cover image Olympus Confidential

Olympus Confidential

Robert B. Warren. Dragonfairy (www.dragonfairypress.com), $16.95 trade paper (372p) ISBN 978-1-939452-48-1

PI Plato Jones infiltrates a group of humans with plans to overthrow Zeus in a clumsy novel that can’t find the right tone. In an attempt to be breezy and cynical, Warren (Murder on Olympus) goes heavy on pop-culture references while failing to give readers a reason to care about Plato. Blatant objectification of women bogs down the narrative in a failed attempt to marry noir style with modern raunch. The action is often driven by people other than Plato, whether it’s Plato’s foil, Felix, breaking them out of prison or a secondary character forcing the book’s climax. Certain ideas work well, such as using Underworld shades of famous fighters as prison guards, but threads are left dangling and too many things go just right. The mix of tragedy and comedy chains down the plot; unlike Andromeda, no Perseus can save it. (Nov.)