Paternus Trilogy Books in Order

The Paternus Trilogy is a modern mythic fantasy series built on one unsettling idea: the gods, monsters, heroes, and villains of old stories were real all along. They have spent ages in hiding, but an ancient war is moving toward its end, and the human world is caught in the middle.

The story begins in Paternus: Rise of Gods with Fiona "Fi" Patterson and Zeke Prisco, two young hospital workers whose ordinary lives are shattered when violent strangers come for Peter, a catatonic elderly patient. Helping him escape is only the first impossible choice. Fi and Zeke soon learn that Peter is tied to the Firstborn, long-lived beings who have shaped myths across cultures and are divided by a conflict older than recorded history.

Nothing stays local for long.

The series uses a present-day setting, but its scope keeps widening. Mythic figures, old rivalries, creatures from legend, and hidden histories all become part of the danger facing Fi, Zeke, Peter, and their allies. The first book is an urgent escape and discovery story. Paternus: Wrath of Gods sends its characters on a wider search for surviving Firstborn and the warriors needed to resist their enemies. By Paternus: War of Gods, the conflict reaches across countries, worlds, and mythic places as the group faces the consequences of everything they have learned.

At its heart, this is a story about people discovering that they have more power, more history, and more responsibility than they expected. Fi and Zeke begin as regular young adults thrown into a nightmare, not trained heroes with all the answers. Their growth matters as much as the huge battles around them. Peter's past and the loyalties of the Firstborn keep the central mystery moving, while the old war gives every alliance a little extra tension.

The tone is adult, fast-moving, and often violent. There is room for humor and warmth between characters, but the books do not treat their monsters or battles lightly. Readers can expect an expansive cast, action scenes, family complications, betrayals, and mythology drawn from many traditions rather than one familiar pantheon.

The two short stories are useful extras, not replacements for the main novels. Berserker is framed as a missing chapter from the first book and looks back at Bödvar's past. Deluge follows Fintán mac Bóchra and Myrddin Wyllt during the Great Flood, opening another historical part of the larger mythology. They work best as companion pieces once the main story has begun.

Start with Paternus: Rise of Gods. The trilogy tells one continuing story, and each full novel raises the stakes for the next.