The Styx by Elena Zaretsky

The Styx is a darkly funny contemporary fantasy and mythological family saga that reimagines Greek mythology in the modern Florida Everglades. By day, the Pompadakis family appears almost ordinary: a recovering addict, a struggling gambler, a burned-out caretaker, a woman desperate to be loved. But beneath the surface, they are descendants of Charon—the ferryman of the dead from Greek mythology—condemned for generations to guide souls across the waters between life and death. Every crossing steals another piece of their humanity. As ancient forces begin disrupting the boundary between the living and the dead, the family finds itself caught in a dangerous conflict involving forgotten gods, violent wraiths, supernatural debt, and a curse that has haunted their bloodline for centuries. Deep in the swamps of South Florida, the waters are changing. Souls are disappearing. The Underworld’s rules are breaking down. Eldest brother Dax has spent his entire life trying to outrun his family’s curse. And for the first time in generations, escape may actually be possible. But freedom comes with a cost. To break the cycle, each member of the Pompadakis family must confront the very obsession destroying them: addiction, sacrifice, gambling, lust, grief, self-destruction. As the veil between worlds collapses and ancient powers close in, the siblings must decide whether they are doomed to repeat the same tragic patterns—or whether they can finally reclaim their humanity from the gods who cursed them. Blending contemporary fantasy, supernatural suspense, dark comedy, family drama, psychological depth, and mythological retelling, Read more