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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-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
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
slow-paced
Not entirely my cup of tea, but Miller did capture ancient Greece well.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
This book is the only media I've consumed about the Trojan War, so i read it without the context that Miller and other Classics nerds experts have. From this perspective, it was very successful because she didn't ever make me feel like i was missing something obvious. And in fact, this aspect inspires me to read The Odyssey (almost as fanfic of SoA?). Some of the negative reviews here are unsatisfied with Miller's adaptation of Homer's Patroclus, but Miller's protagonist is the only version I've seen and I just find him so loveable.
I originally read this in college, newly out, and it felt electric to read a queer retelling of a recognizable hero. Now that some time has passed, i find other elements more impactful such as Thetis or Chiron. But nonetheless I enjoy being in Madeline's world and the book still leaves me with a warm sense of humanity.
I originally read this in college, newly out, and it felt electric to read a queer retelling of a recognizable hero. Now that some time has passed, i find other elements more impactful such as Thetis or Chiron. But nonetheless I enjoy being in Madeline's world and the book still leaves me with a warm sense of humanity.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have to start by saying I'm extremely biased, this book being both queer and about greek mythology.
It's definitely not perfect, but I liked it? It started really strong; I like the choice to go with Patroclus' POV, which I hadn't seen before. I was actually pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as YA as I thought it would be. Definitely adjacent, but not shying away from some more mature stuff.
I found the prose pretty beautiful, especially when it related to the romance. But particularly in the second half, the book got REALLY slow. Throughout the whole book the pacing was all over the place, but there were some parts in the second half that were excruciatingly slow (especially surprising considering it's the war ). It picks up a bit more at the end.
I grew to quite like Patroclus, and I think Achilles was well written too.The whole contrast between his human and his godly sides, the acts of grief after Patroclus dies, etc. Just by knowledge I've picked up from my interest of greek mythology I already knew basically all of the plot points (which I'm pretty sure a huge part of the people who read this knew), so nothing was that surprising. From what I know though, the whole thing about Patroclus' ashes being left behind and then Tethis choosing to bury them iirc is different from the original story and I quite liked that decision, it made for a nice ending.
Maybe because I already knew or maybe because of the slowness of the last half the book didn't have the emotional effect on me it seems to have on a lot of people. Definitely preferred the first half.
If anything, this book rekindled my interest in greek mythology and I'm looking to actually properly learn it as I've been meaning to for years.
It's definitely not perfect, but I liked it? It started really strong; I like the choice to go with Patroclus' POV, which I hadn't seen before. I was actually pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as YA as I thought it would be. Definitely adjacent, but not shying away from some more mature stuff.
I found the prose pretty beautiful, especially when it related to the romance. But particularly in the second half, the book got REALLY slow. Throughout the whole book the pacing was all over the place, but there were some parts in the second half that were excruciatingly slow (
I grew to quite like Patroclus, and I think Achilles was well written too.
Maybe because I already knew or maybe because of the slowness of the last half the book didn't have the emotional effect on me it seems to have on a lot of people. Definitely preferred the first half.
If anything, this book rekindled my interest in greek mythology and I'm looking to actually properly learn it as I've been meaning to for years.