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wetdryvac's review
5.0
Followed the comic for years. Finally getting to sit down and read the novel rocks socks, even if I did come in on this book rather than on the first set. Seriously impressed with the crafting on this, and very much looking forward to reading the other books Spangler's put together. In correct order, henceforth. I hope.
kwugirl's review against another edition
3.0
Another fun installation in the A Girl & Her Fed universe. I quite enjoyed the "here's what the Greek heroes of legend were really like" aspect. The first person narration sounded a little juvenile at times, but it worked. Spangler has done a really good job shading in the world with the different flavors based on which series (the comic has a different ton/focus from the Rachel Peng books, which are also different from this one) so it's fun to see other character's perspectives and insights into each other.
linluvsbooks's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Guessing on read dates. Great story but fairly erratic writing. No hope of making sense of it if you don’t read the comic - so everyone should start there because it’s an awesome comic.
5/13/2023 edit: Inhave now read this novella about 6xs, at least, and I just really adore it. The writing is a bit rough and the brilliant author does expect me to make one or two mental connections that I haven’t but the world, the characters, the adventure, the pacing, the dialogue, the mystery and history - all so very excellent!!!
5/13/2023 edit: Inhave now read this novella about 6xs, at least, and I just really adore it. The writing is a bit rough and the brilliant author does expect me to make one or two mental connections that I haven’t but the world, the characters, the adventure, the pacing, the dialogue, the mystery and history - all so very excellent!!!
goodbyepuckpie's review
3.0
This was incredibly interesting, and I liked a lot of it a lot -- the characters were great, and I really liked Hope, Mike and Speedy and how they interacted. The take on Greek mythological history was also neat and convincingly done; I liked that aspect a lot too. Some of the world building was a little tricky to grasp immediately; I think part of that was a deliberate characterisation choice (which makes sense) but I did stop a few times early in the book with the feeling that I'd missed something like a prequel book or comic. Some of the violence - largely action movie/comic-book-y in tone - was a bit more casual than I tend to prefer although it was at least not involving innocent bystanders. The footnote jokes and sense of humour through the book were for the most part bang on, I did enjoy that aspect a lot.
I'd probably pick up more in this series, but the tone is a little bit inconsistent - I wasn't sure who the audience was meant to be, and I'm not sure the book is either.
Content note: there is no onscreen rape/sexual assualt, but there is reference to it having happened (or potentially happening) to minor characters. I did not appreciate the fact the main characters didn't seem very bothered by the strong implication a Hot Guy had previously assaulted his cousin. The text didn't seem to approve or disapprove, but as a character note it wasn't endearing.
I'd probably pick up more in this series, but the tone is a little bit inconsistent - I wasn't sure who the audience was meant to be, and I'm not sure the book is either.
Content note: there is no onscreen rape/sexual assualt, but there is reference to it having happened (or potentially happening) to minor characters. I did not appreciate the fact the main characters didn't seem very bothered by the strong implication a Hot Guy had previously assaulted his cousin. The text didn't seem to approve or disapprove, but as a character note it wasn't endearing.
efyoung's review
4.0
If you have ever wondered what it is like to live with a person with ADHD, this book very much gives an idea of it. Which is mostly excellent: it contributes to characterization and voice without being entirely about the disorder.
The ideas in the story about culture and imagery and identity is really fascinating, though it never quite coalesced straightforwardly to me - which makes sense in that it's meant to be complicated and it's more addressed in the comic after the time-jump in which these novels occur, but was still kind of frustrating to me because I don't like not getting things.
Helen of Sparta is an amazing character, and this was a really fantastic interpretation of the stories while still fitting in the rules of the A Girl And Her Fed universe.
The ideas in the story about culture and imagery and identity is really fascinating, though it never quite coalesced straightforwardly to me - which makes sense in that it's meant to be complicated and it's more addressed in the comic after the time-jump in which these novels occur, but was still kind of frustrating to me because I don't like not getting things.
Helen of Sparta is an amazing character, and this was a really fantastic interpretation of the stories while still fitting in the rules of the A Girl And Her Fed universe.
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