Reviews with content warning for Rape - STONE BLIND - Der Blick der Medusa: Roman

I was expecting for a little bit more from this book. Mainly, for it to be primarily from Medusa's perspective. But instead, we get a lot of plot lines that do not all converge and actually very little screen time from the titular character herself.

The whole book read as Medusa - as seen by others, and not all relevant in nature. I think I learnt more about Athene than Medusa in this whole book and I was left rather dissatisfied because of it.

There is this line towards Perseus: "And who are you to decide who is a monster?" - and it would have been SO great to have come from Medusa instead of Hermes, to have her challenge Perseus and his quest because really, at the end of the day, they are both two people who by all means should've had nothing to do with each other (and probably would have had nothing to do with each other were it not for some king's bruised ego).

There are a few good moments in the book - Medusa and her sisters' love for each other is something that was articulated very well. Athene's competitiveness was also well-highlighted. Perseus being characterised as an impulsive teen was also done quite well.

I would have expected some more rage from Medusa herself, but there is barely any from her (given that her chapters are also so rare). I got more rage from Hera and Athene, and even Euryale and Stenho.

Prose-wise, it was okay. Some very funny moments here and there and the descriptions were very well done - I could always picture the environment in my mind's eye. The Chapter structure was a little odd than what I am used to (being more accustomed to longer ones), so the action felt a bit all over the place sometimes. Also, there were a few chapters here and there that seemed to be 4th-wall-breaker types - as much as I appreciated the messages in the book, these chapters did not help with my immersion, taking me straight out of the book.

Overall, it was an ok book. I had high hopes for the titulary character and interactions with the themes presented in the blurb, but sadly, this wasn't quite delivered on.

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garnethalo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

I'll never look at Perseus the same. With the switching veiwpoints, I understood Medusa, the gods, and Perseus better. And I definitely have favorites. A wonderful, captivating read.

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sierraashley's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

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

5.0

Very well done. Love the satire. I was giggling as I'd read, especially when they were making fun of Perseus. Medusa is one of my favorite characters ever and didn't deserve what happened to her and I'm glad someone finally told her story.

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willow_axolotl376's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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secre's review against another edition

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adventurous sad slow-paced

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

2.0

If Stone Blind had been described as a tale of the ancient Greek Gods and how Perseus ended up on a quest to fetch Medusa's head, maybe it would have been a four star read. Maybe. But it wasn't. It was described as Medusa's story, so I was anticipating something like Circe by Madeline Miller, a novel that told Medusa's story through her own eyes and focused on the portrayal of her. Or like A Thousand Ships by this same author, a novel that directly focused on the unheard female voices of the Trojan war and brought them to life. And oh boy, was I disappointed.

I'd say about 25% of this novel actually has Medusa as a semi-main character and even then, there's a lot of attention on her sisters. The rest of the novel is made up of petty Godly squabbles and fights and Perseus's quest across the land to bring back the head of a Gorgon. It... wasn't what I signed up for. It also frankly didn't interest me that much. I was genuinely interested in the childhood and life of Medusa, I was kind of interested in some of the God side plots although they really needed to be minimised... I just did not care about Perseus. Come on. The story of the boy who beheads the sleeping monster was not the important one here, particularly when he's shallow, selfish and cruel to boot.

What I wanted and what I got here were two very different things. Medusa was essentially relegated to a bit player in her own damn story and that's a crying shame, particularly when I know how well the author can portray the unsung voices. This could have been excellent, it should have been excellent; Haynes certainly has the writing talent and spark to pull it off. But instead of allowing Medusa to stand on the stage alone, she is overshadowed by Gods and men and petty arguments. And I really, really struggled to engage with it because of that.

Don't get me wrong. I'll read the author again. I adored A Thousand Ships. But this... this was a disappointment and it was nowhere near interesting enough to hold my attention.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my free review copy of this title.

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jjyork's review against another edition

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Got returned to library before I could finish it. Not my favorite Greek retelling after about 30% in.

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shay_starlessxsea's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

Borrowed from my local library.
What a gem of a book! A wonderful weaving together of Athene, Medusa/the Gorgons, Danae & Perseus' stories into a Medusa retelling unlike anything I've read previously. I really enjoyed it (although I wasn't a big fan of the sections addressing the reader directly) and will definitely read more from Natalie Haynes.

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