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A review by eggcatsreads
Athena's Child by Hannah Lynn
3.0
A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger Warning for rape. (I realize the entire mythos of Medusa originated from this, but on the off chance that someone reading this is unaware, I wanted to give a warning.)
Despite knowing the story of Medusa, this retelling packs a punch with the childhood and eventual rape of Medusa by Poseidon, and the curse cast upon her by Athena. I thought the adaptation of Stheno and Euryale of having also been mortal and likewise cursed by Athena was an interesting take on the myth. My general understanding was that all three of the gorgons were born, but only Medusa was mortal and a priestess for Athena, while the other two were always immortal. I thought this interpretation allowed cohesion between the two stories in a way that made thematically sense.
This book is good at placing the reader into the myth to experience it firsthand, but it is very quick and efficient in doing so. I really appreciated that neither Medusa nor Perseus were set to be the antagonist or villain of this story - both are victims of the wills of the men and gods around them. Typically, depending on the slant of the story that this myth is being retold, one or the other is cast in a less than sympathetic light, when neither has done anything deserving of derision. They are characters in a play, forced into roles that neither wanted but have no choice but to continue until the curtain drops.
There were also a few points I felt that this book incorporated a too modern perspective into the characters, in a way that felt almost confusing. I don’t necessarily disagree with them, as this is a feminist retelling of Medusa, but some aspects I found jarring. For instance, Medusa’s father wants to prevent her from marrying young and so that is the motivation for her becoming a priestess for Athena - and yet, her sister is married just as young as Medusa was when she left. I felt like there could have been a better reason for Medusa to become a priestess of Athena, to account for this discrepancy.
There are also times when the timeline skips around in a way that I found confusing, even being familiar with the entire story of Medusa. The biggest one I noticed was the change from Danae and infant Perseus almost drowning in the chest, to an adult Perseus talking to characters about events that we have not seen. I know the mythology, so I was aware of what was happening, but I felt there should have at least been a chapter or two to cover this timeline change to keep the reader aware of everything going on.
This novel also isn’t the best at letting the reader be aware of the passage of time as it happens. While I obviously knew time had passed from Medusa and her sisters escaping to their island, and Perseus making the promise of beheading her for the king, I was not aware millennia had passed until it was stated explicitly. The writing had led me to believe that maybe a few generations had passed, but not the expansive passage of time that the story explicitly states later.
I believe that as long as a reader is familiar with the myth of Medusa, this story is told very well and really brings to life the characters within the story. Overall, this book is a fairly quick read, so I do suggest giving it a try.
Trigger Warning for rape. (I realize the entire mythos of Medusa originated from this, but on the off chance that someone reading this is unaware, I wanted to give a warning.)
Despite knowing the story of Medusa, this retelling packs a punch with the childhood and eventual rape of Medusa by Poseidon, and the curse cast upon her by Athena. I thought the adaptation of Stheno and Euryale of having also been mortal and likewise cursed by Athena was an interesting take on the myth. My general understanding was that all three of the gorgons were born, but only Medusa was mortal and a priestess for Athena, while the other two were always immortal. I thought this interpretation allowed cohesion between the two stories in a way that made thematically sense.
This book is good at placing the reader into the myth to experience it firsthand, but it is very quick and efficient in doing so. I really appreciated that neither Medusa nor Perseus were set to be the antagonist or villain of this story - both are victims of the wills of the men and gods around them. Typically, depending on the slant of the story that this myth is being retold, one or the other is cast in a less than sympathetic light, when neither has done anything deserving of derision. They are characters in a play, forced into roles that neither wanted but have no choice but to continue until the curtain drops.
There were also a few points I felt that this book incorporated a too modern perspective into the characters, in a way that felt almost confusing. I don’t necessarily disagree with them, as this is a feminist retelling of Medusa, but some aspects I found jarring. For instance, Medusa’s father wants to prevent her from marrying young and so that is the motivation for her becoming a priestess for Athena - and yet, her sister is married just as young as Medusa was when she left. I felt like there could have been a better reason for Medusa to become a priestess of Athena, to account for this discrepancy.
There are also times when the timeline skips around in a way that I found confusing, even being familiar with the entire story of Medusa. The biggest one I noticed was the change from Danae and infant Perseus almost drowning in the chest, to an adult Perseus talking to characters about events that we have not seen. I know the mythology, so I was aware of what was happening, but I felt there should have at least been a chapter or two to cover this timeline change to keep the reader aware of everything going on.
This novel also isn’t the best at letting the reader be aware of the passage of time as it happens. While I obviously knew time had passed from Medusa and her sisters escaping to their island, and Perseus making the promise of beheading her for the king, I was not aware millennia had passed until it was stated explicitly. The writing had led me to believe that maybe a few generations had passed, but not the expansive passage of time that the story explicitly states later.
I believe that as long as a reader is familiar with the myth of Medusa, this story is told very well and really brings to life the characters within the story. Overall, this book is a fairly quick read, so I do suggest giving it a try.