Nifty Book Quote of the Week - (from Gunmetal Magic by Illona Andrews)

This book delves into ancient Egyptian myth, focusing on the story of Iedep (Anubis/Anapa), Set, Ra, Bast, and Adepep. The heroine, Andrea Nash, is trying to figure out how to kill Iedep/Anupis - who wants to take over her body. So she asks a Russian volhv (a priest of the Russian God of Darkness, Gregorbh (sp?)) if a god can be killed.

"Can a god be killed?"

The humor drained from Roman's face. "Well, that depends on if you're a pantheist or Marxist."

"What's the difference?"

"The first believes that divinity is the universe. The two are synonymous and nonexistent without each other. The second believes in anthropocentrism, seeing man in the center of the universe, and god as just an invention of human conscience. Of course, if you follow Nietzche, you can kill God just by thinking about him."

Ask a priest a question, get an enigmatic answer. Didn't matter what religion. "Roman," I said. "Can I kill Anubis?"

"I'm trying to answer. Anubis is a deity, a collection of specific concepts and beliefs. You can't kill a concept, because to do so you must destroy every human being who is aware of it. Your best bet would be to identify everyone who entertained the idea of his existence and shoot them in the head."

"So the answer is no?"

Roman sighed. " I didn't finish. You want simple answers to very complicated questions. The wrong questions. The question you should be asking isn't whether a god can be killed but what is Anubis. You must understand the nature of a thing before you can end its existence."

In another section of the novel, Anubis explains fractal mathematics. It includes a picture. It's rather cool. The writer has clearly spent a lot of time studying ancient mythology, religion, mathematics, and administrative and contract law, plus construction, reclamation, and military strategy. Best urban fantasy series ever.

[As an aside? I'm pretty sure I'm a pantheist, which I guess explains my issues with Marxism in a nutshell.]