Pagan Passions

The gods are back, and they've brought their drama with them. When the Greek and Roman deities return to Earth with full divine powers, everything changes overnight: war becomes divine sacrilege, the economy stabilizes by decree, and prudery simply evaporates. The Empire State Building now serves as the Tower of Zeus. This is the world William Forrester must navigate, and it's more complicated than any textbook. An acolyte of Athena and a history professor, Forrester thought he had his life figured out. Then Maya Wilson walked into his class, a devoted worshipper of Venus with very specific ideas about extra credit. As if one seduction weren't enough, the Temple Myrmidons arrive with a summons from on high, dragging him into a world of divine trials far more treacherous than any academic review. Athena may be the goddess of wisdom, but even she struggles to help Forrester when Venus's devotees and Bacchus's followers make their respective pitches. Randall Garrett's 1950s satire plays the ancient myths for both comedy and cosmic horror, asking: what happens when the gods return and they're just as petty, jealous, and interfere-y as the old stories always claimed? For readers who want their science fiction with a wink and a cocktail shaker.