Gods Behaving Badly

Wouldn't you act badly if you were one of a group of forgotten Greek gods now trying to make a living and maintain a dilapidated flat in London? Rosalyn Landor gives each god the respect he deserves and endows them all with varying shades of arrogance. Apollo, star of a TV show on psychics, is furious at the injustice of being spurned by Alice, a mortal, and of being robbed of his power by the other gods. Artemis, a dog walker who is well heeled, haughty, and judgmental, turns Neil, a mere mortal, into a hero. In addition to creating convincing portraits, Landor projects the author's considerable gift for irony. Her reading captures the humorous details that bridge the ancient past and the bizarre present. S.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

August 27, 2007
British blogger Phillips's delightful debut finds the Greek gods and goddesses living in a tumbledown house in modern-day London and facing a very serious problem: their powers are waning, and immortality does not seem guaranteed. In between looking for work and keeping house, the ancient family is still up to its oldest pursuit: crossing and double-crossing each other. Apollo, who has been cosmically bored for centuries, has been appearing as a television psychic in a bid for stardom. His aunt Aphrodite, a phone-sex worker, sabotages him by having her son Eros shoot him with an arrow of love, making him fall for a very ordinary mortal—a cleaning woman named Alice, who happens to be in love with Neil, another nice, retiring mortal. When Artemis—the goddess of the moon, chastity and the hunt, who has been working as a dog walker—hires Alice to tidy up, the household is set to combust, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Fanciful, humorous and charming, this satire is as sweet as nectar.

Phillips's wildly funny romantic caper stars Greek gods who are living in a run-down townhouse in London, barely making a living and losing their powers. Apollo falls in love with Alice, a cleaning woman, who is in love with Neil, an engineer. Apollo and Neil face off, Alice is killed by lightening, and Apollo falls into a coma, turning the sun off and threatening mankind's existence. Neil makes a perilous journey to the underworld to rescue Alice and bring Apollo back to life. Tom Sellwood undertakes an enormous cast of characters--from sexy, deep-throated goddesses to the whiny Apollo and an assortment of Londoners. The abridgment is flawless, keeping a high-energy pace and offering a barrel of laughs. M.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine