Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

I love Greek mythology and was thrilled to read this. It is a totally reimagined world for the Gods and Goddesses. It is a novella so a little short as I would have loved to read more.

I really liked the premise of "Dio in the Dark", but the execution didn't really work for me. The plot didn't make a lot of sense and the characters were all rather underdeveloped.

While I was initially excited for this book, it took me a long time to get through with it despite the short length of the novel. I found the concept of the story fun and refreshing, but the plot and pacing felt rushed. The narrative did not give enough time to flesh out the characters and their motivations.

Overall, I wish there had been more depth to the book overall. Loved the concept and the book cover though.

This was a lot shorter than I assumed it would be. The concept was very interesting and for some reason I assumed we would see more Zeus but I was very happy with the story itself.

When an ominous darkness becomes a threat to the entire pantheon and all of humanity, Dionysus is forced to pause his non-stop revelry to help. It’s a fast-paced story with a bleak, noir vibe. I loved that a large majority of the characters that we know and love are included in such a short read. If you’re not familiar with Greek mythology, this would be a great beginner-friendly story. There’s even a helpful character glossary in the back. But I do think that the short length hindered rather than enhanced. Because so many characters were introduced, there was very little development. The severity of the story was also lacking due to how fast-paced it was.

Rizwan Asad’s DIO IN THE DARK is a modern take on Greek mythology centered in Toronto, where the gods and goddesses are trying to survive in a world that has largely forgotten about them, and in which remembrance in the gods is the only thing keeping them here.

The story centers around Zeus’s disappearance and the journey that Dionysus embarks on to find his father and rescue him from The Darkness. While there were aspects of this novella that I enjoyed, I found it to be largely underdeveloped and formulaic and the solutions to the conflict too convenient to allow for any real depth and growth of character.

Overall a fun, quick-paced novella but not one I felt did what it set out to do as well as I’d have liked.

i love anything around greek mythology and this was definitely an interesting take.

i like how there were multiple perspectives.

this was original and interesting, and although the characters weren’t very fleshed out and i couldn’t relate or properly appreciate them, i enjoyed this read.

1.5 stars

Zeus and the other greek gods have been living in the mortal world, among humans for hundreds of years where they have been reduced to nothing more than myths and legends. Zeus shares a quaint little house with his two sons: Dionysus and Apollo, but when Zeus suddenly goes missing, Dio has to investigate to find him. He comes to realize that there is a darkness growing and festering as the mortals forget all about the gods, and that darkness is threatening the gods. On his journey to find his father, Dio encounters various gods, primordial deities, and mythological monsters, and it’s now a race to save his father and also to rescue the whole world from the growing darkness.

The ideas are there and they are good, but there are about 150 pages missing for this book to really be good and entertaining in my humble opinion. Everything feels rushed and under-developed. We don’t know why Dio is going to see the people he visits, or why he asks the questions he asks. We have no insight into what he’s thinking or planning. We just follow him as he runs everywhere in Toronto.

The other Gods and Titans are mentioned and introduced in a more modern way (like Aphrodite being a social media icon or Hades being big in the life-insurance business), which I found quite original and funny, but they are not developed at all, and we are given no backstories, so it might get confusing for someone who does not know the basics about the greek Gods of this book. They seem to have no personality and all end up helping Dio even if some seemed reluctant to do so at first… It all seems very convenient and Dio manages to solve everything quite easily and almost all by himself.

The main character, Dio, is not fleshed-out at all either. I can’t even think of 5 words to describe him. He is ordinary, purposeless and he also seems to be quite clueless about what’s happening around him.

Honestly, the only reason I finished this book is that it is so short, but the shortness is also probably the reason why I did not enjoy it more... I know that everyone else seems to have LOVED it, but I just couldn’t enjoy it once the plot started to unravel and everything was rushed and under-developed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ness House Press for providing me with a digital copy of this book.

I was instantly drawn to this beautiful cover and when I read the synopsis I knew I needed to read it. I love reading about Greek gods and mythology and found myself thoroughly entertained throughout the story.

It's not a very long book - I could've easily consumed a 400 page version of this story and loved every second. But in retrospect I actually like that it was the size it is because everything was packed tightly together and nothing seemed like it had no purpose being there.

This story comes from multiple perspectives - Dionysus, Apollo and Zeus - with Dio and Apollo's being my favourites. They had endless internal (and external) battles to fight and it was good to see them do just that as well as rely on each other in times of need.

I couldnt help but feel some kind of underlying message through this story that is mirrored in a lot of indigenous culture. By repeating and passing on the stories of those who have gone before us, we are cementing their memories in generations to come. I'm not sure if this is what the author had in mind but it's what I felt and I really appreciated it, as an indigenous person myself.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. Albeit it short, I found myself drawn to the dark and sometimes messy situations the characters had to experience. It's one of the best Greek-based stories I've read to date.