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A review by mminson
Queens of Themiscyra by Hannah Lynn
5.0
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.
It took a bit for me to get into this book, but once I did, I was captivated. Told from the perspectives of Hippolyte and Penthesilea, it captures the Amazons at their height and facing their greatest (and best-known) battles.
I loved getting both of the queens’ perspectives. They are different and it is clear within the narrative that they approach many situations differently, but also throughout the novel, both grow and change. As Anatolians, the Amazons do not follow all the rules of the Greeks that those familiar with mythological retellings might expect, on top of their particular habits of solo queenship and female warriors. And Lynn does not shy away from the realities of what those different attitudes would mean when the different groups interact. When Hippolyte is in Athens, what is her experience of life like and how is it different from Themiscyra? Well, it’s quite clear in the book and engaging to read (I won’t spoil it here).
As Amazons and women are the main characters, there is a lot of discussion of motherhood and pregnancy. At times, it felt like a lot of time was spent restating the same points about getting pregnant and how babies were dealt with in the ancient world and its different cultures. If that is not your cup of tea, perhaps steer clear.
As someone who has spent a lot of time with Greek mythology, I loved how different myth moments were handled and the foreshadowing or mentions of other moments and figures. Even though I knew the rough outline of what should happen, I was still captured by the story and eager to turn the page. No one is perfect in the book, certainly not any of the major characters, and I was so happy with Lynn’s treatment of known characters. The different loves that appear throughout the book, maternal, sibling, romantic, etc., were all insightful. I honestly really just wish that the gods were more heavily involved, as the book seemed to quite clearly state their existence, but little is seen of their influence.
This was a great retelling of Hippolyte and Penthesilea’s stories. I loved it. The pacing is a little slow, but it carries you along once it gets going.
It took a bit for me to get into this book, but once I did, I was captivated. Told from the perspectives of Hippolyte and Penthesilea, it captures the Amazons at their height and facing their greatest (and best-known) battles.
I loved getting both of the queens’ perspectives. They are different and it is clear within the narrative that they approach many situations differently, but also throughout the novel, both grow and change. As Anatolians, the Amazons do not follow all the rules of the Greeks that those familiar with mythological retellings might expect, on top of their particular habits of solo queenship and female warriors. And Lynn does not shy away from the realities of what those different attitudes would mean when the different groups interact. When Hippolyte is in Athens, what is her experience of life like and how is it different from Themiscyra? Well, it’s quite clear in the book and engaging to read (I won’t spoil it here).
As Amazons and women are the main characters, there is a lot of discussion of motherhood and pregnancy. At times, it felt like a lot of time was spent restating the same points about getting pregnant and how babies were dealt with in the ancient world and its different cultures. If that is not your cup of tea, perhaps steer clear.
As someone who has spent a lot of time with Greek mythology, I loved how different myth moments were handled and the foreshadowing or mentions of other moments and figures. Even though I knew the rough outline of what should happen, I was still captured by the story and eager to turn the page. No one is perfect in the book, certainly not any of the major characters, and I was so happy with Lynn’s treatment of known characters. The different loves that appear throughout the book, maternal, sibling, romantic, etc., were all insightful. I honestly really just wish that the gods were more heavily involved, as the book seemed to quite clearly state their existence, but little is seen of their influence.
This was a great retelling of Hippolyte and Penthesilea’s stories. I loved it. The pacing is a little slow, but it carries you along once it gets going.