Reviews with content warning for Blood - Stone Blind

Medusa? Feminist retelling? By a well-established author of Greek mythology retellings? Yes, please! Sign me up! When I saw this listed under available audiobooks, I immediately sent in a request.

I delved into this story with enthusiasm and was mostly satisfied with what was delivered. This is a multi-POV story that gives us chapters from the Gorgon sisters, Athene, and Perseus in addition to Medusa. All of the chapters collectively bring us the story of Medusa's life and the events outside of her control that cause her eventual fate.

I thought the characterization of the various gods and demi-gods was very well done. I appreciate that they aren't glorified or made to seem benevolent. Haynes really leans into their awful behaviors toward mortals and it honestly makes a lot more sense.

I also loved how she chose to characterize the Gorgons. They may appear monstrous, but even monsters love their family. She really did a good job of humanizing them and making us care about their plight. It made the emotional response to Medusa's story that much stronger.

My only real qualm with this story is that I expected it to be more about Medusa in her own words since this was marketed as a feminist retelling.. Instead, we have more chapters of other people talking than we do of her talking. It sort of allows her voice to be a bit squashed by everyone else. Perhaps that is an intentional choice that mirrors exactly what is happening to Medusa within the story, but I do wish I'd heard a bit more from her.

As for the audiobook, I believe Haynes narrates this herself. I thought the narration was smooth and easy to follow. She voices each character well and with the right emotions in the right places. I have no real critique to offer in terms of the narration.

All in all, whether you listen to this or read it, if you enjoy Greek mythology retellings, I think you'll likely enjoy this one. Medusa is a compelling character, made more so by Haynes' treatment of her.

Content Warnings

moonytoast's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Natalie Haynes is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors and I'm glad to say I enjoyed Stone Blind as much, perhaps more, than I expected given my experience with her other works regarding Greek myths. She has a particular style that I really love where certain perspectives within the narrative will seem to engage in conversation with the reader of the story, both here and in A Thousand Ships.

As someone whose first encounter with much of Greek myths was in Percy Jackson & the Olympians, I think the way that Haynes conveys these stories is quite engaging and serves to reframe the narrative around Medusa and the Gorgons as supposed monsters as well as the standard perception of Perseus' quest to retrieve the head of one of the Gorgons. Here, Medusa is a living, breathing character whose immortal Gorgon sisters are also made human through their fears and anxieties about protecting Medusa from harm... and the raw devastation in their failure to do so. In a twist of our common understanding of the Greek myth, Haynes paints Perseus as a coward whose accompliments are solely due to excessive aid from multiple gods on behalf of Zeus. Here, he is a coward that uses the Gorgoneion at the mere inkling of conflict or obstacle to his goals and unabashedly revels in the mass death it causes, regardless of whether the victims are guilty or innocent of some slight against him. It is a far cry from the story told in Percy Jackson, but I think that it holds much more truth about the way men acquire and wield power.

Once again, Haynes manages to weave together a beautiful tapestry of myth and breathes new life into this story of a woman repeatedly violated by the whims of the gods. (Also: Haynes is an excellent narrator and I definitely recommend listening to the audiobooks of her work if you're an audiobook reader and love Greek myth retellings!)

My current ranking of Hayne's work that I've read:
1. A Thousand Ships
2. Stone Blind
3. Pandora's Jar

Content Warnings

kers_tin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

frantically's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I really loved the Gorgon-family aspect of this — all the feels — but I couldn't connect well with the rest of the story. It's a pretty basic retelling of the Medusa & Perseus myth that doesn't stand out much. What I loved, though, was the author's narration, she really brings the right emotions through and (rarely seen in author-read audiobooks) is an awesome narrator. Really weird ending.

Content Warnings

novaa's review against another edition

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dark informative tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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bectothebooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"But they don't know who you are. Men call you monsters because they don't understand you."

I absolutely loved this book. Haynes weaves Medusa's personal story with the characters that surround & intersect it, in a way that gives a full context to Medusa's life (& afterlife). I can see how the amount of perspectives followed in the book can be confusing, but I think Haynes does as good a job as she can of separating the narratives while maintaining cohesion. I also really appreciate the inclusion of a character list at the beginning of the book, as this helped me navigate the differing POVs. This is by far the wittiest Greek mythology retelling I have read. The humour in this book is exactly the kind that I love & I was laughing throughout. I particularly enjoyed the way various narrators slate Perseus XD

... However, this is where a slight criticism comes in. I think that, at points, the way certain characters push their dislike of Perseus can be seen as the author trying to tell the reader how to interpret events. While this is an openly feminist retelling & I agree with the point that Medusa is a victim, I think her story, as it's told in this book, is able to stand on its own & still obviously show that she's not a monster. It comes off a bit like Haynes doesn't trust her readers' critical thinking ability enough to let Medusa's story speak for itself. This was my only major issue, though, & the book as a whole is still a fantastic read. By far one of my favourite Greek retellings!

Content Warnings

quinn22's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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