You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
Enjoyed this one a lot. I only read parts of the Iliad in school, and it was cool to see how the parts I remembered slot into this story, as well as parts I was previously unaware of, such as Achilles' sojourn on Scyros. The entire ending section, from when Patroclus regains agency and starts taking some real initiative, had me unable to put the book down. It was like puzzle pieces being laid into place, starting Achilles as a completely different character whom you couldn't imagine as he is by the end of the story, and then tracing the journey that leads him there, which by the end seems perfectly natural and even inevitable, as if it could only be this way (fated, right?). I loved the friendship between Patroclus and Briseis - the Achilles and Patroclus love story I was expecting but this was an unexpected surprise. The love scenes had a bit of a YA feel to them, but there were only a few and I didn't find them particularly obtrusive. Worth the read!
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reread 3: so i have made a habit of rereading this yearly, and every time the childlike joy of reading it for the first time reawakens in me. i bought the special 10th anniversary hardback edition and attempted to annotate it, but in the end i only ended up highlighting quotes as once i got started i realised i needed to be more detailed. so maybe i will do that next year. although i find it marginally less impressive than the first time i read it (i am much more well read now) it is still beautifully written.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.
He is half of my soul, as the poets say.
I’m so glad I finally got around to reading this book. I absolutely love retellings from Greek mythology and this one was soooo well written. The pacing was perfect, never any unnecessary slow points that I felt like could have been left out. My only complaint would be the part where Iphigenia is sacrificed to appease Artemis’ rage and bring the winds back to help them sail to Troy.. given what Artemis is known for I doubt she would be happy with such a sacrifice but I know there are many differing stories on whether or not she was indeed happy with it and some even saying that she replaced Iphigenia with a deer at the last moment, and overall it didn’t seriously affect the way I felt about the story altogether (I just had to vent and mention this 😂). I had tears in my eyes by the end- a great read that I would definitely pick up again in the future.