Scan barcode
naoml's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The story follows the myth of Achilles but for once not through his eyes or the eyes of someone who adores him. We see that "heroism" is sometimes simply violence, depending on the lens you are viewing it through. However, this also gives us the nuance of sometimes evil doesn't always look that way, and even worse: not everything and evil person does is bad. Humanity is more complex than that, and you own no one forgiveness based on a single action or moment.
I can't fully put into words my thoughts and feelings on it, but I do know that it is incredible. The story will keep permeating my thoughts for a long time to come.
**please read the trigger warnings
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
tetedump's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
drj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
Moderate: Gore, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Confinement, Blood, and Alcohol
ylimets's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
Moderate: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
cthulhu_calamari's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Confinement
islamaunder21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
- Considering how patriarchal Ancient Greek culture was, I found it refreshing to read the famous tale of the Battle of Troy from a woman's perspective. This book certainly lives up to its title, brutally portraying the traumatic and tightly restrained experience of women in this period, especially from the perspective of captured women turned war trophies and sex slaves. I also enjoyed how accessible Pat Baker made this story since ancient history is often portrayed in an either far fetched and overly fantastical way, or through a stuffy super-academic lens. Therefore, despite this being a mythological retelling, the book didn't feel overdone and sadly some aspects of the women's experience still ring true today and felt somewhat relatable to real life, albeit in a watered down way. I also liked the emphasis on female friendships which was a welcome change from the competitiveness so often encouraged between women in Western society.
- I guess if it's a retelling there's not all that room for adapting the story too much, and maybe this is because I've already read 'The Song of Achilles' so the narrative wasn't new to me, but I did find a lot of this book a bit boring and the narrative style itself wasn't especially captivating. I was expecting there to be some kind of rebellion or assertiveness from the captured slave women but it was a bit disappointing that for the most part they were passive and resigned to their imprisonment,
apart from Briseis's attempted escape which she gives up on , although obviously a sex slave isn't going to be able to just girl boss their way out of violent oppression and perhaps this portrayal was more realistic. Maybe my issue isn't with this itself, but with the concequential monotomy and lack of depth/expression of the female characters. Also this is pedantic of me but some of the story was told from Achilles' and Patroclus' perspective so it didn't feel like it was that ground-breaking in championing and empowering women's storytelling or centering the female experience. - However, I do feel like I learned a bit more about the traditions of Ancient Greece and undervalued women's work which made an important contribution to society in this period.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
gkm00's review against another edition
3.75
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
civetta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
indigoimpulse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
however the book promised me a story from briseis’ pov so i didn’t really appreciate so much of the book being taken up by achilles’ pov - this author writes grief excellently so his sections were great but it kind of took away from the fact that this was supposed to be briseis’ story . i don’t really think you can call this a feminist novel but i enjoyed it nonetheless
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
amyam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed this book, I loved how it stuck so closely to the original myths/stories. Every character came with flaws and there was depth to all the characters. The book both showed the very horrific nature of this period while not being graphic and hard to read.
Briseis provided an interesting focal point for the story as she guided us through her life at the time. Through her fear, her hatred, her confusion and her acceptance. Despite how incredulous her story may be to a modern reader, by hearing her thoughts and point of view her story does make a lot more sense. I enjoyed her wit and at times sarcasm even if she couldn’t say it out loud.
This was an excellent book so much so I immediately went out and bought the second one as I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and War