The Fire Thief

Prometheus, the Greek demigod who stole fire from the gods and handed it to humankind, is on the run. To escape the gods' revenge, he travels through time and lands in Eden City in 1858.

There he makes a friend: Jim, a young orphan who works as an actor and also gets by as a petty criminal. When Jim falls foul of the law, Prometheus faces a hard choice. His powers could free his friend, but using them would tell the gods exactly where he is hiding.

The book is a comic fantasy that retells a Greek myth. Two plotlines run side by side, and the action jumps between Mount Olympus and Victorian Eden City, from seedy taverns to elegant mansions. The pace is fast, and the scenes shift quickly.

The humour is constant and openly silly. Puns and wisecracks fill the dialogue, and sarcastic footnotes comment on events as they happen. Readers who want a light, joking take on mythology will find one here, with the gods treated as targets for jokes rather than objects of awe.