A Very Disturbing Pantheon • The Cambridge List

The Cambridge List by Robert Clear
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: March 19, 2011
Source: Author (Thanks) || e-book

[I received this book from the author. This in no way affects the contents of my review.]

With a student-turned-serial-killer stalking Cambridge, professors are cowering in terror, locals are looking fearfully over their shoulders and newspaper editors are rubbing their hands together with glee. Who is the evil genius striking terror into the heart of the sleepy town, and why is he picking-off lecturers one by one?

James Connor thinks that killing his former professors in cold blood is actually rather a bad idea. Unfortunately his head has been commandeered by a bloodthirsty family of Greek gods, so he doesn’t really have a say in the matter. With Hera and Aphrodite at each other’s throats and Dionysos failing to keep order, James’s brain has become a cosmic conflict zone, and he’s worried they’ll leave it in ruins. There’s only one way out: he has to go from socially inept young man to slick sociopath fast. If only he wasn’t so squeamish about mass slaughter.

Forget the serene deities you’ve seen carved in ancient marble. Forget the quaint charm of England’s most English university. Here in the cut-and-thrust world of Cambridge the rule of the jungle prevails, and nothing is sacred. Follow the world’s least menacing serial killer on his awkwardly murderous journey, where ancient rituals, scheming academics and divine politics collide. And where murder has consequences unforeseen even by the gods themselves...

The Cambridge List caught my attention because it incorporated Greek mythology. I love reading about the Greek gods, and Robert Clear has really taken on these strong personalities very well. While I didn’t necessarily fall in love with it, The Cambridge List was definitely unique. 

Honestly, the book was weird. But I must admit, despite some lewd, disturbing moments, I was curious enough to finish it. James is commandeered by the gods to murder people – and they just happen to be his former professors. That, in itself, is a big storyline and takes up majority of the book. But there are two other stories that come into play, which made the book much richer than I expected. The Cambridge List is not necessarily for everyone. But if you want to read something unique, don’t mind some lewdness and a lot of murder and mayhem, then this may just interest you.