Enemy of the Gods picks up where Hofsetz’s previous book, Challenges of the Gods left off. The book begins with antihero Zeon imprisoned and alone on a planet with his trusty cat-like robot Harry for company. Assuming he has left his previous existence behind him, Zeon has settled into a sense of normality. Obviously, that doesn’t last long when a missile drags Zeon back into a life he thought he had left behind. The opening chapter was an excellent introduction to the book that made me keep reading for the next few hours. A cat robot that can speak to missiles – now that’s cool!

The story itself really flows nicely, and much of the imagery depicted by Hofsetz really helps bring the lands of Pangea and umpteen parallel worlds to life. Zeon himself is kind of a bumbling nuisance, but you can’t help forming a soft spot for him. Humour is injected throughout the book which I loved, and at times it really works to distract you from the utter destruction that is going on around him.

The obvious question is – do I need to read the first to understand what is going on? In my opinion, yes, probably. Although you could get away without it, although it will take you a minute to catch up. I spent a lot of time trying to work out the difference between a hypersphere and dreamsphere, and who was good or bad. Concerning the latter, it seems our hero himself has trouble at times, so I am sure Hofsetz does this in an attempt to keep you guessing (it works!).

One thing is for sure, you need to concentrate when reading this book. A few times, I had to stop and revisit a page or chapter to work out exactly what was going on. Given there are multiple parallel earths, some of which have slight variations of the same character (with similar-sounding names), I think I can be forgiven.

If you love sci-fi or dystopian fiction, this one the novel for you. As I suggested, it would be beneficial to pick up the first book in the series, as it would ease you into this universe much quicker. That being said, this was an entertaining and enjoyable novel to read, and I will undoubtedly pick up more of Hofsetz’s work.

Pages: 333 | ASIN: B0846T483N