickness, his reasoning for going for music is not cause he is bored or anxious, oh god forbid the mc can behave like a normal person, but it's to avoid being sick, then when he tries to switch on the music, one of the girls stop, saying u should ask for it first, he asks, she says no, k, then he tries to chat with em, and they chat a little bit, but when he tries to ask some serious question, they fking drug him, they fking gas him into sleep. <br />Now I am sure u think I am over reacting, but please continue to read u will see why, so now when he wakes up, they are almost at campus, then they simply tell him to go to dinner hall, since it's dinner time, and basically tell him to FK off, they do tell him about the gas atleast, now he is in dinner, and here comes the bitch, so she comes to him and insults him, the typical, then insults him god father, so he atleast fights back, and insults her back, and wow, she goes all serious and angry, but wait for it, latter on of his next room friends inform him that demi-gods don't take kindly to insults against their parents, and he points out, that the bitch started it, and she is like, no it's your fault for interacting with her, and I am like u gotta be in some messed up head space to write this shit, then they conversed a bit more and the mc learns a few important things, but no where close to the things he needs to know, and the other girls finally says the dreaded lazy words, did the recruiters explained nothing to u?.<br />And that is where I draw the line, the author is clearly using the tropr of ignorant kid, but that does not work here, since they people who were supposed to fking inform him about all this gased him, they recruiters even mention some introduction class where he would explained all this, but that never happens.<br />And this is the biggest problem with the book, this particular scenario just repeats itself in a loop, the author has this excessive need to explain all of mc action with super long internal monologue, that is s clear self projection of his own insecurity, and worse of it all, it takes the precious space in the book, that could have been used for actual story purposes, and worst of all, the mc is not exactly likable, don't get me wrong, he's not a dick, but more like a emotionally unstable person who think and reacts so much as a character, that he stops being an actual person, and worst of all is the excessive doubt filled internal talking, it's so irritating, and the fact that it is padding becoms so obvious that it starts to hurt, I mean if just by looking at a girl, your first thought is, I am shit, why is she even tolerating my presence?, then u got some serious internal issues, And all then when the said girl actually talks and behavse towards u like a normal person.<br />And with all that, a lot of other issues related to self contradictory plot points, and the head of the school being mad at the kid for reasons,and a bunch of other nonsense, and all that, cause if u remove them, u wont have any reason to actually root for the kid, cause he's lame and super annoying.<br /><br />Oh and there is also some prophecy bullshit, cause othe wise how would u justify the kid being there, even though they justified it at the start of the book, like i siad, a lot of contradiction.<br />And they ask the kid to make s super weapon, and assign a girl to help him, they give him 6 weeks to complete it, and out of that 6 weeks, for 5 weeks the girl is sent on missions and is not available, and he also has to study for the exam and shit, and even though he is supposed to make this weapon to end the war, they never even try to actually help him, and when for the last week she is there, he still fails, and the still blame him, and even punish him, again all this so that we can root for the mc.<br />Like I said, the author is lazy, and shir happens cause he wants it to, not cause the story demands it.<br />The book is one big ugly fanfiction, with a half ass school drama, under the pretense of magic shit.<br /><br />Before I read the book, I skimmed through the reviews, and despite all the negative ones, I wanted to experience this book, since the premise sounded good, and boy was I so fking wrong, one thing is noticed is, that all the so called good reviews, don't actually mention anything about thr bloody book, they are all very generic, and hence it leads me to belive that they are mostly false, cause no matter how ignorant u are, ignoring the glaring inconsistencies that slap u in the fking face after every event, that is a feat in itself.<br /><br />

