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A review by justagirlwithabook
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Oh, how I was hoping to really enjoy this one!
I've got a lot of mixed feelings.For starters, I've been in a "mythological retellings" kind of mood for a couple of weeks now (which has been wonderful!), and while grasping for more myth-based stories, this one was recommended to me to try out (and I had discovered that I'd put in on my TBR prior to its publishing). So, I went to Barnes & Noble and grabbed a copy right before getting snowed in for a week.
The premise is entirely intriguing. The idea is that there are 'houses' fighting for powers from the gods, and every 7 years, an Agon arises where gods become mortal. Members of these houses then try to kill the gods to obtain their power, and, in a way, become the 'new' gods (who are then of course potential prey when the next Agon happens).
Intriguing, but also confusing, right? I'll try to explain the details of how it works further because it's a bit complicated. I found myself going to Goodreads to read reviews that might help me 'get it' better because the book wasn't doing as great of a job as it should've. I was only really fully comfortable with the inner workings of the system by the time I was nearly done with the book.
So, here's how it works, if you are (or were) confused like I was:
- This book takes place in our modern time.
- Descendants of great warriors and heroes of mythological legend have formed houses (which have, in theory, been in existence since the heroes themselves). These houses are named after their great ancestors. So, think of these as Hunger Games districts or factions. We have the Odysseides (The House of Odysseus), Achillides (The House of Achilles), Theseides (House of Theseus), and so forth. There are 9 houses in all. The number doesn't really matter, just know that there are a lot of houses.
- Some of these houses have been basically hunted into extinction. Some have only a couple descendants remaining. Some of them aren't seen as 'worthy' enough to even really play along in this Agon cycle (i.e. 'The Hunger Games') because they're so weak (not a lot of descendants left, not a lot of resources to really keep playing in the game, etc.). That also doesn't really matter to the plot, because there are really only a handful of houses that are key players that you'll read about.
- The main character, Lore, is one of these 'last people standing' from The House of Perseus (they'd been nearly hunted to extinction, and then for a time it was just her immediate family left, but then they were killed -but Lore survived and went into hiding).
- On the separate end of things, we have gods and goddesses that, long ago, made Zeus angry. So he started this Agon cycle (i.e. The Hunger Games) and threw these gods and goddesses into the game. So, once every 7 years, they become mortal. During the cycle, any mortal who kills them will gain their powers and become the 'new' god or goddess. (They use language in the book like 'the new Ares' or 'the False Ares' - because Ares was killed and a new person took on his powers.)
- If a god/goddess lasts through the Agon without getting killed, good job. They're free for another 7 years. If a mortal kills them, they're gone, and that mortal then becomes like the god/goddess they killed at the end of the Agon and takes on full god/goddess powers. Until the next Agon, when they become mortal again and have to keep themselves alive.
- The heads of the houses are ones who often get the 'privilege' of killing a god/goddess to get their powers. People in the houses that fight for their faction are called 'hunters' and they basically just try to do everything they can for the head of their house to get god/goddess powers. IF the head of their house gets those powers, a lot of times that head of the house, as the 'new' god/goddess, will align themselves with their old house and protect them in various ways. Not always, but most of the time.
So, here's how that plays into the overall storyline:
In the book, we have our main character Lore who is the last living MORTAL descendent of her house. There is one other descendant BUT that descendant killed Poseidon and got his powers (and then she named herself 'Tidebringer'). Lore has been in hiding since the last Agon when her entire family was murdered. We start the book with a new Agon cycle about to start in New York, and Lore wants to do whatever she can to take revenge on the person that she thinks killed her family, the head of a rival house who took on the powers of Ares (he renamed himself 'Wrath').
What I liked:
- I liked the incorporation of mythology (but wanted more)
- I liked the side characters more than anyone else - sort of quirky, etc. Some of these side characters were actual gods/goddesses (that had still somehow not been killed since the start of the whole thing), and I liked them as well because they retained the characteristics of who they were and what made them them.
- Mostly liked the pace - there seemed to be enough going on to keep me interested.
