Review: Of Gods and Goats

Of Gods and Goats. A novella that one of my best friends wrote and published. I had been waiting a year to read a copy of it. So when it came out I knew that I had to order a copy and read it.

The story is roughly about a man named Old Hellhorns who can offer you immense magical power at the cost of a few years of your life, and of the old god IWAS. During this story you learn about who these people are, and why they are. While Old Hellhorns is an understandable villain, one that empowers the disenfranchised and abused so that they can defend themselves, but at a great cost, IWAS is on a path of self discovery from the old violent god he used to be into a much more tolerant and understanding person. These two come to blows in a very roundabout and quite comical way.

This is one of the best books I've read in a very long time. The entire time I went through this book I kept asking myself what was going to happen next. Many nights were spent with me lying in bed and trying to guess what would happen next in the great story of IWAS and Old Hellhorns. Almost every single time I thought I knew what was going to happen I found myself surprised and thrown for a wonderful loop. Even the ending was foreshadowed yet completely shocking.

More than just the surprises though this story is a reflection on human beings. There are multiple themes working together in this story to create a tapestry of human emotion, behaviors, and irony. I found myself laughing, crying, scared, and cheering in this book. It might be a bit small in size but it's big in heart.

So if your interested here is a link to the story so that you can buy a copy of it for yourself. Of Gods and Goats, by Robert Ennis.