Customer Reviews

The Face of Apollo: The First Book of the Gods

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Do (or did) gods such as Apollo and Hades actually exist? The Face of Apollo proposes that each god possesses a human being, and uses him or her in the performance of god-like duties. The story follows the adventures of a teenage boy, Jeremy Redthorn, who is possessed by Apollo. This was my first Saberhagen novel, so I was unprepared for a world that at first appeared to be ancient Greece, but isn't. Names like Jeremy, Kathryn, Carlotta and Arnobius appear. The gods represented include not only Greek gods, but also Roman, Norse and Native American. The characters eat both New World and Old World foods (though eating isn't mentioned often), and there are mutant animals called "cameloids". There are no "modern" weapons; characters fight with spears or bows and arrows. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where this story is set; this and many other inconsistencies (some obviously intentional, others perhaps not) detracted from the story. However, the story was intriguing enough to hold my attention. The ending is disappointing, but Saberhagen has left things open for the sequel or sequels which are coming.

Starts off good, then degenerates into an absolute mess. Saberhagen's got goodwill to spare with me, so I'll try the next book. But what a disaster! People pop in and pop out; the plot twists and then goes back to where it was; boots in one chapter become sandals in the next. Don't the people at Tor read these things?

Authors who write very long and successful series, like the Swords series (all really good, btw!), often start a new series that's only a slight rework of their original (Eddings, Feist, etc). It's understandable - they're under a lot of pressure from publishers to get something out fast, and hey, why ruin a winning formula? At the same time, I prefer to shell out my hard earned bucks for something that I *haven't* read before, and Fred Saberhangen delivers just that!

Saberhagen keeps some of the themes from the Swords, namely that Gods who walk the earth are not actually "gods" but somehow enhanced humans. In addition, there are "items of power" which are often sought out by individuals, but sometimes acquired just by luck. In the other series it was Swords, here it's Masks. Other than sharing that same starting point...NOTHING is the same, which I love! Kudos, Fred!

The topography of the land is totally different, as are the personalities of all the major characters. This storyline is quite unpredictable and engaging too! This looks to be a great new series, and I highly recommend it.

This is the first Saberhagen book I've ever read and most likely the last. It sounded interesting and could have been really good, but I can't take the style in which it was written. It was inconsistent in a lot of places and SO repetative. It would probably be half as long if everything weren't repeated twelve times. I really can't stand it when someone says the same thing over and over. It gets irritating. It's almost like he wrote some paragraphs twice, couldn't decide which version he liked better, so decided to keep them both (or all three or four). I especially didn't like the way Jeremy had decided that the masks were taking over the wearers and totally changing their personalities, and then suddenly two pages later(after a lot of repetition) everyone is back to normal and the masks don't seem to have such an influence over them. I really regret reading this one.

Fine by me as a matter of fact, I love this guys good. Good basic story the classic everyman or boy in this case finds a mask that endows him with the powers of the God Apollo. He doesn't know what to do so he decides after much soul searching and warring with the new presence in his head to take it to Mount Olympus.

Overall-What you have here is basically a solid adventure story but I do have one problem the ending like most Saberhagen endings is just a little too metaphysical for me. I hate books that leave it up to the reader to decide what is meant by them. A little resolution is all I ask for.

Many of the negative reviews do have merit. However, in my opinion, Saberhagen's greatness lies in his high concepts, not his prose. I read Saberhagen books because I am assured of finding a completely different concept than the majority of the Dungeons-and-Dragons-based or Lord of the Rings morphs that abound in the fantasy genre. And once again, Saberhagen delivers. A unique premise: the ancient gods were not immortal beings, only their intellects were, bound up in a device called a "Face". When a mortal being puts on this "Face", they become that god, without losing their former identity. What a great concept!! Thus through their human avatars, the gods continue their ages-old wars and aims. But this story os less about gods, and more about the humans wearing their Faces. It is a great story. Yes, it jumps around a bit, often confusingly. But Saberhagen solidly delivers an enjoyable read. And when you are reading something with a different concept from other books out there, you can forgive at least some of the flaws. I highly recommend this book. Try it. Decide for yourself.

Saberhagen does his usual excellent job developing his story in a fast paced setting. His use of humans as the vehicle through which the "gods" act is a recurrent theme not just in his work but that of many other authors. The chicken or the egg conundrum also surfaces in the case of the enigmatic human gatekeeper who confesses to his desire to be Apollo and who also indicates that he created the "faces" through which the gods choose their earthly avatars. I smell the distinct odor of the "Emperor of the East" series, one set in a post apocalyptic world sprinkled with so called "gods" and "demons" whose birth is inextricably linked to the destruction of its "golden age" technologically oriented predecessor. I find the main character, Jeremy Redthorn, and his struggle to remain as human as possible to be the highlight of the story. Once again the age old themes of temptation and redemption echo throughout the plot. This is a good book and from all appearances looks to be only the initial work in what is probably a new series.

I thought this was a good story--it certainly kept my interest, but I only gave it three stars because the writing didn't "flow" smoothly along. Still, it's worth a read, if only for the unusual perspective offered by Saberhagen.

Whatever happened the the gods of the Greek pantheon? "The Face of Apollo" explores the lives (as exhibited in memories), "death" and rebirth of the some of the ancient gods and their impact in the lives and minds of mortals. The main character, Jeremy, is overtaken by an Intruder who is in fact the god Apollo. The story develops around the quest of Apollo, in the form of his human avatar Jeremy, to take back the sacred Oracle of Delphi from control by Hades' minions after the "death" of Apollo in a collosal battle...and ultimately to restore the lives of gods and the faith of mortals. It concludes, in an interesting story line, that the gods need humans to in order to "be". This is a lively and entertaining story although some of the secondary characters and story lines were a bit under-developed, in my opinion. A lot of detail was put into developing certain subplots but they seemed to trail off a bit at their conclusions. Regardless of the few minor shortcomings, I enjoyed the story very much.

Maybe he wrote the outline and then gave it to a high school student to finish.

The repetition is extremely annoying. At one point (page 171 to be exact) it is mentioned that a character is lucky not to have been injured in a fall. Then it is mentioned twice more in the next few paragraphs.

There also seems to be some confusion in the flow of time. Days will appear to have gone by and then it turns out to be the same afternoon. I hate to say it, but it is almost like Mr. Saberhagen would write a few lines, have a couple of cocktails and then write a few more. Doesn't TOR have editors that read these books before they are printed?

I have read almost all of Fred Saberhagen's books and am terribly disappointed by this one. I will read the next in the series, but if it isn't any better, then it is time move on.