Annetta Ribken

I was pretty much primed from the beginning to enjoy this book, early chapter drafts of which I was privileged to see because the author is a good internet friend of mine -- but not only because of that.

Set in a hotel on the edge of the questionable part of town, Athena's Promise concerns the struggles of its front desk manager, Pallas (and the naming is no coincidence, there, but I'll get to that in a minute), made all the more difficult as the story kicks in by two unwelcome events: a show more murder that has taken place in one of the guest rooms, and a new, unlikable and unpleasant "guest services manager" imposed on the hotel by its owners to beef up the "numbahs" and make sure it retains its corporate flag.

This new guest services manager, by the way, is a werewolf.

And he's far from the weirdest thing in this hotel or this world, for Athena's Promise is, in addition to being what is termed a "cozy mystery", an exploration of what life would be like if somehow the old Greek gods and goddesses came back (she doesn't bother explaining how that has happened, just refers to "The Crossing" and leaves it at that) and brought the whole stable of mythological creatures along for the ride. Thus one front desk clerk at Traveler's Haven is a pixie and the night auditor is a vampire, the hotel manager is Medusa (yeah, that Medusa) and the housekeeping staff consists of a lot of very kind-hearted and well-behaved and hard-working zombies. Zombies, of course, being all of those things naturally, at least before they "Turn" and become the shambling brain-eaters of familiar lore.

And the guests make the staff look plumb dull: randy centaurs flashing trashy bling and showing up demanding rooms by the hour, the better to ravish their too-willing groupies; Elementals for Environmental Protection in town to supervise work on cleaning up the Mississippi River (the city of St. Louis is never explicitly named as the locale for this story, but it is Ribken's home and the novel has the feel of St. Louis throughout); and mermaid divas who travel from city to city and strip club to strip club putting on shows and mezmerising men who then abandon wives, families and girlfriends to become the mermaids' too-devoted followers and, incidentally, steady guests at motels like Traveler's Haven.

And that isn't all, for Pallas herself, bustling around trying to maintain order AND solve the murder, is not an ordinary girl, either, and her mystery is expertly teased out in little doses throughout the novel, complementing and beefing up the neatness of the main plot.

She is, too, the narrator, and it's her unique, fierce, feisty voice that really makes this novel enjoyable. Her protectiveness towards her staff, especially the much-misunderstood zombies, her impatience with the foibles of centaur studs and barely competent cops and Guido the cheesy werewolf who thinks he's the boss of her, is wickedly fun to read, and even if you think you know her secrets from reading between the lines and applying your own meta-knowledge of Greek mythology, you really don't, not quite, but it all works very well.

This is a self-published paperback and it does have a few flaws in formatting that might bother some: the page numbers on the left-hand pages are in the wrong corner, and there are a few passages of text that, bizarrely, are centered instead of left-justified, but I urge anyone who thinks he or she might enjoy a story like this to forgive these. Ribken is a one-woman operation (except for her cover artist, Rebecca Treadway) and an original, amusing voice in fiction writing who deserves to be read.

Bring on Athena's Chains, the sequel to Athena's Promise! show less

There is something to be sad about having a unique hook, something out there, that makes you as a reader say "huh, I really want to know what happens". For me it's the fact that Pallas works at a hotel at the front desk. When I first started going to college I was working at the front desk of a hotel, and believe me it isn't an easy job, I myself had to deal with a shooting (someone got shot in the butt, so it wasn't a murder like Pallas). So needless to say when I saw Pallas worked the show more front desk of a hotel that catered to the supernatural, and one where I murder happened, I was super intrigued.

As a front desk worker Pallas is basically responsible for anything and everything that comes up in the hotel. Making sure employees have everything they need, guests have everything they need, dealing with conventions, and reservations, oh and of course the inner politics that are in every job; oh and of course all the while trying to navigate all the difficult and different supernatural "critters" circumstances.

I love Pallas, she is a take charge kind of girl who is willing to do anything to get the job done. And it's not just because she is some crazed work-a-holic (although she is), it's because he work is her home, and all those people that she works with are her family. She's also a girl with a past, and a past that she hold close to the vest. In fact it's kind of fun going throughout the book and trying to put together the pieces of this woman's past.

Another reason why this book is such a fun read is because it is a part of a larger murder mystery throughout the book and it's really interesting to attempt to figure out who did it, why they did it, or if someone in the hotel did it.

There are parts in this book that make you laugh, and there are parts that seriously make you want to cry along side of Pallas. The employees are all creatively written and distinct in their own rights. Not only that but the world building is fantastic. What I think is even more impressive about this book is so much of it takes place in one setting, and when you have a book take place in one setting it can easily become repetitive. But that was never a problem for Athena's Promise, it was fun and interesting from beginning to end.

This was good book, a fun read, and kind of made me wish I worked a zombie hotel. There isn't anything to hot and heavy in the book so I would say it would be okay for younger readers, but those of you who really like urban fantasy this is a great read, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. show less