When Old Gods New Tricks arrived with a beautiful print, I knew it would be something special. I found it to be brilliantly written and fun to read. It features Trixie Dos Santos leading 5 trickster Gods on a quest to save humanity.
Trixie is labelled a trickster at school and has one last chance to behave. The same day she receives that news, the electricity around the world goes out and chaos ensues. After several days, the world is truly struggling and Trixie believes she knows who stole the power. Her love of all myths, legends and stories comes to play and she sets out to steal it back. She decides that trickster Gods are the ones to help!
She tricks them all into helping on the quest and throughout the adventure, they show a good side, one that is caring and concerned. Exu seems to be the calmest and Loki the most worried. Trixie is brilliant, bold and brave. She will face demons, gods and terrifying scenes as she fights to take back the power.
I was lucky enough to ask Thiago some questions about his latest book- check out his answers below.
Tell us a bit about Old Gods New Tricks
When all electricity disappears from the world, a young, mythology obsessed girl called Trixie dos Santos gets a band of trickster gods from different pantheons together to try and retrieve it. They travel through some extraordinary places, encounter a lot of danger, magic and wonder, whilst bickering, scheming and cheating all the way. I had the best time writing it, and I hope readers enjoy it too.
Where did the ideas come from to resurrect these trickster gods?
I wouldn’t necessarily say they were resurrected; the gods in the book are well known and some are still worshipped today. They have, though, been brought together. I’ve always been fascinated by tricksters, how they use chaos and mischief to create new things and change the world. I also like the fact most tricksters seem to have a good sense of humour, so I find their stories the most fun. In most mythologies they tend to solitary figures, so I thought that it would be fun to see them having to work in a team, with all the tension and humour that could come from that premise.
Children love a good villain story- did you enjoy these types of characters when you were young?
I did, but I don’t think any of the tricksters in this book are villains in a traditional, ‘good or bad’ sense. What they do is operate outside the norms of what their societies (and other gods) find acceptable, but their actions can be helpful, and often benefit others. Maui gave fire to humans and fished the islands of Polynesia from the ocean, Sun Wukong helped Tang Sanzang on his journey, even Loki creates the odd useful thing (like fishing nets.) In my understanding, tricksters are all about non-conformism and curiosity, which I feel are vital qualities.
What type of research did you do to write the gods so well.
A few years ago, I wrote a non-fiction book called Myth Atlas, and in the course of doing that I read lots and lots on all manner of myth and legend from around the world, as well as speaking to experts and representatives of some of the cultures that were featured in that book. Once I knew who the tricksters in Old Gods New Tricks would be, I also went and found as many possible versions of legends about them as I could, trying to find little details and moments that would give me hints to their characters. Still, the trickster gods in the book are not faithful representations of gods from mythological canons, but literary characters based on stories of those gods. I think that is an important distinction, and one that allowed me to write them with the voices they have in the story.
Having had a sneak peak at some of the artwork, we are so impressed with the style of your illustrations. Was it challenging to draw these gods?
Thanks! It was super fun. I feel it’s a huge privilege to draw my work as well as write it, and I was really looking forward to getting on with the illustrations once the writing was done. To begin with, I had a good idea of what I wanted the gods to look like in the book, but that changed as the writing progressed and I got a better sense of their personalities, their interactions with Trixie and each other.
Did you have a favourite god to write about?
The passages with Exú and Loki were my favourites to write. Exú was the first god I thought about having in the book (as it’s only right) and I love the mixture of warmth and menace he can bring to a moment. Loki is funny in lots of accidental ways (and unfunny in intentional ones,) so writing his dialogue was always a joy.
Will there be more from these characters?
Yes! The excellent folk at David Fickling Books have generously commissioned a sequel, and we’re making our way through that plot now. There’ll be some scary journeys, surprising twists and maybe a new god or two joining the band.
My Shelves Are Full 