A review by benedettal
Queens of Themiscyra by Hannah Lynn

5.0

A great myth retelling, focusing on the life of the Amazon queens, Hippolyte and Penthesilea. The Amazons are intertwined in some of the most famous myths, including Herakles, Theseus and the Trojan war, so telling the story from their perspective is bound to make for a rich novel, even more so because as footnotes to other heroes’ stories, their lore has a lot of contradictions. Hannah Lynn has masterfully weaved together the ancient sources to give us not only a coherent, but an extremely satisfying narrative that flashes out the Amazon queens as characters with strong motivations and a much greater role in the larger myths they traditionally appeared in. I especially appreciated the final section that takes us through Penthesilea’s journey towards her demise. Both protagonists are extremely compelling, they face tough challenges and make hard decisions, and the book really coveys their strength beyond the battlefield. Never slow, never pointless, the story progresses naturally and uses the sources so well, I could talk about it for hours, just great stuff!