4.91k reviews for:

The Iliad

Homer

3.8 AVERAGE

adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
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_miasnovelnotes_'s review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 24%

library hold is over too soon to complete
challenging dark sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous challenging emotional tense slow-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: Yes
challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

 
Patroclus has fallen - he whom I valued more than all others, and love as dearly as my own life? I have lost him
This was such a ride. 

this story’s age does nothing to soften how sick it is with grief and loss. 

that said, it is crazy that a horse gets to speak to warn achilles about his death and his only reaction is “stfu i already know about that”
adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Too much description of fighting and war for my enjoyment. But that is, famously, The Iliad.
adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

In high school, I read a rewritten short prose version of The Odyssey and I wanted to re-read it in a poetic version, but I decided to first read this. In hindsight, I'm not sure I was ready for this book yet. First I have a very limited knowledge of Greek mythology so I didn't know most of the gods with the exception of the main ones such as Zeus and I didn't know most of the Trojan war background and for the most part this book assumes you know both. I was also expecting this to be more like the Odyssey, but instead there is almost no plot and its just battle scene after battle scene with the repeated formula of X fought Y son of Z ...description of how Y died, and then repeat. It got very tedious at parts. I think I might like it more on a later reread though after I read through a book of Greek mythology and now I know more of what to expect. I did enjoy the argument between Agamemnon and Achilles, along with the parts where the gods are petty and always arguing (I got a good laugh at the scene where Zeus is full of lust and trying to seduce Hera), very anthropomorphic.