Review: 'To Cage a God' (These Monstrous Gods #1) by Elizabeth May
Pub. Date: 20/02/2024
Publisher: Daphne Press
To cage a god is divine. To be divine is to rule. To rule is to destroy.
Using ancient secrets, Galina and Sera’s mother grafted gods into their bones. Bound to brutal deities and granted forbidden power no commoner has held in a millennia, the sisters have grown up to become living weapons. Raised to overthrow an empire―no matter the cost. With their mother gone and their country on the brink of war, it falls to the sisters to take the helm of the rebellion and end the cruel reign of a royal family possessed by destructive gods. Because when the ruling alurea invade, they conquer with fire and blood. And when they clash, common folk burn.
While Sera reunites with her estranged lover who now leads the rebellion, Galina infiltrates the palace. In this world of deception and danger, her only refuge is an isolated princess, whose whip-smart tongue and sharp gaze threaten to uncover Galina’s secret. Torn between desire and duty, Galina must make a choice: work together to expose the lies of the empire―or bring it all down.
Fantasy inspired by Russian and Slavic history and myth had quite a long time in the spotlight, in part, perhaps, because of the hit series Shadow and Bone. My own favourites of this type were the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden, which was much more fairytale/legend focused, and Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente, which retold the Vasilisa tales during the Russian Revolution. I have also, however, read books which set themselves during this same historical period and go ham for Imperial Russia. I can appreciate that the glitz and glam of the Romanovs has a certain aesthetic appeal and drama, but can we please not pretend that they were innocent victims (looking at you, Romanov!). To Cage a God takes the same time period but places itself wholeheartedly on the side of the revolutionaries facing a cruel and abusive imperial regime. May shows the power of this regime through the various experiences of her characters, be they the experience of poverty or the more up-close abuse within the halls of power. May is also careful, however, to not sugarcoat the violence of revolution itself. Sure, it is a little romanticised through the excitement and righteousness of the movement, but leaders of the revolution are shown to willingly sacrifice people in pursuit of their own goals as well. In doing so, To Cage a God does strike a certain balance, although it does not set out to be a realistic tale of revolution and freedom. It remains a Fantasy novel on the border of Romantasy, with the Romance element feeding strongly into the character development.
Sera and Galina are in hiding after the resistance their mother led was uncovered and executed. Their mother Irina was so committed to the revolution she caged gods inside the two women when they were children and the two are still dealing with the fallout. Sera's god hates her, while Galina's power is so immense it can cause atrocities. When a remnant of their rebellion assassinates the emperor, they are forced to return to the heart of the empire, to the court of the cruel empress herself, to try and make a true difference. What follows is scheming and plotting, experiments and explosions, romance and betrayal, and pure, unfiltered rage. To Cage a God is mostly told through Sera and Galina's POVs, but we also get the perspectives of other characters, such as Nikolas, Sera's estranged rebel lover, Katya, caught in the empress' web and desperate for freedom, and Vasilisa, daughter of the empress who hides a painful secret. One of the things I loved about the book was the relationship between these characters and how May manages to create tension and conflict without unnecessary drama. All of these characters have done horrible things and consider themselves monstrous at times, but the love between them is strong and not given up on easily.
I mainly knew Elizabeth May from Twitter, before it was horrible, as I said above, and I knew she wrote YA fiction. I'd say that To Cage a God falls somewhere between YA and Adult. While the Romance content is definitely explicit, as is the violence, the writing style itself is not necessarily more complex than I've seen in YA fiction. It is a smooth read, fast paced as well, and I could tell here and there that certain quotes did have a high TikTok appeal to them. I mean that I could totally see those videos with people fanning themselves or dramatically seating themselves etc. There is nothing wrong with that, I appreciate that Romantasy and this kind of Fantasy are a development of the genre and have a lot of fans. I did enjoy reading To Cage a God and really liked the concepts behind it, of the "gods" that are caged and the consequences of that. I'd love to see what else May does with this concept in future books in the series/trilogy. However, this was more like a Fantasy snack than a full Fantasy meal for me. It was a delightful snack, one I had fun with and wanted to keep reading, but it didn't hook me or transport me quite like The Book of Ile-Rien by Martha Wells, which I read just before. I here again sat between a three and four rating here, but, knowing how a rating of 3 is received by many, I bumped it up.
I give this novel...
4 Universes!
To Cage a God is a very fun time, with magic and gods and revolution in a fantastical Imperial Russia. It has the spice and writing Romantasy readers will enjoy, and the kind of Historical/Fantasy setting which Fantasy readers should also enjoy.
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