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A review by flygirl_01
Horses of Fire: A Novel of Troy by A.D. Rhine
3.0
3.4 out of five stars.
This author duo definitely wrote an interesting take on the Trojan War. The writing was lyrical, many concepts were creatively played with, and I generally like Greek myth retellings about the war. The completely original character, Rhea, was very intriguing, and I loved reading her parts of the story the most.
Unfortunately, I felt like this book dragged on in certain points. One character angsted over an outcome that was inevitable from the perspective of the Iliad. Andromache and Helen’s characterizations were interesting, but I didn’t entirely like every aspect of their reimagining, especially Andromache being seen as “too mannish”, for lack of a better word. Additionally, we don’t really see much of the Greek soldiers, and some things in this novel, like Andromache being able to rival Odysseus in intelligence, suspend my disbelief a little too much. I like seeing Andromache be a tactician, but I might be too used to thinking of Odysseus as too wily for anyone but Penelope to understand. I admire the work the authors put into making this book, but the above criticisms, and a distinct lack of the Greek pantheon playing a role, made me have mixed feelings on this book.
This author duo definitely wrote an interesting take on the Trojan War. The writing was lyrical, many concepts were creatively played with, and I generally like Greek myth retellings about the war. The completely original character, Rhea, was very intriguing, and I loved reading her parts of the story the most.
Unfortunately, I felt like this book dragged on in certain points. One character angsted over an outcome that was inevitable from the perspective of the Iliad. Andromache and Helen’s characterizations were interesting, but I didn’t entirely like every aspect of their reimagining, especially Andromache being seen as “too mannish”, for lack of a better word. Additionally, we don’t really see much of the Greek soldiers, and some things in this novel, like Andromache being able to rival Odysseus in intelligence, suspend my disbelief a little too much. I like seeing Andromache be a tactician, but I might be too used to thinking of Odysseus as too wily for anyone but Penelope to understand. I admire the work the authors put into making this book, but the above criticisms, and a distinct lack of the Greek pantheon playing a role, made me have mixed feelings on this book.