I love to read. Whenever I had to plan what to pack in a suitcase when escaping from a burning building, my internal debate was always over which books I'd save. I have so many favorites, that it's a serious debate! Most of the books I read fall into the fantasy genre, and now that I'm a polytheistic pagan, I often see or recognize deities in some of my favorite books.
Sometimes the deities are overt and main characters: American Gods, Anansi Boys, Small Gods, and the Lightning Thief series come to mind. Several Celtic deities made appearances in the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. In Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher, the main character listed off most of the pantheons and said maybe Bad Guy ticked off a "little g god" and that's why Bad Guy's castle was destroyed. Apparently those little g gods get riled up occasionally and make stuff happen. This made me giggle. A lot.
Sometimes a character pops up, and even though the author didn't call him or her by name, I'm pretty sure it's Soandso. I have mixed feelings when my gods show up as villains. Their name is being invoked, but why did this author who I love so much have to depict them as a Bad Guy?
Whenever someone uses a god in their story though, I have to wonder if they believe.
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