The Persephone Effect
A downloadable book
Zeus has been struck down, and Elysium stands on the cusp of destruction.
In this tumult, Persephone is wounded but not yet defeated. A presence grows within her that should not be. She has a chance at the goal she’s strived toward all along: godhood itself. But just as likely, she could lose everything. Now she must adapt—or drown.
Hades, head heavy with her sister's crown, labors to bring the gods to order and keep them united as a killer haunts the city, capable of dispatching mortals and gods alike. Twin gods Artemis and Apollo grow increasingly erratic, hinting at a scheme that may no longer align them with the survival of Elysium.
In the battle for Olympus, the gods must unearth the secrets left behind by their makers—who may not, after all, be entirely gone...
This book is part of the Gunmetal Olympus series.
Cover art by Rashed AlAkroka.
Further reading
The story of Sister Madalithea can be found in Flower of the Underworld and continued in House of the Underworld, the latter of which serves as a sister novel to The Persephone Effect.
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Development log
- Persephone Effect ExcerptJul 28, 2025
Comments
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maria ying is now 50% more woman so the persephone effect is 50% more book. thats math baby
So true, we certify it.
I’m not sure how to rate books on this website, so I suppose this will be going in a comment instead.
This book is absolutely phenomenal. It’s so refreshing when a sequel truly feels like it is upping the ante. An expansion on characters and sects that weren’t focused on in the previous book but were eluded to. The rest of the pantheon receive a lot more attention and I found Hera and Athena to be the most interesting with their goals and motivations.
Persephone and Adrastus are both so compelling in the way that their clashing with godhood, directly or otherwise, builds them through the story as mirrors to each other. I feel that their individual relationships to Demeter are the most obvious examples of this.
The addition of Callisto Khan to Maria Ying is fantastic. I am not versed much in Greek theater, but seeing Elektra and Titanomachy (play titles mentioned in Callisto Khan’s own The Zeus Constant) was a delight and it feels like a natural evolution after the poet Sappho appears in The Hades Calculus
.I’m a massive fan of how Maria Ying has responded to the number of works based on this series, the canonization of Madalithea from Cirice Gray’s Flower of the Underworld along with elements from the previously mentioned The Zeus Constant is extremely cool. I’m not great at coming up with another way to put it, it’s just something I wish happened more often. A part of me wonders how these elements might read to someone who hasn’t read either of those books, and how much Maria Ying wants them to be enjoyed without requiring supplementary reading. I’d have to take notes about that on a subsequent reading, but my mention of it is not because I think it is a problem. Just something I mean to dive into.
I’m extremely excited for whatever the story may hold in the threequel, and yearn for the chance to read House of the Underworld when it releases. I got my second ever tattoo of a cypress leaf inspired by Hades and Madalithea. I love this series and I expect it to be near and dear to me for a long while to come.
Amazing book which you should definitly let it devour you with it's (very) sharp teeth.
Overall great universe with give so, so many cool books and side stories to read!
Brilliant reimagining of Greek myths in a cyberpunk/Scifi way. The domains of gods and lore of the setting rhyme with their mythic inspirations but twist it in refreshing ways that keep me coming back. It's so incredibly humanizing and *queer* in its characterizations and really gives big Greek tragedy vibes from how inevitable some of these tragedies seem... But that makes the triumphs all the more earned!
My roomate will never psychologically recover from me ranting about this book it's so fucking good.
Gunmetal Olympus as a whole is probably the universe I love the most nowadays! I feel so connected to it and to it’s characters, specially Persephone, our dearest girl with the funniest hobbies (she’s only hungry okay!!)
Jokes aside, she really made me understand myself more, and I’m forever thankful for being able to experience these books! Grab this without thinking twice and you’re in for the ride of your life!
Gorgeous prose in a grimdark-adjacent cyberpunk world that will make you want to cry, scream, and throw up any time anything happens. A great catharsis read if you need to cry after not being able to for awhile!
I like it when a hungry girl gets to have a little fun
a whimsical adventure if you will,,
Guess I know what I’ll be reading next, then. <3