What I didn't like:
- I didn't like the fact that there wasn't enough world-building and explanation for me to fully understand the gist of what the heck was happening fairly quickly. I had to sort of figure it out as I went to get a better understanding of things (and even did some Googling and looking at other Goodreads reviews hoping that someone would explain to me how this all worked in a way that was simpler to understand). By the time I got about 2/3 of the way through, I felt more comfortable with it, but it would've done me a lot more good to have figured it out sooner. I'm a librarian for 7th and 8th graders and don't imagine seeing any of them, even the ones who love mythology, following along with the story very well. I think YAs would have a hard time figuring it all out.
- It was really violent and gory. I personally don't care about that but I think it might be a bit much for some of our YAs on the younger end of the scale.
- The ending was really abrupt and didn't provide much of an explanation. Sure, we could probably guess at what had happened to explain the ending, but an epilogue would've helped. Either way, it came to a swift end.
- There were moments of disconnect where a scene was playing out and Bracken would throw in a description of something happening that, up to that point, hadn't even been introduced to the reader. So as a reader, I did a lot of 'Wait, where'd that come from?" in my imagination. For example, in one scene Lore and Athena are going through some stores in the aftermath of a flood, checking out the landscape, etc., and ultimately end up on a roof. They're talking, yada yada, and then there's a line that says something like, 'Athena drank the water from her bottle and threw the bottle to the side.' Up to that point, didn't even realize that was a thing. Surprise water bottle in the scene! I had to go back and reread to see if there had a been a part when they'd picked up groceries or water or something? Nope. No mention of it. The bottle appeared and disappeared just as quickly. In another scene, Lore tells her friends she's going to go up and take a shower and take a nap. Next page over, she goes up the stairs and just climbs straight into bed in her gross clothes and then when she wakes up, she changes into a clean shirt and moves on. Huh?
Long story short:
Could it have been better executed? Absolutely.
Was it a great story? It was okay. I didn't hate it once I got past my frustration and understood it better (by the time I was more than halfway through).
Would I recommend it? Well, did you like The Hunger Games? Do you want to read something similar but even more violent and gory and with some mythology thrown in there to make it feel a little different and unique? If not, pass. If so, this might be even more enjoyable for you than it was for me (not saying I didn't enjoy it, just have a lot of mixed feelings). Not sure? Check it out from your local library before investing in your own copy.
I've got a lot of mixed feelings.For starters, I've been in a "mythological retellings" kind of mood for a couple of weeks now (which has been wonderful!), and while grasping for more myth-based stories, this one was recommended to me to try out (and I had discovered that I'd put in on my TBR prior to its publishing). So, I went to Barnes & Noble and grabbed a copy right before getting snowed in for a week.
The premise is entirely intriguing. The idea is that there are 'houses' fighting for powers from the gods, and every 7 years, an Agon arises where gods become mortal. Members of these houses then try to kill the gods to obtain their power, and, in a way, become the 'new' gods (who are then of course potential prey when the next Agon happens).
Intriguing, but also confusing, right? I'll try to explain the details of how it works further because it's a bit complicated. I found myself going to Goodreads to read reviews that might help me 'get it' better because the book wasn't doing as great of a job as it should've. I was only really fully comfortable with the inner workings of the system by the time I was nearly done with the book.
So, here's how it works, if you are (or were) confused like I was:
- This book takes place in our modern time.
- Descendants of great warriors and heroes of mythological legend have formed houses (which have, in theory, been in existence since the heroes themselves). These houses are named after their great ancestors. So, think of these as Hunger Games districts or factions. We have the Odysseides (The House of Odysseus), Achillides (The House of Achilles), Theseides (House of Theseus), and so forth. There are 9 houses in all. The number doesn't really matter, just know that there are a lot of houses.
- Some of these houses have been basically hunted into extinction. Some have only a couple descendants remaining. Some of them aren't seen as 'worthy' enough to even really play along in this Agon cycle (i.e. 'The Hunger Games') because they're so weak (not a lot of descendants left, not a lot of resources to really keep playing in the game, etc.). That also doesn't really matter to the plot, because there are really only a handful of houses that are key players that you'll read about.
- The main character, Lore, is one of these 'last people standing' from The House of Perseus (they'd been nearly hunted to extinction, and then for a time it was just her immediate family left, but then they were killed -but Lore survived and went into hiding).
