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magratnj 's review for:
Ariadne Unraveled: A Mythic Retelling
by Zenobia Neil
The premise for this book is really interesting - retelling the story of Ariadne and Dionysus. There is a lot of good and a lot of bad in this book. Overall, I was disappointed and would have given this two stars except for what I mention in the good below.
First the bad:
The book reads like a book aimed at middle school kids up until you get to the first sex scene where you are suddenly plunged into a soft porn romance novel. Like a lot of soft porn, the relationships are over the top and attraction is instantaneous and sometimes nonsensical. There is a lot of confusion between love and lust and yet some of the best writing is in the (very light) BDSM scenes. (Note, if light BDSM freaks you out, this is definitely not the book for you as there are a lot of people who want to be "punished" in this novel.) While the motivation of the characters was fairly shallow, that is not unlike the myths upon which the story is based. I would have preferred a real "story behind the story" with more depth to it, but the title clearly says it is a "mythic retelling" which implies that it won't be realistic. Ariadne seemed to be blind to the most obvious bad or good behavior of others....they had to hit her over the head before she noticed. Sadly, the book ended more like a Disney retelling of a fairy tale than a myth.
Now the good:
This book made me think about what it would have been like during the rise of Athens and also made me more curious about Minoan culture. The author is better at world building than dialogue, motivation, or relationships. I also loved what she did with the Minotaur...that was more the "story behind the story" than much of the rest. I can't fully fault any book that makes me think and go out and learn more not because I didn't believe what she was saying, but because she made the culture so interesting.
This book could have benefited from a stronger editor as there were good bones here. Sometimes the reactions to the characters seemed truly bizarre even given that some characters are gods who really don't care about humans. There was also at least one time where no one caught that the wrong word was used and neither the author nor editor noticed: "Ariadne, Phaedra, and Tios clamored on board, followed by the Athenian tributes." "To clamor" means to cry out. The word the author wanted was "clambered."
All in all, I don't think I'll be reading more from this author unless I see some indications from reviews that the writing/editing has improved, but I'm glad I didn't set aside this book as it renewed my interest in ancient Greek cultures.
First the bad:
The book reads like a book aimed at middle school kids up until you get to the first sex scene where you are suddenly plunged into a soft porn romance novel. Like a lot of soft porn, the relationships are over the top and attraction is instantaneous and sometimes nonsensical. There is a lot of confusion between love and lust and yet some of the best writing is in the (very light) BDSM scenes. (Note, if light BDSM freaks you out, this is definitely not the book for you as there are a lot of people who want to be "punished" in this novel.) While the motivation of the characters was fairly shallow, that is not unlike the myths upon which the story is based. I would have preferred a real "story behind the story" with more depth to it, but the title clearly says it is a "mythic retelling" which implies that it won't be realistic. Ariadne seemed to be blind to the most obvious bad or good behavior of others....they had to hit her over the head before she noticed. Sadly, the book ended more like a Disney retelling of a fairy tale than a myth.
Now the good:
This book made me think about what it would have been like during the rise of Athens and also made me more curious about Minoan culture. The author is better at world building than dialogue, motivation, or relationships. I also loved what she did with the Minotaur...that was more the "story behind the story" than much of the rest. I can't fully fault any book that makes me think and go out and learn more not because I didn't believe what she was saying, but because she made the culture so interesting.
This book could have benefited from a stronger editor as there were good bones here. Sometimes the reactions to the characters seemed truly bizarre even given that some characters are gods who really don't care about humans. There was also at least one time where no one caught that the wrong word was used and neither the author nor editor noticed: "Ariadne, Phaedra, and Tios clamored on board, followed by the Athenian tributes." "To clamor" means to cry out. The word the author wanted was "clambered."
All in all, I don't think I'll be reading more from this author unless I see some indications from reviews that the writing/editing has improved, but I'm glad I didn't set aside this book as it renewed my interest in ancient Greek cultures.