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A review by kylosten
A Spartan's Sorrow by Hannah Lynn
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This started out as a good retelling of Clytemnestra after being married to Agamemnon.
The writing style was good. Adding emotion to the characters to give meaning behind their actions was also well done overall. I liked that Clytemnestra, at the heart of everything was motivated by a deep love for her children and the story did a good job showing the tragedy of her story lies in a society rooted in misogyny.
I think having some idea of the original stories is helpful since this starts in the middle of Clytemnestra's story.
The incest storyline in part 2 felt like it was just there to appeal to Song of Achilles fans and a bit disingenuous tbh. While I appreciate LGBTQIA+ storylines and representation it felt like it would have made more sense as a strong brotherly relationship. The romantic aspect kind of came out of nowhere.
And I understand incest was likely viewed differently in the time these stories were written since there are marriages between cousin/affairs among family members (and that some interpretations of the two characters are romantic). It just felt unnecessary here and took away from the overall second half for me.
The writing style was good. Adding emotion to the characters to give meaning behind their actions was also well done overall. I liked that Clytemnestra, at the heart of everything was motivated by a deep love for her children and the story did a good job showing the tragedy of her story lies in a society rooted in misogyny.
I think having some idea of the original stories is helpful since this starts in the middle of Clytemnestra's story.
The incest storyline in part 2 felt like it was just there to appeal to Song of Achilles fans and a bit disingenuous tbh. While I appreciate LGBTQIA+ storylines and representation it felt like it would have made more sense as a strong brotherly relationship. The romantic aspect kind of came out of nowhere.
And I understand incest was likely viewed differently in the time these stories were written since there are marriages between cousin/affairs among family members (and that some interpretations of the two characters are romantic). It just felt unnecessary here and took away from the overall second half for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child death and Incest
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence