Oscar is a god, who has created a new world. However none of his creations will challenge him, and he wants a son, convinced that only a male child can challenge him. Descending into paranoia and outright evil acts, he sows misery on his new world. His daughters, and his creations, disagree, but there is no one to challenge him…

I grabbed this because it was short, which isn’t a good reason, but it gets the review queue down. Before anyone gets offended, this is not the Christian god or that of any current religion I am aware of. Oscar has an abusive relationship with a woman, lies to her, rapes her (sex by deception) and lets her die. Bringing the dead back is beyond him as, it seems, is kindness.

There are some instances of awkward phrasing in this e.g. He did not create mortals in which their sole purpose would be to work until they perished.

While the ideas were intriguing enough to keep me reading because I honestly didn’t know where the story was going, I probably would not be very happy if I had paid for this book.

Seriously, its a one. The idea – a god driven mad by loneliness – is an interesting one but the execution is flawed. Events are skipped over very quickly, the relationship passes in a matter of paragraphs and yet it is meant to be the backbone of the story. The simple question of, if he doesn’t like it why not change it? is never answered. Finally his power level seems more like the traditional wizard than a god, his powers stop working if his concentration is disturbed, etc.

I really don’t know who, if anyone, I would recommend this to.