CodeSpell by Kelly McCullough

Ravirn is a Power in the Greek Pantheon who used to be a member of the House of Fates, the offspring of the three Fates: Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos. Ravirn is an unparalelled hacker and has discovered that his father was Raven, a power now dead. Ravirn decided to claim his father's portfolio and became head of house Raven, as well as a lover and girlfriend, Cerise.

But a confrontation with the God Hades blew Ravirn into the stuff of chaos. He should have been killed, but somehow managed to reform his body out of the stuff of Chaos. By doing so, he gained many new powers, including eyes that glow red. This doesn't sit well with Cerise, though, as she is disturbed by Ravirn's growing ties to Chaos.

Ravirn is invited to a godly party by Zeus, who wants him to represent House Raven. At the party, Ravirn is approached by Tisiphone, one of the Furies who is attracted to Ravirn, and Ravirn is attracted right back, but won't do anything and feels guilty because he already has Cerise by his side. He also meets Thalia, his paternal Grandmother and she thoroughly approves of him, which makes him happier about the choices he has made in his life so far.

But far more disturbing is encounter with Ravirn's cousin, Dairn, who shows an uncanny increase in his hacking skills, as strong or stronger now than even those of Ravirn. Soon, though it becomes clear that Dairn, who has always hated Ravirn, is no longer himself. He's been possessed by Nemesis, the original goddess of Revenge and Vengeance. Since Nemesis is literally the opposing force of whatever Ravirn can do, Dairn shows an increase in hacking skills that can outdo Ravirn.

Ravirn manages to escape his cousin, but not for long, and Cerise is approached by Clotho, the head of her house, for help with Fatecore, the computer that controls much of the multiverses. Whereas in the past, the Fates would spin the threads of people's lives, with so many in the multiverse, it has grown beyond the ability of the three goddesses to control on their own, even with the help of their houses and offspring. So fate is now controlled by a huge computer. Once it was controlled by Persephone's spirit, but she, with Ravirn's help, managed to escape, and Shara, Cerise's Computer imp, took her place, along with the Spirit of Necessity, who once controlled the Furies. Cerise wants to free Shara, but doesn't know how. When Clotho asks Cerise to help them stabilize Fatecore, she cannot help but agree, as to have the computer break down would doom the universe.

Ravirn, left on his own, is chased by Nemesis, but eludes her with the help of Eris, the Goddess of Discord, who is disposed to help him because Ravirn is now tied to Chaos like she is. After trying to elude Nemesis for a few weeks, Ravirn realizes that Cerise is using her knowledge of his hacking against him, and his own computer imp Melchior. When he calls her to see if she is returning to him, he realizes that she isn't being used against him, she used her knowledge of his style in full cognizance of what she was doing. They decide to go their separate ways, and Ravirn's heart is broken.

Soon after, Ravirn meets Tisiphone again, and this time they become lovers. She and the other Furies want him to free Shara and Necessity from Fatecore, and it becomes clear that if he can do, he will also be able to drive the spirit of Nemesis out of Dairn and free himself of her hatred and attacks. But can Ravirn rebuild Melchior in time and use his Quantum Computing Power to free Shara and Necessity from where they are imprisoned in Fatecore? And can he undo the damage to Fatecore that is making it slowly fail? Or will Dairn and Nemesis kill him before he can do undo their link? And since repairing Fatecore will make Ravirn temporarily master of the Universe, can he resist the urge to remake it in his own image as he repairs the computer?

This was an interesting and unusual book that mingled modern and perhaps even slightly futuristic computing skills with the ancient Greek Gods. It could have been handled sloppily and create a disconnect between the two, but McCullough makes it work by writing each believably. For instance, to blend in with the new Millennium, the Greek Gods have now become Pantheon, Inc. But Zeus, CEO and President, requires all visitors to Olympus still wear Classic Greek dress. Chitons for women and men, or even just a loincloth, if you're unlucky.

But you don't have to be up on all hacker terminology or even advanced computer technology to understand what is going on in the computer realm, as basic explanations are given by the author through Ravirn, and anyone who's read cyberpunk will easily figure out what is going on. But even if you haven't, you will soon be at home in the story. Ravirn is sarcastic and his voice in the story is part of the attraction of reading it. Even when he's in trouble, he tends to keep his wits about him and drop sarcastic comments, although he does meet a few people in the story who scare him witless.

His two allies, Tisiphone and Eris, however, are a delight to read and when the three of them work together, it's a beautiful, if chaotic, thing to watch. Though most people are attracted to order, this book can make you see how a touch of chaos makes things interesting and lively. But chaos or order, whichever you favor, you'll enjoy reading this book, which is smart, funny and exciting to read. Anyone who is into computers in any capacity will find even more to enjoy and I recommend it. However, it's not the first in the series, which may present a problem in getting into the story for those who haven't read the first two books (which I hadn't). But even if you haven't read them, it's an exciting ride, and one well worth taking.