Review on the novel Playground of the Gods by Cathy Spellman

Review on the novel Playground of the Gods by Cathy Spellman Cathy Spellman's, The Playground of The Gods is an exuberant novel which deals with murder in a remote tropical paradise but can further be read as an illustration of man's ignorance and invasion of nature."Do it big, or stay in bed."( Larry Kelly). These are words that Thoros Gagarian lives by. He is one of the wealthiest men in the world and when picking his private paradise, only one place on earth could serve his needs and fantasies. This place is Mora Utu-The playground of the Gods-a green jewel in the placid blue expanse of the South Pacific, the most luxurious and seductive private preserve anywhere on the planet. Once his prized-possession has been found, Thoros immediately ships the island natives to a different island and brings in his construction crews to hurriedly build his paradise in order to have it ready for a celebratory visit by 12 of his close friends.Book coverIn the introduction to the story, Cathy Spellman makes clear the notion that the protagonist, Thoros Gag arian views himself as an indestructible god. Her descriptions of his haste purchase of his Island paradise shows a man for whom their is no boundaries. His arrogance is further displayed in his building of his compound.Spellman's voice of reason comes from a spiritual Mexican couple who are Thoros's servants. They not only warn but predict of many consequences to the ignorance to which nature is being shown. "Nature will not permit alteration on such a scale."(Emilio, 114).However, these warnings are ignored by the men who do not appreciate a bizarre servant couple speaking of things which money can't buy and power can't control. This is when Spellman's utilization of irony comes into the picture. A member of the party catches a tropical fever, yet he can't be...