![\"Cover](\"https:\/\/algonquintimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/baneofthegods.jpg\")
<\/a>Cover art for Bane of The Gods: Tears of the Black Sky by Alec Chapman. Photo credit: Supplied by Alec Chapman<\/p>\nThe fiction novel follows a naive 19-year-old boy, Anastasios, or Anakin for short, who wakes up in an abandoned temple with no memory of who he is or how he got there, and trouble ensues. He discovers he is being hunted by the Greek gods and cannot remember why. A book of survival, escape, love and tragedy, Bane of the Gods: Tears of the Black Sky draws influence from mythologically influenced Percy Jackson and God of War.<\/p>\n
Chapman likes to write stories through a video-gaming lens. He\u2019s informal and conversational. The book works in game-like levels and is filled with \u201cboss-fights,\u201d where the gamer is confronted with their most challenging foe. The cover art reveals a boss fight that takes place midway through the story when the crew uses magic to battle a leviathan overseas. The art was created by Cheeze, or @blu3_ch33z3_official on Instagram.<\/p>\n
Catrina McBride, Chapman\u2019s mother, is a professor at the Algonquin College School of business and is also the editor of her son\u2019s book. \u201cI tell him the honest truth to ensure that he can believe me when I say that something is great,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
This is the first book McBride has edited. \u201cAlec has always been into Greek mythology from an early age, so I\u2019m not surprised to see him integrate it into his writing,\u201d she said. \u201cThe coming-of-age character developments are something Alec has gone through and is certainly a universal experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former geology professor at Queens University and grandmother to Chapman, Sandra McBride, takes the role of his second editor. After two years and four drafts, Bane of the Gods is finally ready for the public eye, they say.<\/p>\n
Chapman always knew he was going to be in the entertainment industry. His imagination and creativity were a helpful outlet in the face of adversity growing up. \u201cI initially decided to start writing because I needed a way to create mental room for me to function. I write because I have to. The way my brain works leaves me no other choice.\u201d <\/p>\n