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adventurous
emotional
medium-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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
adventurous
emotional
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Outing, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Violence, War
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Child death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Classism
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, War
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was told this book would make me cry and it really did. It’s a beautifully written tale of love and loss, greed and glory, and an epic war we’ve all read about.
I found the book to be well-written and beautifully descriptive. I could see myself in the Greek summer, standing on the white sand beach, mesmerised by the sparkling blue of the Mediterranean. The war scenes were a bit bloodier than I would have liked them to be, but I don’t hold that against the author at all. It fits the narrative, I just personally could have done without the descriptions of the killings.
As for the characters, there are all the greats of Greeks from Homer’s poems, and though the story is about Achilles, the only one I found my heart aching for was Patroclus (overlooked, afraid, endlessly devoted). His pure, unconditional love for Achilles and the pain he felt at the thought of losing him, made my heart go out to him. His death impacted me way more than Achilles’ did, who in contract to Patroclus, was pompous, selfish, and vain. People sang Achilles’ name, praised and honoured him for his skill and courage, both in life and in death. Meanwhile, Patroclus’ sole identity was as Achilles’ companion, generally disregarded, and deprived of his rights, even in death, until the very end. I honestly feel Patroclus deserves to be recognised for his kindness, selflessness, and bravery. Because of course he was brave, not in the traditional sense, but he was fiercely protective of those he loved and cared about (Achilles and Briseis, and even the Greeks) and would go to any lengths to protect them.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and would highly recommend it. Just a heads up, it might take a few chapters for the plot to get gripping, but stick with it, because once it does, it’s so good.
I found the book to be well-written and beautifully descriptive. I could see myself in the Greek summer, standing on the white sand beach, mesmerised by the sparkling blue of the Mediterranean. The war scenes were a bit bloodier than I would have liked them to be, but I don’t hold that against the author at all. It fits the narrative, I just personally could have done without the descriptions of the killings.
As for the characters, there are all the greats of Greeks from Homer’s poems, and though the story is about Achilles, the only one I found my heart aching for was Patroclus (overlooked, afraid, endlessly devoted). His pure, unconditional love for Achilles and the pain he felt at the thought of losing him, made my heart go out to him. His death impacted me way more than Achilles’ did, who in contract to Patroclus, was pompous, selfish, and vain. People sang Achilles’ name, praised and honoured him for his skill and courage, both in life and in death. Meanwhile, Patroclus’ sole identity was as Achilles’ companion, generally disregarded, and deprived of his rights, even in death, until the very end. I honestly feel Patroclus deserves to be recognised for his kindness, selflessness, and bravery. Because of course he was brave, not in the traditional sense, but he was fiercely protective of those he loved and cared about (Achilles and Briseis, and even the Greeks) and would go to any lengths to protect them.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and would highly recommend it. Just a heads up, it might take a few chapters for the plot to get gripping, but stick with it, because once it does, it’s so good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content, Grief
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-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
This was an interesting take on the myth, I liked that it’s from Patroclus’ point of view as I feel he’s frequently forgotten/erased from many retellings whereas him being the narrator truly cements him into the story, and his perception of Achilles really humanises him and makes him feel more three dimensional and real as a character!
I did find it felt a little slow sometimes but I’m not entirely sure if that’s because it was an audiobook or perhaps bc of my familiarity with the myth (hence no twist or surprise but knowing exactly what would happen making it feel slower than it was) but it was still very enjoyable, especially to dip in and out of rather than binge read.
I did find it felt a little slow sometimes but I’m not entirely sure if that’s because it was an audiobook or perhaps bc of my familiarity with the myth (hence no twist or surprise but knowing exactly what would happen making it feel slower than it was) but it was still very enjoyable, especially to dip in and out of rather than binge read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War
Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery
Minor: Child death, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Pregnancy
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book took me a bit to get into, probably because I went days between reading chapters so I never really took the time to fully immerse myself in the story. I'm not sure if it was because of the book itself or because I started reading more consistently and for longer stretches of time, but I found myself getting more invested from about the halfway mark onwards.
I had basically zero knowledge about Greek mythology before reading this, and while I think this made the impact of the story bigger, I often struggled to remember who certain people were and I didn't want to look it up because that would most likely have spoiled me for the book. I can't really fault the book for this, but it feels like something I should mention.
I also felt that Patroclus, being the characters whose pov we're in, didn't really....do much? He felt more like a medium through which Achilles' story could be told, and less like his own character with his own personality.
The prose was beautiful and I've become more intrigued by Greek mythology because of reading this. I do think I would have enjoyed the book more had I known a bit more about Achilles, but overall this was still a great read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Slavery
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape