Sarwat Chadda

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents CITY OF THE PLAGUE GOD, an adventure based on ancient Mesopotamian mythology written by Sarwat Chadda, author of the Ash Mistry series. "An epic worthy of Gilgamesh. Chadda brings attention to the less well-recognized mythology of ancient Mesopotamia with engaging humor and wit."--Kirkus Reviews Thirteen-year-old Sik wants a simple life going to school and helping at his parents' deli in the evenings. But all that is blown to smithereens when Nergal comes looking for him, thinking that Sik holds the secret to eternal life. Turns out Sik is immortal but doesn't know it, and that's about to get him and the entire city into deep, deep trouble. Sik's not in this alone. He's got Belet, the adopted daughter of Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, on his side, and a former hero named Gilgamesh, who has taken up gardening in Central Park. Now all they have to do is retrieve the Flower of Immortality to save Manhattan from being wiped out by disease. To succeed, they'll have to conquer sly demons, treacherous gods, and their own darkest nightmares. "Featuring gods and goddesses, and importantly, Muslim heroes, this #OwnVoices tale eerily echoes our pandemic presents; but readers will find escape in the entertaining balance of an apocalyptic setting with irreverent humor."--School Library Journal Look for these other best-selling Rick Riordan Presents titles: Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi The Storm Runner by J. C. Cervantes Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia

City of the Plague God

"Thirteen-year-old Sikander Aziz has to team up with the hero Gilgamesh in order to stop Nergal, the ancient god of plagues, from wiping out the population of Manhattan in this adventure based on Mesopotamian mythology"--

The latest installment from the Rick Riordan Presents line absolutely does not disappoint. While it was a little strange and unsettling to be reading about plagues in the middle of one, this was nonetheless a touching, hilarious, and adventurous take on Mesopotamian mythology. Sik is the 13-year-old son of Iraqi immigrants who is pretty happy with his normal life, attending school during the day and working in his parents' deli in Manhattan at night. Too bad the god Nergal is convinced that Sik has something he wants and is willing to unleash a plague on the entire island to coerce Sik into giving it to him. With help from his older brother's best friend, Daoud; Ishtar's adopted daughter, Belet; and his favorite mythological hero, Gilgamesh, Sik has to race to find a cure to the plagues and stop Nargel from destroying Manhattan and beyond. 

There was honestly so much to love about this book. First off, we've got a Muslim teenage boy as our main character. How often do we get to see Muslim boys be the hero of the story rather than Terrorist #2? And that's a topic that's addressed in the book. Daoud, is an aspiring actor who has thus far only managed to land terrorist roles but he keeps plugging along in the hope that one day he'll actually land a role as a hero. Plus we get to see Sik try to come to terms with being a Muslim while being faced with gods like Nergal and Ishtar. I really loved that different levels of faith and understandings of divinity and the supernatural was discussed. And the unapologetic use of Islamic terms, even terms like jihad which have been grossly misrepresented in media, felt so powerful and right. This is what Islam is for the vast majority of Muslims, rather the distorted view that so much Western media presents and it's just beautiful to see. 

All of the characters were wonderful. Sik is such a great kid, who genuinely loves his family's deli but also feels unfairly tied to it. He hero worshiped his older brother but also feels lost in his shadow. He loves his Manhattan home, but there are times he feels like an outsider in his own family as the only one who has never been to Iraq. He's all the contradictions you'd expect to see in a teenage boy and just feels so alive. Daoud is such a colorful character and I loved seeing him be given greater depth than Sik originally credited him with. (Sidenote: Daoud and Mo are so damn gay and I loved to see it; don't care if that's not what Chadda intended - they're gay and amazing) Betel is just so beautifully fierce and insecure and prickly and loving and I just adore her. I absolutely NEED a sequel focused on Betel's quest at the end. I need to see her work through that and continue to grow and mature and come to terms with her past and her relationship with her mother and just all the Betel please and thanks. 

Basically, this was yet another amazing addition to RRP and I'm desperately hoping we get more from these characters soon.

Alli King

City of the Plague God is an excellent addition to the Rick Riordan Presents collection. 

Sik (Siksander) finds himself caught up among ancient forces when Nergal (Mesopotamian god of war and pestilence) thinks that he has an important artifact from Iraq. However Sik is just a regular (he thinks, at least) 13 year old kid trying to keep his parent's deli successful. With aid from friends such as Ishtar (goddess of love and war), Belet (Ishtar's adopted daughter), and Gilgamesh (as in the Epic of...), can Sik fight off the plague that is overtaking everything he loves?

City of the Plague God definitely feels closer to Tristan Strong than Percy Jackson- basically because Sik is also not a demi-god, although he finds himself in godly realms. 

Something I really appreciated is that Sik is able to maintain his own religion throughout the book. He's a practicing Muslim, and that is interwoven in the story- and it's explained how the Mesopotamian 'gods' don't negate the existence of one true God/Allah. The religious piece is so often left out of literature, and I'm so glad that Chadda included it... especially since Islamophobia has been quite entrenched for decades now. 

While I wouldn't classify this as "couldn't put it down," it had a solid story and continuously kept my interest. I'll definitely be adding this to my classroom library, and may even try to incorporate it as a read aloud next year.

laura

* I got this book for review from the publisher for my honest thoughts*

I really loved this read. It was such a fun fast pace read. I am NYC theater teacher and this book is set totally near where i really work and I loved how gods, pandemics invaded NYC. I was so captured by Sarwat writing style and loved the male lead. I also loved how this book again focused on saving the day, saving your family and grief at the death of a love one. I really loved all the new gods we leaned. This book just put a smile on my face and would totally read more books set in this world!!

Jelke Lenaerts

I received a galley of this book through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. 


This book started of so good for me but the further I got in it the more it lost me and I disliked it. I reallly liked the beginning of this book. Our two main charactes had an amazing dynamic and I really liked seeing them interact. Sik was a great main character. He very much read like a normal 13 year old. He was really funny and also very clever. I liked the discussions around culture and religion that were brought up in this book and I would have liked a bit more of that. I also would have liked more of the mythology. I don't know. I just feel like I didn't learn about any of it. We only touched upon 3 gods and 1 hero and I feel like it was just bare minimum and I just would have loved to see more. The main reason why I read books based on mythology is to learn more about that mythology. Anyway, that doesn't matter too much because the plot also went off the rails as the book continued and that's the main reason I didn't like this book. The pasing was all over the place. There were a lot of scenes that just weren't neccecary at all. On top of that all the action scenes just happened within the blink of an eye. I also just feel like too much happened or too many different things happen. I don't know if that makes sense but at times it felt more like a summary of a series rather than a standalone novel. Because all the action was so short I also felt like there were almost no stakes. It all just happened so quick and easy with almost no consequences, which just kept me from getting invested. I don't know. Maybe this book just wasn't for me but I sadly enough didn't like this book.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: City of the Plague God

Author: Sarwet Chadda

Book Series: Standalone for now

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Muslim characters, refuge parents, and I believe one of the cousins is on the LGBT+ side? It’s vague.

Recommended For...: MG fans, fantasy readers, Mesopotamian mythology lovers

Publication Date: January 12, 2021

Genre: MG Fantasy

Recommended Age: 13+ (pandemic like conditions, scary moments, violence, gore, animal death and gore)

Publisher: Rick Riordan Presents

Pages: 400

Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Sik wants a simple life going to school and helping at his parents' deli in the evenings. But all that is blown to smithereens when Nergal comes looking for him, thinking that Sik holds the secret to eternal life.Turns out Sik is immortal but doesn't know it, and that's about to get him and the entire city into deep, deep trouble.

Sik's not in this alone. He's got Belet, the adopted daughter of Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, on his side, and a former hero named Gilgamesh, who has taken up gardening in Central Park. Now all they have to do is retrieve the Flower of Immortality to save Manhattan from being wiped out by disease. To succeed, they'll have to conquer sly demons, treacherous gods, and their own darkest nightmares.

Review: This book was absolutely heartbreaking and wonderful all rolled into one! I loved this book for a multitude of reasons, the first being that it’s based on ancient Mesopotamian mythology! I had read some of the Epic of Gilgamesh in Senior English Honors but outside of that I hadn’t seen other things from that mythology. I loved the characters, the world building was great, and the book really touched on the micro-aggressions and racism Muslims encounter. I also really liked the story and it kept me intrigued from start to finish. The biggest standout of the book is the reverse in gendered norms. Sik is our male character hero, but he doesn’t use weapons throughout the novel. Belet is our female character hero and she can wield all sorts of weapons! I really hope the author is greenlit for more works because this one was absolutely fantastic.

The only issue I had with the book is that the book does have some pandemic like conditions due to the Plague God (duh), so that might be scary for some of the younger readers. Overall though, it was a well done book!

Verdict: Highly recommend!