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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, War
Moderate: Grief, Dysphoria
Minor: Bullying, Deadnaming
3.5/5★
How does one review something as epic as this book? I have no idea but I will try my best! Those who know me well won't be surprised that I've read yet another retelling of The Iliad. I jump on any book that reimagines the Trojan War but Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane was one of the most unique and stunning versions of the story that I have read so far. The writing was the chef's kiss, so freaking beautiful!
The story starts with Achilles living on Skyros until Odysseus comes looking for the prince Achilles, not knowing that Achilles is a woman now, who's needed to win the war against the Hittites. I really did enjoy Wrath Goddess Sing and but there were some flaws that I sadly couldn't overlook. The major one was the villain, and that villain being Helen. I just never like it when Helen is being viewed as the villain of The Iliad and that the Trojan War is her fault. She was a bit over the top as well.
Also the story was sometimes confusing and all over the place. It's by no far a light book and needs your full attention of you'll be lost. At least that was the case with me. One of those confusing things to me were the gods. One the one hand they were written in a way that was different from how other author's interpretation of them but on the other hand it was also one of those things that became maybe a little too complex in the end.
I do want to shout out Meryapi, Egyptian sorceress and wife to Achilles' cousin Patrokles. I absolutely loved her and she was my favorite character from the book. We could all use a Meryapi in our lives. She was the best! Also another shout out to the randy dolphins. The dolphin scenes were unexpectedly funny and one of my favorite things in a book I've ever read.
Overall, Maya Deane's retelling of the legendary story of The Iliad with Achilles as a transgender woman was a beautifully written one. It's made me wish there were more trans retellings of ancient Greek mythological stories. And maybe now there will be.
How does one review something as epic as this book? I have no idea but I will try my best! Those who know me well won't be surprised that I've read yet another retelling of The Iliad. I jump on any book that reimagines the Trojan War but Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane was one of the most unique and stunning versions of the story that I have read so far. The writing was the chef's kiss, so freaking beautiful!
The story starts with Achilles living on Skyros until Odysseus comes looking for the prince Achilles, not knowing that Achilles is a woman now, who's needed to win the war against the Hittites. I really did enjoy Wrath Goddess Sing and but there were some flaws that I sadly couldn't overlook. The major one was the villain, and that villain being Helen. I just never like it when Helen is being viewed as the villain of The Iliad and that the Trojan War is her fault. She was a bit over the top as well.
Also the story was sometimes confusing and all over the place. It's by no far a light book and needs your full attention of you'll be lost. At least that was the case with me. One of those confusing things to me were the gods. One the one hand they were written in a way that was different from how other author's interpretation of them but on the other hand it was also one of those things that became maybe a little too complex in the end.
I do want to shout out Meryapi, Egyptian sorceress and wife to Achilles' cousin Patrokles. I absolutely loved her and she was my favorite character from the book. We could all use a Meryapi in our lives. She was the best! Also another shout out to the randy dolphins. The dolphin scenes were unexpectedly funny and one of my favorite things in a book I've ever read.
Overall, Maya Deane's retelling of the legendary story of The Iliad with Achilles as a transgender woman was a beautifully written one. It's made me wish there were more trans retellings of ancient Greek mythological stories. And maybe now there will be.
This novel is a truly unique reimagining of the Iliad (not just the same story from a different POV), while retaining the poetry of the original text. I love how much research clearly went into grounding the human aspects of this story in the Late Bronze Age, when the "historical" Trojan war occurred. It creates an intriguing counterpoint with the futuristic scientific knowledge that the gods possess. I could quibble about the odd ending and the strangely positive characterization of the Greek kings. But I am still hooked and will remain so for the foreseeable future because I now desperately want a prequel set in Amarna period Egypt!
Not for me, the genre really just isn't something I enjoy.
But the audiobook narrator is PERFECTION. Super soothing and warm. I could and did listen to her voice all day.
But the audiobook narrator is PERFECTION. Super soothing and warm. I could and did listen to her voice all day.
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
When I was in high school, my ancient Greek teacher told us to watch Troy and to write down the mistakes that we were able to spot. They were a lot, but Achilles at least had blond hair. This book screwed up even that.
