The Writer and the Throne – Caleb Ortega

First of all I want to thank the author, (Caleb Ortega), for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Writer and the Throne was a book like nothing I’ve ever read before. The concept was so interesting with different types of Gods clashing together in Saggilmut, or heaven. 

Plot

This story follows a couple of different characters. We start off seeing Aaron, a nineteen-year-old boy as he is introduced to the world of Saggilmut. He is brought to a room where Gods of all kinds gather to have a meeting. With three sects – The Immortals, The Duati, The Asgardians – there is bound to be some disagreements, however, this takes it to a whole new level. 

Aaron is introduced to Gods such as Zeus, Odin, Thor, Aphrodite, Osiris, and they’re all gathering for a meeting with the Most High, the God of the Gods. Aaron’s job is to be the first proclaimed Writer, telling the story as it should be told. The Most High explains that Gods were once able to walk the Earth, however, they would tell humans lies to make them seem more powerful, ending up in our stories and causing us to worship Gods that have done nothing but lie. 

As Aaron and another God named Dagon discover Saggimut, we see wars brewing between the Gods and the truth of who they comes out for Aaron to tell the world. 

Characters

There were sooo many characters in this book and I sometimes had a bit of a difficult time keeping up, however, the few that stuck with me were Aaron, Zeus, Jove, Osiris, Odin and Thor. 

Aaron was one of our main characters and he made me laugh quite a bit. He could never pronounce the names of Saggilmut or Shamayim which I found hilarious, especially because it was something I’d definitely do too. He also seemed like the perfect character for the important job of being the first proclaimed Writer. Considering the lies that these Gods have told, Aaron was completely unbiased and he saw right through them. He was a hilarious character that I felt I really got along with and I enjoyed his parts of the story. 

I feel like we didn’t get a ton of Odin content, however, what we did get from him was super important to the story. Odin uncovers a ton of secrets for Aaron to write about and I feel like his intentions were good, but he went about it the wrong way. To be honest, any previous knowledge of Odin, Thor and the Asgardians comes from Marvel movies so I can’t say I knew a ton about the Asgardians in the book, but it was pretty self explanatory and I was able to follow along their story quite well. 

What did surprise me however, was that Thor was so violent. I get that he wanted to follow after his father and kind of obey him in a sense, however, a smart king would take a minute to gather not only his forces, but his emotions. He seemed driven by rage and I think that’s really interesting to see. I actually really liked his character despite how mean he was. I feel like he was really well-written and ultimately I’d respect him as a king if he weren’t so quick to rush into something as huge as war. 

Another thing that surprised me was Zeus. At first glance, Zeus was a kind God who was really nice to Aaron at the beginning of the book, however, as I mentioned before, Odin uncovers quite a few things that are hard to miss. We see Zeus become filled with rage and nearly throws his daughter out of his kingdom. It’s pretty much his way, or no way. I didn’t really expect him to be that kind of God, however, I feel like it fit with the story really well so I liked that about him. 

Finally I have to mention Osiris. Osiris was probably my favorite character in the book. He was just genuinely kind, rushing to the aid of the Immortals when it isn’t even his fight. I feel like Osiris leads the Duati in a way I greatly respect. He lets his people keep their traditions and opinions and he respects what they wish for his sect. He even accepts the Sh’losh after Zeus exiles them which makes me respect him even more. Osiris definitely got the ending that he deserved. 

Setting

Saggilmut seems interesting. I have to admit it isn’t what I expected. I feel like each land is just so different that I can’t say enough about it. The Immortals sect is exactly as I expected. Palaces, nice things, luxury it seems like. The Duati sect seems a bit less luxurious but still like a Palace, with nice things, and finally, the Asgardians are literally Vikings. 

I quite liked the settings of all of the sects, especially since it told me a bit more about each of them and what each sect represents as a people. 

Writing

The writing was a bit slow for me at first, but once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. I think the first little bit of the book was a bit difficult for me to understand just because I had so many questions, however, as they were answered, I was addicted to the story and really got into it. I was rooting for which sect I’d like to win the war, I was rooting for my favorite characters to stay alive, etc. 

In Conclusion… 

I really enjoyed this book. When Caleb reached out for the chance to review the book I didn’t know what to expect but I was totally up for reading it. The concept was just so interesting and different than what I’ve read before and I can’t wait to see what the next books in the series have in store. 

Rating: 4/5⭐