I borrowed Nicky Drayden‘s The Prey of Gods through my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
In South Africa, the future looks promising. Personal robots are making life easier for the working class. The government is harnessing renewable energy to provide infrastructure for the poor. And in the bustling coastal town of Port Elizabeth, the economy is booming thanks to the genetic engineering industry which has found a welcome home there. Yes—the days to come are looking very good for South Africans. That is, if they can survive the present challenges:

A new hallucinogenic drug sweeping the country . . .
An emerging AI uprising . . .
And an ancient demigoddess hellbent on regaining her former status by preying on the blood and sweat (but mostly blood) of every human she encounters.

It’s up to a young Zulu girl powerful enough to destroy her entire township, a queer teen plagued with the ability to control minds, a pop diva with serious daddy issues, and a politician with even more serious mommy issues to band together to ensure there’s a future left to worry about.

Review:
This book and I had a really strange time together. I liked it. I thought the characters were interesting and diverse. I liked the plot. I liked the humor and the writing. But…BUT, I felt like the book was five billion pages long. I joked that it must be growing pages as I read and I felt like I would never finish it. It seemed to drag in the middle, having a great start and exciting ending.

I’d read more by Nicky Drayden and I can objectively say this was a good book. but I also have to admit I’m just plain happy to be done with it.