Author A. Skorobogaty weaves a remarkable origin story unlike any other in Enok and the Womb of Gods, a magical mixture of history and mythology. Pulling from ancient sources and stories known the world over, this novel expands the backstory of humanity, exploring traditions of worship and culture through the winding tale of Enok, a young slave willing to take the ultimate leap into the unknown.
This coming of age story finds Enok enmeshed in countless misadventures, barbarian battles, serpent-worshipping empires and even the early throes of romance, albeit from a prison cell. The plot is expansive and unpredictable, aided by the “story within a story” format, which allows the author to play with pacing and narration.
The paradigms of society, politics, power, religion, and logic are bent freely in this tale, with magical moments interspersed with a reality readers can recognize and understand. Even with sci-fi and fantasy elements giving this story a dream-like or allegorical feel, the prose is confident and direct, and the fast-paced scenes and action sequences are engaging and easy to follow.
For a reader who is familiar with mythology, there are myriad moments that are reminiscent of Native American storytelling, medieval bards, or the ancient pantheon of the gods. Many of the episodes and anecdotes feel parable-like in nature, and often serve the same purpose – explaining something complex and abstract in accessible terms. The entire book feels like a play on religious tradition, the flow of time, and the true ignorance of humanity about the deepest truths of the universe. Although this story is set in an ancient past, the revelations about life and love, as well as the characters’ personal failings and insecurities, all feel oddly relatable, even to a 21st century reader.
With in-depth world-building and language construction that would earn Tolkien’s praise, this novel is comprehensively planned. The care and concern with the details create a sense of wonder in readers, not to mention gleeful immersion in what the author is trying to achieve. The word choice and sentence structure is unique and surprising throughout the novel, supporting the idea of this as a story from another age, or perhaps even a lost piece of ancient truth. The author rarely chooses the predictable description or syntax, which means that the prose rarely gets monotonous. Opening lines of chapters like “Enok woke laminated with sweat, and perplexed by his body’s strange independence” are not in themselves brilliant statements, but the creativity and care imbued in every page of this book is impressive.
There are some stumbles in the writing, primarily around the dialogue, as modern-day idioms and linguistic tropes do make their way into the language occasionally. This can pull readers out of the fantasy, as some of these jarring moments distract from the narrative illusion that Skorobogaty has otherwise woven together so expertly.
That is one of the only critiques, however, as the rest of the book is masterfully penned, the storytelling is captivating, the lessons are powerful, and the creativity threading through these pages is undeniable.
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