I met Scott Beckman in person last weekend at COSine. He’s a new member of our group at Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and a struck me as a pretty savvy guy. Interesting sense of humor, open to suggestion. He seemed eager to share and to learn. I picked up one of his books last week and liked it enough to bring it here.

Pantheon is a classic journey fantasy. When his mother dies, her last request was for Lars to track down his family in a far-away city on another continent. When he gets there, he discovers that gods are real and participate in the daily lives of their followers. The title – Pantheon – isn’t just an allegory. It’s an apt and literal description. Lars manages to meet more than his share of them in his travels and few of them have his best interests at heart, which I found intriguing.

The story flowed nicely. I cared about Lars even as he left the burning pyre consuming his mother’s remains. He carried enough mystery – revealed slowly – to keep me flipping pages and wondering where the story would lead. Honestly, I didn’t see it coming. That’s a good thing.

I believe Beckman is one to watch as he develops and puts out new work. This is his second title, published just last year, and I’m going to be looking for his next book. Maybe grab a sample and see what you think.

About the reviewer:

Nathan Lowell has been writing science fiction and fantasy most of his life. He started publishing in 2007 and has no intention of stopping any time soon.

Learn more about Nathan Lowell and his works at http://nathanlowell.com

[Note: You’re seeing more reviews from me because fellow authors aren’t sending reviews of the books they like. If you’re an author, consider the submitting a review about an indie book you loved. The submission guidelines link is at the top of this page.]