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sterling8 's review for:
Horses of Fire
by A.D. Rhine
ATY Challenge 2023: a book set in a location that begins with A, T or Y.
Genreland 2023: ancient civilization
There have been a lot of Greek myth retellings lately. I love Greek myths so I've tried a lot of them. Unfortunately, I have generally found them wanting. Madeline Miller is one of the few exceptions and now this book joins the ranks of the books that I've been impressed by!
This book takes place in Troy during the Trojan War. We've got basically three POV characters. One is Andromache. The authors have taken her name, which can be translated as "battler of men" and created an Andromache who is intelligent, fierce, and very frustrated that her role as princess (or Harsa, the word the book uses) does not allow her a more active role in helping to win the war. She's been trained in battle by the Amazons and sees the fractures in Trojan society that could end up costing the city the war. She wants to advocate for the tribes who have come to fight for Tryo but who have been relegated to the outer city and not treated with the respect that they deserve by the Old Blood. Andromache is also struggling with being unable to give her husband Hector an heir, an heir who would be destined to be a ruler of Troy. Andromache is ambivalent about wanting to be pregnant eve though it's her duty, because she feels that she has intrinsic value herself and does not want to be relegated to the status of motherhood instead of having power in her own right. This is something I haven't seen a lot of. As someone who was decidedly ambivalent about the idea of motherhood myself, it was refreshing to see this play out in the book. At one point a character notes that because Andromache is older than many women are when they have children, she is more conscious of the self that she will lose- there's no denying that motherhood will change a person's life irrevocably even if she wants that change.
Rhea, tamer of horses, is the second person whose POV we have. Rhea escapes the destruction of her family home and ends up as part of Hector and Andromache's household. She is able to work in the stables even though women are not welcomed there because Rhea is exceptionally talented. Andromache envies Rhea for being able to make her way into a men's vocation because Andromache herself is so frustrated by her inability to be seen as an asset for her mind.
Finally, there is Helen. We don't see as much of Helen as we do of the other two women. In this book, Paris is definitely the bad guy. Helen was forced to come to Troy and she drinks and drugs herself to keep from feeling the pain of being torn from her daughter and from being forced to be Paris's trophy. Helen has also been trained as a healer and still wants to be allowed to practice that part of her identity, although she is not valued for that talent in Troy.
These are all interesting and original characters who play off each other in fascinating ways. I got impatient with Andromache sometimes because she can't allow herself to see other women as allies, is oblivious to much of her privilege, and can't see how her intractability is harming her relationship with her husband. Hector is a paragon in this book and I liked his character a lot. But Andromache really is quite capable when she is allowed to be, as is shown by the end of the book.
This book does not get to the end of the Trojan war. I hope very much that the authors will continue this story!
Genreland 2023: ancient civilization
There have been a lot of Greek myth retellings lately. I love Greek myths so I've tried a lot of them. Unfortunately, I have generally found them wanting. Madeline Miller is one of the few exceptions and now this book joins the ranks of the books that I've been impressed by!
This book takes place in Troy during the Trojan War. We've got basically three POV characters. One is Andromache. The authors have taken her name, which can be translated as "battler of men" and created an Andromache who is intelligent, fierce, and very frustrated that her role as princess (or Harsa, the word the book uses) does not allow her a more active role in helping to win the war. She's been trained in battle by the Amazons and sees the fractures in Trojan society that could end up costing the city the war. She wants to advocate for the tribes who have come to fight for Tryo but who have been relegated to the outer city and not treated with the respect that they deserve by the Old Blood. Andromache is also struggling with being unable to give her husband Hector an heir, an heir who would be destined to be a ruler of Troy. Andromache is ambivalent about wanting to be pregnant eve though it's her duty, because she feels that she has intrinsic value herself and does not want to be relegated to the status of motherhood instead of having power in her own right. This is something I haven't seen a lot of. As someone who was decidedly ambivalent about the idea of motherhood myself, it was refreshing to see this play out in the book. At one point a character notes that because Andromache is older than many women are when they have children, she is more conscious of the self that she will lose- there's no denying that motherhood will change a person's life irrevocably even if she wants that change.
Rhea, tamer of horses, is the second person whose POV we have. Rhea escapes the destruction of her family home and ends up as part of Hector and Andromache's household. She is able to work in the stables even though women are not welcomed there because Rhea is exceptionally talented. Andromache envies Rhea for being able to make her way into a men's vocation because Andromache herself is so frustrated by her inability to be seen as an asset for her mind.
Finally, there is Helen. We don't see as much of Helen as we do of the other two women. In this book, Paris is definitely the bad guy. Helen was forced to come to Troy and she drinks and drugs herself to keep from feeling the pain of being torn from her daughter and from being forced to be Paris's trophy. Helen has also been trained as a healer and still wants to be allowed to practice that part of her identity, although she is not valued for that talent in Troy.
These are all interesting and original characters who play off each other in fascinating ways. I got impatient with Andromache sometimes because she can't allow herself to see other women as allies, is oblivious to much of her privilege, and can't see how her intractability is harming her relationship with her husband. Hector is a paragon in this book and I liked his character a lot. But Andromache really is quite capable when she is allowed to be, as is shown by the end of the book.
This book does not get to the end of the Trojan war. I hope very much that the authors will continue this story!