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A review by endofpricetag
The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Natasha Pulley has been my all-time favourite author for years and even though I usually dislike books set in ancient Greece, I just had to read the Hymn to Dionysus. Overall it was... an interesting book. I had lots of feelings, but I did end up giving it 4/5 stars because it had that quintessential Pulley-ness that I missed in the Mars House. Below is a list of my feelings about specific issues within the book, but I did enjoy it overall.
Positives:
- All the characters were really likeable, especially the mc, Phaidros. He was integrated into the wider plot in a way that felt natural and he was just the right amount of morally-grey without being too edgy. Also, his reaction to everything was "fuck off," which was great.
- The ending plot twist was executed well and had a sensible explanation.
- Of course, Pulley's integration of historical fact and religion was exceptional, as always. Thebes and the people living there all felt incredibly real and I really appreciated that the religious aspects were more than just Hogwarts houses that the characters were assigned to and instead were treated with proper reverence and awe.
- I loved the super British dialogue and thought it presented a funny contrast to the setting.
Negatives:
- Pulley still can't write politics very well, which was no surprise. She only ever has two conflicting groups, which is the Authority/Government and the Regular People. Both of them are filled with complex, interesting characters, but they never have a particularly nuanced relationship and there's almost never proper conflict between them. It's not a major problem, it just makes the story feel a bit more hollow.
- The relationship was very insta-lovey. Dionysus and Phaidros meet once and then they're head over heels in love. They have a pretty good dynamic but it's hard to appreciate when I don't actually know what they like about each other, let alone why they keep spending time together.
- Usually, I love Pulley's writing style but this book was just a bit too flowery and metaphorical to the point where it was difficult to understand. She also reused the same words constantly (I swear something was 'fizzy' or 'clockwork' every single chapter) and my copy had lots of grammatical mistakes or sentences that seemed like they should have been cut out.
- The opening narration made the book seem like it was going to take place over a really long period of time and framed the story as a fairy tale narrative, but 95% of the book took place over, like, a week?
- There's also the uh... um, the... the... the incest... I get that it's set in ancient Greece and that makes it a bit more normal, but I do not live in ancient Greece and I hated every second of it.
All these negatives were pretty minor in the grand scheme of the story and even though this book won't be one of my favorites, it was still a good read :)
Definitely not comparable to Song of Achilles though who the hell thought THAT was a good marketing decision??
Positives:
- All the characters were really likeable, especially the mc, Phaidros. He was integrated into the wider plot in a way that felt natural and he was just the right amount of morally-grey without being too edgy. Also, his reaction to everything was "fuck off," which was great.
- The ending plot twist was executed well and had a sensible explanation.
- Of course, Pulley's integration of historical fact and religion was exceptional, as always. Thebes and the people living there all felt incredibly real and I really appreciated that the religious aspects were more than just Hogwarts houses that the characters were assigned to and instead were treated with proper reverence and awe.
- I loved the super British dialogue and thought it presented a funny contrast to the setting.
Negatives:
- Pulley still can't write politics very well, which was no surprise. She only ever has two conflicting groups, which is the Authority/Government and the Regular People. Both of them are filled with complex, interesting characters, but they never have a particularly nuanced relationship and there's almost never proper conflict between them. It's not a major problem, it just makes the story feel a bit more hollow.
- The relationship was very insta-lovey. Dionysus and Phaidros meet once and then they're head over heels in love. They have a pretty good dynamic but it's hard to appreciate when I don't actually know what they like about each other, let alone why they keep spending time together.
- Usually, I love Pulley's writing style but this book was just a bit too flowery and metaphorical to the point where it was difficult to understand. She also reused the same words constantly (I swear something was 'fizzy' or 'clockwork' every single chapter) and my copy had lots of grammatical mistakes or sentences that seemed like they should have been cut out.
- The opening narration made the book seem like it was going to take place over a really long period of time and framed the story as a fairy tale narrative, but 95% of the book took place over, like, a week?
-
All these negatives were pretty minor in the grand scheme of the story and even though this book won't be one of my favorites, it was still a good read :)
Definitely not comparable to Song of Achilles though who the hell thought THAT was a good marketing decision??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, War
Moderate: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Body horror, Child death