The idea of wrestling with gods is an old, even ancient tradition ... just ask Jacob about his wrestling an angel, or Gilgamesh about his battle with Ishtar's bullish minion, or Sun Wukong about his smackdown with Buddha's palm.
Over the millennia, tablets have crumbled into dust and temples have been consumed by the jungle. But the belief in gods is still with us, and tales of conflict with said deities are still part of our shared literary tradition.
Wrestling with Gods is a good addition to that tradition. Story by story, we read of a protagonist's conflict ... with faith or religion, with family or community, with themselves or with a wide and colorful variety of gods and demigods, their priests and supplicants, their blessings and curses. These stories, their settings and their cast of characters are limited only by the imaginations of the contributors, and their ability to tell stories in a manner that draws readers in and entertains them ... which in this case is to say, 'unlimited.'
And the variety of 'styles' employed by the different contributors - their perspective, their language, their tone - was another attraction for me.
That's not say there aren't stories that will appeal to you more than others ... there were, for me. My favorites included "Mecha Jesus" by Derwin Mak, "Come All Ye Faithful" by Robert J. Sawyer, "A Cut and a Prayer" by Janet K. Nicolson, "Summon the Sun" by Carla Richards and “Ganapati Bappa Moriya!" by Savithri Machiraju.
That's just a small sample of the total offerings ... I'm sure you will find some favorites of your own ... and enjoy the book in general.
__________
NOTE: I received a free e-copy of this work through LibraryThing in exchange for a review.