- On the separate end of things, we have gods and goddesses that, long ago, made Zeus angry. So he started this Agon cycle (i.e. The Hunger Games) and threw these gods and goddesses into the game. So, once every 7 years, they become mortal. During the cycle, any mortal who kills them will gain their powers and become the 'new' god or goddess. (They use language in the book like 'the new Ares' or 'the False Ares' - because Ares was killed and a new person took on his powers.)
- If a god/goddess lasts through the Agon without getting killed, good job. They're free for another 7 years. If a mortal kills them, they're gone, and that mortal then becomes like the god/goddess they killed at the end of the Agon and takes on full god/goddess powers. Until the next Agon, when they become mortal again and have to keep themselves alive.
- The heads of the houses are ones who often get the 'privilege' of killing a god/goddess to get their powers. People in the houses that fight for their faction are called 'hunters' and they basically just try to do everything they can for the head of their house to get god/goddess powers. IF the head of their house gets those powers, a lot of times that head of the house, as the 'new' god/goddess, will align themselves with their old house and protect them in various ways. Not always, but most of the time.
So, here's how that plays into the overall storyline:
In the book, we have our main character Lore who is the last living MORTAL descendent of her house. There is one other descendant BUT that descendant killed Poseidon and got his powers (and then she named herself 'Tidebringer'). Lore has been in hiding since the last Agon when her entire family was murdered. We start the book with a new Agon cycle about to start in New York, and Lore wants to do whatever she can to take revenge on the person that she thinks killed her family, the head of a rival house who took on the powers of Ares (he renamed himself 'Wrath').
What I liked:
- I liked the incorporation of mythology (but wanted more)
- I liked the side characters more than anyone else - sort of quirky, etc. Some of these side characters were actual gods/goddesses (that had still somehow not been killed since the start of the whole thing), and I liked them as well because they retained the characteristics of who they were and what made them them.
- Mostly liked the pace - there seemed to be enough going on to keep me interested.
What I didn't like:
- I didn't like the fact that there wasn't enough world-building and explanation for me to fully understand the gist of what the heck was happening fairly quickly. I had to sort of figure it out as I went to get a better understanding of things (and even did some Googling and looking at other Goodreads reviews hoping that someone would explain to me how this all worked in a way that was simpler to understand). By the time I got about 2/3 of the way through, I felt more comfortable with it, but it would've done me a lot more good to have figured it out sooner. I'm a librarian for 7th and 8th graders and don't imagine seeing any of them, even the ones who love mythology, following along with the story very well. I think YAs would have a hard time figuring it all out.
- It was really violent and gory. I personally don't care about that but I think it might be a bit much for some of our YAs on the younger end of the scale.
- The ending was really abrupt and didn't provide much of an explanation. Sure, we could probably guess at what had happened to explain the ending, but an epilogue would've helped. Either way, it came to a swift end.
- There were moments of disconnect where a scene was playing out and Bracken would throw in a description of something happening that, up to that point, hadn't even been introduced to the reader. So as a reader, I did a lot of 'Wait, where'd that come from?" in my imagination. For example, in one scene Lore and Athena are going through some stores in the aftermath of a flood, checking out the landscape, etc., and ultimately end up on a roof. They're talking, yada yada, and then there's a line that says something like, 'Athena drank the water from her bottle and threw the bottle to the side.' Up to that point, didn't even realize that was a thing. Surprise water bottle in the scene! I had to go back and reread to see if there had a been a part when they'd picked up groceries or water or something? Nope. No mention of it. The bottle appeared and disappeared just as quickly. In another scene, Lore tells her friends she's going to go up and take a shower and take a nap. Next page over, she goes up the stairs and just climbs straight into bed in her gross clothes and then when she wakes up, she changes into a clean shirt and moves on. Huh?
Long story short:
Could it have been better executed? Absolutely.
Was it a great story? It was okay. I didn't hate it once I got past my frustration and understood it better (by the time I was more than halfway through).
Would I recommend it? Well, did you like The Hunger Games? Do you want to read something similar but even more violent and gory and with some mythology thrown in there to make it feel a little different and unique? If not, pass. If so, this might be even more enjoyable for you than it was for me (not saying I didn't enjoy it, just have a lot of mixed feelings). Not sure? Check it out from your local library before investing in your own copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Sexism, and Suicide attempt