Review: Divine Misfortune by A. Lee Martinez

Synopsis for Divine Misfortune by A. Lee Martinez

Teri and Phil had never needed their own personal god. But when Phil is passed up for a promotion – again – it’s time to take matters into their own hands. And look online.

Choosing a god isn’t as simple as you would think. There are too many choices; and they often have very hefty prices for their eternal devotion: blood, money, sacrifices, and vows of chastity. But then they find Luka, raccoon god of prosperity. All he wants is a small cut of their good fortune.

Oh – and to crash on their couch for a few days.

DIVINE MISFORTUNE is a story of gods and mortals – in worship, in love, and at parties.

Divine Misfortune

Divine Misfortune was a breath of fresh air for me. I picked it up at just the right time, ready for an easy, fast read romp through Martinez’s alternate universe where the gods – all of them – are very real and very modern. The main characters all proved themselves lovable in their own ways and, despite the brevity of the book, felt very fleshed out.

The setting was just absurd enough to be humorous and interesting, but not too far into the surreal as to be off-putting. Luka, the raccoon-headed god of good fortune, was a lovable little raccoon character (I guess I have a soft spot for raccoons, as I love Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy as well) with thousands of years of baggage and a flippant air. In time, you come to realize that being a lower tier god would actually not be the greatest thing in the world. Immortality gets old.

The plot was relatively straight forward, holding no real twists and one hell of a Deux ex Machina ending (literally), but the plot wasn’t really the point. The humor and the setting are what sets Martinez’s books apart. If you’re in the market for a light read that’ll make you chuckle along the way, Divine Misfortune is the divine intervention you need.

The following two tabs change content below.
David Andrews is a long time blogger and writer, a fan of video games, books, history, and podcasts. You can find him on Twitter @proceduraldave

Latest posts by David Andrews (see all)

1 thoughts on “Review: Divine Misfortune by A. Lee Martinez”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *