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analyticalchaos's review against another edition
5.0
This is a book that has me thinking about it years after I've read it. Ares: Bringer of War is that good. O'Connor masterfully depicts The Illiad in stunning art. This book is chilling. I loved the color scheme, narrative style, and portrayal of characters.
The storytelling is so powerful that I still remember specific scenes to this day.
You can tell which books are made with pure passion and creativity. O'Connor's Olympians series has never failed to disappoint.
The storytelling is so powerful that I still remember specific scenes to this day.
Spoiler
The scene where Achilles drags Hector's body is so visceral and potent. I remember sitting there in shock the first time I read it. The complexity of that scene astounds me. Also, that ending conversation with Zeus and Ares? Dang.You can tell which books are made with pure passion and creativity. O'Connor's Olympians series has never failed to disappoint.
hayleybeale's review against another edition
3.0
This entry in Mr O'Connor's very popular Olympians series uses the story of the Trojan War to highlight Ares, the god of war. It's very entertaining and exciting, but I'm not sure what it's telling us by having Ares as the only male god of color. See my full review here.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
4.0
The Olympians go to war! The Trojan War, of course, and so naturally this would be primarily about Athena or Ares, and although Athena is definitely involved, Ares is the man of the moment. And not a very happy one, either, because truly, if your thing is chaos in war, while there's plenty of that, it doesn't last forever, because everyone (or nearly) dies when it happens.
kelleemoye's review against another edition
4.0
George O'Connor is a master at making mythology accessible and interesting. In this Ares focused retelling of the Trojan War, we see a more humanized side of the blood-thirsty god of War. My students who are fans of the other books of the series, will definitely enjoy this one as well.
(Also, if anyone questions if graphic novels are complex or not, they should read this one!)
(Also, if anyone questions if graphic novels are complex or not, they should read this one!)
postitsandpens's review against another edition
4.0
I quite liked this look at Ares, told through the story of The Iliad. The author's note at the end was particularly interesting, as he points out that most retellings of the epic poem leave out the shenanigans of the Gods and Goddesses, which in his opinion are the most interesting. This story takes Ares' involvement in the Trojan War and uses it to talk about his disagreements with his father, mother, and sister Athena, who he apparently really did not like. The illustrations are done in shades of red and brown, perfect for a story about the God of War and the bloodshed war creates. There are also some emotional parts, when Ares mourns the loss of his son, and his coming to terms with his father's opinion of him. I'm looking forward to finally finishing this series this year.
bosslern's review against another edition
5.0
I was really looking forward to this book, and, I gotta say, it delivered. I have never read/watched/seen an edition of the Trojan War with the gods being directly involved (I have never read the Iliad so I can't be in that much trouble). Ares is bloodthirsty, maniac, and cruel, but also the only god who mourns the death of his son. It puts an interesting light to the god who is supposed to be chaotic and murderous, and I loved every minute of it.
justiceofkalr's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, so this is about Ares. But, Ares is kind of a terrible guy, as the surprisingly gory intro to this volume describes. Ares is "to rejoice in death, dismemberment, destruction... to climb atop a pile of your enemies, to hold out your arms soaked in gore and laugh." Yeah, that did get a little dark for a kid's book, but there's really no getting around the fact that Ares is the violent side of war. Moving on... this book is really more about the Trojan war than it is about Ares, and lots of the gods feature pretty heavily in this volume. Ares mostly just shows up and gets beaten (mentally and physically) by Athena. Even Zeus, Ares' own father, goes on a rant about how terrible he is. So while he's mega-violent angry, it's not portrayed positively. I loved so much of this: Iris getting an appearance, Aphrodite and Ares clearly having a thing going on, Athena generally winning, Aeneas going off to found Rome, Aphrodite being her snarky sassy self, Hephaistos getting to show off. I also loved the fact that it really showed that the Trojan war was in large part a struggle among the gods and the mortals just got caught up in it and suffered for it.