Paternus: Paternus (ePub)

"Wow! Great ideas vividly realised. Ashton's story is a crucible in which myths are melted and remade to thrilling effect." M. R. CAREY, bestselling author of The Girl With All The Gifts and Fellside

"A wonderful book, forged in the deepest recesses of the human imagination." MICHAEL EASTON, critically acclaimed author of The Green Woman (w/ Peter Straub), Credence, and Soul Stealer

Gods, monsters, angels, devils. Call them what you like. They exist.

The epic battles between titans, giants, and gods, heaven and hell, the forces of light and darkness. They happened. And the war isn't over.

17 year old Fi Patterson lives with her stuffy English uncle and has an internship at a local hospital for the aged. She doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, misses her dead mother, wonders about the father she never knew. One bright spot is caring for Peter, a dementia-ridden old man whose faraway smile can make her whole day. And there's her conflicted attraction to Zeke -- awkward, brilliant, talented -- who plays guitar for the old folks. Then a group of very strange and frightening men show up for a "visit"...

Fi and Zeke's worlds are shattered as their typical everyday concerns are suddenly replaced by the immediate need to stay alive -- and they try to come to grips with the unimaginable reality of the Firstborn.

"Keep an open mind. And forget everything you know..."

What readers are saying:

"What if myths were real? Which is like Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson, but this takes it a whole lot further. Think your favorite Teen and YA fantasy adventures, but for grown-ups. I loved it!"
 
"A deep and believable world with compelling characters. Funny, snarky and exciting. A really fun read."
 
"Takes myths, science, and legends, and creates an original cosmology that spills into the present day with action and surprises left and right. Fantastic."
 
"Excellent storytelling. Imaginative and captivating."

"Bold epic fantasy in the mythic tradition of Neil Gaiman's American Gods, with graphic novel pacing and colorful ensemble reminiscent of Alan Moore's The Watchmen and the grand scope and narrative momentum of Grant Morrison's graphic novel Seven Soldiers of Victory. Evokes the same sense of wonder as C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, but for a more sophisticated reader of fantasy (and without the Christian allegory). Fans of the above, as well as those who loved J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter but grew up, will welcome this addition to the ranks of contemporary epic fantasy."

"Get ready to have everything you thought about mythological beings and monsters turned on its head. Not only are those tales based on true events but those events have now spilled over into the present day. This imaginative story plunges its young protagonists headlong into a titanic struggle between good and evil that shatters everything they thought they knew about their families, their world and even themselves. Ashton pulls you in and takes you on a wild ride. The re-interpretation of myths is original in style and approach. Evocative of The DaVinci Code's Dan Brown's twists on religious cults and secret societies, and references to a wide range of myths and legends give the story a great depth that helps suck the reader in."

Genre: Contemporary mythic fantasy / mythic fiction.

Market: New Adult to Adult (not Teen or YA, though savvy 16 or 17 year olds might survive without permanent damage).