I have been debating if I should write a review for the novel, Mythos by Jaysen Headley. I will start my review with why. I really did not like this book. I appreciate the hard work that went into it. Yet, it was not “good.” To be fair, I am a book snob. I have very high expectations for my reading. Could I do better than these results? Probably not, but I was hoping Headley had more oomph behind him.
You might be familiar with his Instagram talking about books he has read, his recommendations, board games, even how much he appreciates his fans and funny jokes about reading too much and what is wrong with stacks of books from floor to ceiling. I had not realized he was also an author until watching one of his videos telling listeners/viewers how much he appreciated the love they gave his book, Mythos. I looked into it and found he had others as well, but decided to start with Mythos and requested a copy via interlibrary loan. When I finally started it, it took me a while to get through it. As there were no pictures (graphic novels and picture books have really spoiled me) and the writing was a bit awkward. And there was a lot of set up and little to no real action until a bit past the middle point, but then slowly builds up to the climax which is a smidgen rushed. Had I not realized there were other books, I would have thought this was his first novel. It had a lot of first time author bumps and bruises. But he did say it was written more for him than anything else, so you could tell he was writing for love and frankly, not to create The Next Grand Novel.
Everything that is Headley’s public persona is here. Dungeons and Dragon like adventure, mythology, unicorns, Japanese folklore, coming out to friends and family, amusement parks, and even a mini-mystery of who is the hottie with the green eyes (I think he was the green eyed one, there is also a blue eyed one, and I got them a little mixed up). The characters are diverse with Henry being Asian (I think Henry might be a combination of Headley’s husband and himself), his best friend is a gal of color, and so on. Some characters are stereotypical and maybe not really completely fleshed out personality wise: the teacher is dorky (but boy can that dude drive a jeep when the monsters are chasing them); the new guy is standoffish (spoiler: broken heart), the best friend doesn’t take Henry’s coming out well (actually believable if not stereotypical), the popular girl is the Damsel in Distress (but she does have a moment or two). And Henry is the “cynical romantic” who is all gushy about coming out and all the hottie guys around him (but he means well).
The main story arc is there is an island where the magical creatures of the past (krakkens, mermaids, rocs, and (spoiler) even vampires) come to life. Part magic, part science, part evil experiments, part crazy rich dude who abuses his assistant/lover, part DID ANYONE WATCH JURASSIC PARK?? (I mean Henry even TELLS you the Jurassic Park possibility.) Things are not Disney Land/World. Well, they are if the Little Mermaid decided to attack the rail system and drown/eat the passengers, the crocodile ate Captain Hook’s ship and not his hand and Unicorns heal you if you believe in them hard enough (hand clapping not required).
The book is promoted for adults, but honestly there were worse things in Jurassic Park, so I think at least 12 and up could be okay with it, but you might want to lean towards 14 and up, just in case. There is talk about characters having sex, one girl is a bit promiscuous/comments about this, and things are trying to be edgy, so a sensitive reader might not be okay, especially with the fantasy violence. People die/are killed, and there are abusive relationships.