Undergods

Today’s Wyrd and Wonder prompt is Undergods. It is time to celebrate the demi-gods, celestial helpers, and minor deities in stories.

Cursed Luck and High Jinx are the first books in a series by Kelley Armstrong that features magic users who are the descendants of the Greek gods. Some of those gods are still around. They are immortal after all. Now they are starting to pay attention to their descendants and it is never a good idea of draw the attention of an immortal.

Small Gods is one of my favorite Terry Pratchett novels. The Great God Om is the most followed deity in Anhk-Morpork. It turns out that most of his followers don’t really believe in him though. They are going through the motions. This lack of belief transforms him into a Small God who is stuck in the body of a tortoise. He has one true believer and he is on a quest to find more in order to become powerful again and not forgotten.

This is a great commentary of organized religion and the power of belief.

White Tiger is the start of several series about a Chinese god in mortal form, the demons who surround him, and the demi-gods who are the descendants of the gods.

The Dresden Files series is amazing and you should totally listen to it on audio if you haven’t. The main character is a wizard but there are a few humans who fight on behalf of the Christian god. They are called The Knights of the Cross. They show up throughout the series. I’ve always loved the fact that even though Harry absolutely acknowledges them and the source of their power, he still steadfastly will not believe in the Christian god. It makes me laugh.

I have to give a shout out to Good Omens. I’ve read this so many times and I loved the adaptation with David Tennant and Michael Sheen. An angel and a demon work together to save Earth from the anti-Christ who happens to be a kid.

Turns out that I have written on this topic before. Check out this list of 10 books about gods and mythology (only a few repeats.)