Pantheon: The True Story of the Egyptian Deities

When you boil down any mythology to its basic stories, it will eventually seem a bit odd. Sibling relationships, animal transformations, Machiavellian plots, and punishments way beyond what’s necessary… It makes for grand storytelling, no doubt, but with so many versions of “events” out there, how do you begin telling the “true story” of a religion’s deities?

Well, Hamish Steele accepts that challenge with Pantheon, a wacky, yet faithful, retelling of the stories of the Egyptian gods, the creation of the universe, and their interactions with man, leading to the rise of the first pharaoh. And Hamish goes all out in his retelling; the gods are full of personality, rich with foibles, and the story reflects the peculiar nature of so many mythic tales when viewed through a modern eye.

The visuals are cartoony in the extreme, which would be a detriment in most cases, but not here; it absolutely works when a fair bit of sex and violence is involved in the storytelling, allowing the reader to bypass the graphic moments and focus on the narrative threads. No need to bog down a good yarn with too much viscera.

Pantheon is great fun and engaging in the extreme. Mythology comes alive.