Reviews with content warning for Murder - Stone Blind

I Am Glad I Read This

I tend to avoid myth retellings like the plague simply because I don't know the original material all that well over and above what we are all taught in primary school. I just let myself get swept away by the story.

I read this because it was on a prize list last year, and I have always loved Natalie Hains as a comic and have wanted to try one of her books for a while.

Grim, though the tale is, Natalie's humour sings throughout the book, and because of this, I really recommend the audiobook as she performs it herself, which, of course adds another layer to the humour.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book half as much as I did, and I really want to explore more retellings and source material now. Who knew!

Content Warnings

fireinherveinzz's review

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dark sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

This made me so fuckin ragey for Medusa she deserved so much better.
Athena is trash
Men are trash .
This wasn’t an original Medusa story like I thought or really her story which was frustrating just a recanting.

I want a story from her POV now.

Content Warnings

bookwormdystopian2's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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stephalogy's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Refreshingly blunt prose, but it detracts from the story tension. Assumes familiarity with the source material. Have Wikipedia open as you read.

Content Warnings

little_sheep_mc's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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booksjessreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.5

I was somewhat disappointed with this book and I really had higher expectations from this novel. There were things that did work well, but for the most part, I don't think the format worked for what Haynes was trying to achieve.

I will start with what I enjoyed about the book first. The portrayal of Perseus as a self-righteous and stuck-up 16 year old was my favourite thing. I liked how Haynes had depreciated him in the story and really emphasised how much of a coward he was, despite being praised as a hero. However, there were several chapters where Haynes breaks the 'fourth wall' and writes in second person to the reader, instilling her fury in you that Perseus has always been painted in this way. Listening to the audio of this, this was quite jarring, although I appreciated her intentions of the chapters anyway.

When we got a perspective of Medusa, I also appreciated her point of view.

I even quite liked the separate perspective of her head after it had been decapitated.

However, I really thought that for a book about Medusa, which even on the cover says 'Medusa's story', I didn't really feel like we got much from Medusa herself. We had perspectives from so many Gods, who largely seemed one-dimensional, and it detracted away from the story. Whilst I liked having multiple perspectives to tell the story, there were far too many God's, statues and creatures involved in telling the story. It would have been more effective had there been less. Further to this, there were so many points of view and their background or purpose to the story was never really explored. I appreciate Haynes is a classicist, but she could have been more explicit with her character's purpose and background.

Perhaps this is just me, as I don't read lots of mythology books, but I felt a lot of the conversations in this book were really basic or childish. And it only ever worked well when we got conversation from Perseus, as it helped build Haynes' portrayal of him. One example that really stuck with me was

Medusa's conversation with Poseidon before he rapes her. I know Medusa is 16 as well, but the conversation felt drawn out and unnecessary in parts, especially painting Medusa, who I know was largely sheltered from the world, as completely oblivious and naive. It just didn't work for me.

I can appreciate why people have enjoyed this book, but I just felt as though this book did not deliver to the standards that it was marketed by. I do enjoy Medusa's story generally so I stuck with it, but there was certain elements that just did not work for me.

Content Warnings

imageryx's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is mainly a retelling of Perseus's journey, but it does spend time on the origins of the characters. The story is told only through women's perspectives and definitely reframes the story. I love that there are many different kinds of women portrayed in the story. None of them are one dimensional or the same basic character with a different name.

I will say, the middle part of this book was a slog. The author had to set up a lot to really drive the ending home. It picks up again in the last quarter.

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bee12345's review

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adventurous challenging emotional sad fast-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

4.25

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful

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