First of all, I find this novel very disrespectful to Greek mythology and ancient cultures (I studied ancient Greek for five years and I know I'm acting as a gatekeeper). Even after reading a few pages, it becomes clear that the author did poor researches as regards ancient Greece (I'm not an expert of ancient Egypt or the Hittite Empire, so I'm not able to judge how they have been portrayed in this book). For example, the author translates "faggot" with "proktos", "porni" and "malaka" (she only uses the transcriptions in Latin alphabet), which correspond to πρωκτκός, πόρνη and μαλακός, η, ον:
- πρωκτκός means "anus" and as an insult it can be translated with "asshole", not "faggot";
- πόρνη is a specific kind of woman prostitute (it doesn't mean "faggot" and the right transcription is "porne")
- μαλακός, η, ον can mean "faggot", but it's not its first meaning. Moreover, the declination is wrong, since in ancient Greek μαλακά (malaka) can only be referred to plural neutral substantives in nominative and in accusative (in English, it's like using "it" for a person).
Furthermore, most of the Greek sentences in this book are in modern Greek and not in ancient Greek (I'm not saying that the author should have use Homeric language variant, but at least try to open an ancient Greek dictionary).
In addition to that, the author twisted Greek mythology to an impossible extent and I was forced to consider this book a fantasy with the same names of the characters of the Iliad (her interview available as a podcast on Ancient History Fangirl's Spotify is an aberration full of misconceptions and historical mistakes /plus: she never quotes her sources/). But I was disappointed anyway.
As a trans man, I didn't appreciate Achilles' story arc (I wasn't convinced by the idea of a transgender Achilles in the first instance, but what's the point of transforming her in a cis-woman by divine intervention after a few chapters? Was this novel supposed to tell the story of a trans-woman, wasn't it?) and the other characters were terrible mary sues. The plot is inconsistent most of the time and the writing style is nothing special (even childish in some paragraphs).
In conclusion, if you're looking for a bold and heartbreaking retelling, this book it's not for you. But, if you're in the mood for something full of what the f**cks and trash, be "Wrath goddess sing"s guest!
First of all, I find this novel very disrespectful to Greek mythology and ancient cultures (I studied ancient Greek for five years and I know I'm acting as a gatekeeper). Even after reading a few pages, it becomes clear that the author did poor researches as regards ancient Greece (I'm not an expert of ancient Egypt or the Hittite Empire, so I'm not able to judge how they have been portrayed in this book). For example, the author translates "faggot" with "proktos", "porni" and "malaka" (she only uses the transcriptions in Latin alphabet), which correspond to πρωκτκός, πόρνη and μαλακός, η, ον:
- πρωκτκός means "anus" and as an insult it can be translated with "asshole", not "faggot";
- πόρνη is a specific kind of woman prostitute (it doesn't mean "faggot" and the right transcription is "porne")
- μαλακός, η, ον can mean "faggot", but it's not its first meaning. Moreover, the declination is wrong, since in ancient Greek μαλακά (malaka) can only be referred to plural neutral substantives in nominative and in accusative (in English, it's like using "it" for a person).
Furthermore, most of the Greek sentences in this book are in modern Greek and not in ancient Greek (I'm not saying that the author should have use Homeric language variant, but at least try to open an ancient Greek dictionary).
In addition to that, the author twisted Greek mythology to an impossible extent and I was forced to consider this book a fantasy with the same names of the characters of the Iliad (her interview available as a podcast on Ancient History Fangirl's Spotify is an aberration full of misconceptions and historical mistakes /plus: she never quotes her sources/). But I was disappointed anyway.
As a trans man, I didn't appreciate Achilles' story arc (I wasn't convinced by the idea of a transgender Achilles in the first instance, but what's the point of transforming her in a cis-woman by divine intervention after a few chapters? Was this novel supposed to tell the story of a trans-woman, wasn't it?) and the other characters were terrible mary sues. The plot is inconsistent most of the time and the writing style is nothing special (even childish in some paragraphs).
In conclusion, if you're looking for a bold and heartbreaking retelling, this book it's not for you. But, if you're in the mood for something full of what the f**cks and trash, be "Wrath goddess sing"s guest!
This book wasn't bad but I found it at times a difficult read. The descriptions of bodies and sex were especially visceral and sometimes a little much. It did however do epic fantasy really well and was an interesting (although not at all accurate) take on the Achilles tale.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a deeply queer, complicated, emotional roller coaster. It's like a dream fantasy packed with a bunch of emotional gut punches. I love that in this retelling Helen's agency is not only restored but that she leans into her evil witchy ways. Achilles is like a bag of ugly flaws in a trenchcoat but she is still a bad ass demigod and finds ways to keep surprising us.