The Lore of Prometheus

Solid story I enjoyed if a lot

It’s a strange day when the guy who talks to dead people begins to think he’s the normal one. The Lore of Prometheus protagonist, John Carver, is a broken ex-military with severe PTSD symptoms. During his last field mission in Kabul, terrorists killed his squad members. Saved by a miracle, he blames himself for the tragedy. His dead squad members share the sentiment and express it on a daily basis. A desperate situation forces John to return to Afghanistan. Things go downhill almost instantly. A group of researchers obsessed with magic and superpowers abducts those who miraculously survived impossible situations in their past. They hope to activate hidden powers by subjecting captives to stress, hunger and torture. In Austin-King’s story, superpowers stem from rage and despair and only deeply traumatised individuals can experience them. Such powers bring only pain and destruction. For some, it’s too much and they turn in feral animals. Telling more about the plot would spoil it for you, so I’ll stop right here, right now. Apart from the excellent and well-researched moments of introspection and trauma analysis, the story shines because of the believable and relatable characters. John’s dry sense of humour and no-nonsense approach to life made me instantly like his voice. Since he narrates the story, we see the world through his eyes and experience it with him. There’s also a second protagonist, an Australian nurse, MacKenzie. Her story, told in the third person, pulled no punches and I was furious at the author for dragging her through hell. It served something though. The payoff was sweet. As a side note, is mixing first and third-person point of view becoming a trend or it’s just Austin-King and Galley writing in a sync? Flaws? Well, I have one small(ish) issue concerning Janan’s ending but it would be a spoiler. The Lore of Prometheus is enormously fun, with vivid, visceral action scenes, disturbing realisations and engaging characters who are definitely on the darker end of the “moral shades of grey” spectrum. Austin-King blended high-octane thriller, in-depth analysis of trauma and pure badass moments into a compelling and memorable story. TLoP gets a comfy place in my top three superhero novels, in the company of Daniel O’Malley’s The Rook And Ayize Jama-Everett’s The Liminal People.

Incredible. I flew through this book. Gripping, characters, perfect pacing, and excellent humor all twisted together in shades of darkness make this one of the best urban fantasies I've ever read.