Myth

I recently received a few inquiries about which myths inspired certain parts of Deus Absentia. It's an interesting question, and one I had to really think about. Because so many of the themes I drew on have been bouncing around my noodle for years and years, they sort of amalgamated into something new before making their way through my pores, figuratively speaking.
The obvious mythologies for anyone who's read the book are ancient Greek/Roman and early Christian. However, my aim was not to build on, nor be constrained by, these myths as they've come to be commonly known and tirelessly rehashed. The kids' book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, for example, simply reintroduces the old myths to the modern world. I found it more interesting to make them my own, give them a fresh coat of paint (or a "reboot" in the current vernacular). This was done in part by having one of the characters explicitly state, in effect, that the well-known stories from literature, Greco-Roman mythology, Christian tradition, etc., have been twisted and rewritten over the centuries to fit man's earthly politics and ambitions. I trust the real-world implication of this literary statement is not too thickly veiled.........

In a more specific sense, I drew very directly on the mythological powers attributed to Christ when assigning some powers (or "gifts") to The Order's collection of medieval x-men. Culloden's power of demon recognition and exorcism is the most obvious, but other such miraculous attributes included the power to heal, persuade, absolve, and return from the dead. Florentine's ability to dissolve into earthly elements and recongregate her form in a different location is the literal application of the phrase "dust to dust."
Combining mythologies and religions is a pretty tall order, especially when you look at the very different creation theories of each. In this case I was forced to reassign the name of the father of the Titans, Ouranos, as a mythological misnomer applied to the Hebrew God Jehovah. His offspring, Cronus, we come to discover was actually the first man, called Adam. Pretty simple, right? Not at all, and it's just the beginning. Thomas' speech aboard the submersible craft Paladin lays it all out.

Aside from the obvious mash-up of Roman and Christian mythology, a few other time-worn tales definitely provided inspiration. When I started writing, my daughter was about 6 months old and I was forced to endure some of the most awful children's music ever created. But gradually a few of them grew on me, with mysterious lyrics about a nautical escape from armed foes and a ghostly wayfarer who haunts a small lake. I did some research and found great inspiration in the stories behind The Skye Boat Song and Waltzing Matilda, respectively.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the influence of artistic representations of certain myths. Having spent many years as an illustrator, I have a fascination with art history, especially that of the Renaissance. During a visit to Paris I became enamored with a stunning statue of St. Michael the Archangel above a fountain near our hotel, spearing a twisted serpent that coiled around his leg. I knew such a character had to be part of this story. At the Louvre, I basked in my favorite pieces from the southern Renaissance, and almost by accident stumbled into a wing focusing on the Northern (especially German) Renaissance. The pristine beauty and alabaster skin of the Italian depictions were nowhere to be found; here, instead, were elongated, stylized and even grotesque wooden sculptures, fascinating in their detail and starkness. Their look directly influenced the character descriptions, as well as the illustrations included in the middle of the book.

Speaking of German art, the work of graphic novelist Mike Mignola (heavily influenced by German Expressionism) is, in my mind, nothing short of genius. Beyond his artwork though, he knows his myths, and knows how to repurpose them. His grim retelling of H.C. Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" was spectacular and dark, with fish-monsters and mermaids who bore absolutely no similarity to the bubbly Disney princess version. Instead, he featured grey-skinned creatures with thin elongated tails who slipped through dark, foreboding underwater caverns and endured terrible fates. It was breathtaking, and inspired me to take some kid-friendly themes (such as mermaids and princesses) and twist them into something a bit more literary and relatable to adults. Or at least, immature adults like me.

Thanks for reading,

TM