This book started off good but then somewhere along the line fell off.<br /><br />Firstly, before I say anymore, this is a very slow slice of life book with minimal action, so if you were expecting an action type fantasy, this isn't it. That isn't to say there isn't any action scenes/fight scenes but there are only two, and occur in the middle and the end. This book focuses on introducing a lot of characters and tries to setup the world. Because of this I can forgive the slow pacing, but after Cam got into the academy the pacing became horrendously slow. The book moves at a snails pace as it takes it sweet time to show us the ins and outs of the campus and the people that attend. This is fine but the way the we get to experience everything is boring. I think this is because of the MC and the way that the author sets up his character.<br /><br />The MC feels like a doormat. He is 26 years old, yet he feels like a young teen who is scared of the world. He went through a lot of hardships and social stigma throughout his youth, yet he acts like a naïve 13 year old despite the author trying to say otherwise. The way he acts in the story and what the author is trying to do with his character contradict one another. I just don't get it when authors choose to write a fearful, more or less timid and naïve character yet also wants to make them the confident, takes no shit from no one person. Use one or the other. It's either he is timid and naïve, or self assured and confident. Jeez, using both just doesn't work. Because of this I didn't like Cam's character and hence why I struggled through the book.<br /><br />This story just feels like a watered down version of Percy Jackson, only difference is that Cam has a harem and Percy has Annabeth. (Percy and Annabeth has way more chemistry in lightning thief than Cam does with any of the girls in this book). So yeah, basically if you read the Percy Jackson series, you more or less read this story. Same formula. Lost Son, big prophecy he has to fulfil, and a lot of hardships the campus/camp is going to throw at him. Hell there is even they same betrayal that occur in the first book of the Percy Jackson series and here it makes no sense. In the Lightning Thief Percy is only 12, so it is fully believable that even though he felt something off, he would have not expected to get betrayed by someone he thought of as a friend, but here Cam just looks like a complete fool. This naïve nature of the protagonist shouldn't be how authors write in adult fantasy books. Fuck man. Disappointing!<br /><br />PS Does any else get a weird oedipus complex from Cam and his mother. Just me. Maybe I am fucked up!

1.Since this is written in mc perspective internal monologue is given but he explains too much. I started to wait for the phrase "dear readers". MC starts to explain somethin inconsequential in middle of a scene which get annoying. MC sensory input, what he sees or hears in an instant, is far lager than humanly possible, which kind of remind me of anime.<br />This has been prominent in author's other books, so if this is his style it is not really for me.<br />2. since main character has supernatural power his skepticism to other supernatural things is odd and <br /> of all things he doesn't explain it. Other important behavioral and decisions he also leaves out but explains everything else.<br />3. If the reader doesn't like the mc and his constant explaining, there is no hope of liking this book, since it there is not much else. <br />4. The research of mythology and weaponry is shoved down the readers throat and for some reason ever side character is surprised that mc know something. This happen multiple times.<br />5.95% of the cast are female and most feel kinda silmilar to each other.<br />6.MC is kinda stupid and dull person. and none of the females have shown interest in him as a person. one is with him cause he is hot and kind and only male around and the other has sort of saviour bias.<br />7. The premise is kind of interesting but also lack impact.<br />8. scenes with other characters are dull. SC aspect, interest and reactions are minor.

<strong>Mythology 101 &amp; Forging</strong><br /><br />I've always known about some of the Greek myths and their God's, but OMG now I know who is related to whom and how each God is related to eachother. I never expected so much information in a simple story, but the story was Great. It was fun from start to finish and I learned something useful, not just something you read and go onto something else.<br />This story is about a guy that has always liked forging as a blacksmith and one day finds out that he's related to a Greek God, the son of a God. He gets recruited to a demi-god academy where most demi-gods children are born as women. Men are very rare. He's got his hands full! He finds out about a prophecy that some feel relates to him, but he's not so sure. His job is to create the "Ultimate Weapon " to end an ongoing war against beasts that have they have been battling for centuries, but noone knows what this weapon is supposed to be. <br />Well, you need to see for yourself how awesome this ends!<br /><br />Read in 2 days

The MC discovers that he is a demigod - someone who has one parent who is a god - in this case a greek god. Hepheistos the smith under the greek gods. <br />The MC is offered a place in an academy of greek demigods. That academy is military style and the officers are descendants of the main pantheon. <br />Most other demigods are female - well it is marked as harem book and there are some "steamy" scenes but nothing that wouldn't fit into the storyline and not outragous in number. <br />The story itself is very nice - Percy Jackson for adults. The MC is likeable his companions too and all the smithing stuff is well described. Additionally the reader gets a refresh course in greek mythology. <br />Of course there are some plot holes, some things don't come over strange but all over a book i was happy to discover.<br />Well done - will read the next.

<strong>Entertaining Beginning</strong><br /><br />Seeing as to how this is going to be a series I have to admit that the author did a great job setting the stage for what is to come. This opening segment is easy to read, well written, and enjoyable. The characters are well defined and described in a manner that either enamors the reader or immediately causes disdane. The story itself wasn’t a walk in the park for the hero and reader alike. I soon discovered that nothing was to be taken for granted which added a bit of mystery to the adventure. From this first book I can see immediately how a blacksmith, as a hero, could be extremely entertaining. Loved the start and highly recommend this book and am on to the next segment.