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withlivjones's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Once again, Emily Hauser knocks it out of the park in this retelling that brings together all of the myths that involve the Amazons and breathes new life into them. When Greek princess Admete accompanies Hercules (and I am deducting points for using the Roman spelling over the Greek, Disney’s impact on the myth of Herakles reaches far and wide) on his final two tasks in an effort to save her sick brother, her life becomes intertwined with that of the Amazon queen Hippolyta.
The plot itself is relatively cohesive, which can be difficult to achieve when one strings together multiple stories from mythology, and the fact that the author’s note explains many of her choices to deviate from the original stories in order to serve the plot is much appreciated. Out of the trilogy, this book is probably the most accurate to the source material in that there is no divergence from the canon at the end, but there are still various changes and embellishments to the source material littered throughout the book. As with the other books, read them for entertainment rather than accuracy. I also loved how the scenes with the gods sum up the entire trilogy by explaining the oh-so-important motif of the golden apples - a great conclusion to the series. And I love when books get meta, which this book does very well at the end.
Our two protagonists, Admete and Hippolyta, are both very strong, and I equally enjoyed both of their POVs. I particularly liked the parallels that are drawn between Hippolyta and Helen of Sparta. I do wish that we could have seen more of Admete’s brother Alexander, either through flashbacks or through Admete explaining her personal relationship with him in more detail, as I think that this could have raised the urgency to save him even more - the explanation Admete gives is pretty much just “he’s the heir to the throne and the next in line would make a terrible king” and that’s about it, which in my opinion is a bit of a surface-level explanation that lacks a lot of emotion. If we were to see how close Admete and Alexander are, it would absolutely raise the stakes and make the story even more impactful.
I also felt like the final part in the Trojan War was a little rushed - after spending so much time first in Scythia then in Greece, the Troy section felt more like a coda than a full chapter where some pretty major character development and plot points happen. It could potentially risk repeating what is said in For The Most Beautiful, which may be why Hauser opted not to spend too long on it, but I would love to have spent a little more time in Troy - with Admete getting to see her brothers and husband, perhaps, or Hippolyta reuniting with Helen - and not have such an abrupt ending.
These are only a couple of nitpicky criticisms to what is on the whole a great book and a fantastic conclusion to what is definitely one of my favourite trilogies!
The plot itself is relatively cohesive, which can be difficult to achieve when one strings together multiple stories from mythology, and the fact that the author’s note explains many of her choices to deviate from the original stories in order to serve the plot is much appreciated. Out of the trilogy, this book is probably the most accurate to the source material in that there is no divergence from the canon at the end, but there are still various changes and embellishments to the source material littered throughout the book. As with the other books, read them for entertainment rather than accuracy. I also loved how the scenes with the gods sum up the entire trilogy by explaining the oh-so-important motif of the golden apples - a great conclusion to the series. And I love when books get meta, which this book does very well at the end.
Our two protagonists, Admete and Hippolyta, are both very strong, and I equally enjoyed both of their POVs. I particularly liked the parallels that are drawn between Hippolyta and Helen of Sparta. I do wish that we could have seen more of Admete’s brother Alexander, either through flashbacks or through Admete explaining her personal relationship with him in more detail, as I think that this could have raised the urgency to save him even more - the explanation Admete gives is pretty much just “he’s the heir to the throne and the next in line would make a terrible king” and that’s about it, which in my opinion is a bit of a surface-level explanation that lacks a lot of emotion. If we were to see how close Admete and Alexander are, it would absolutely raise the stakes and make the story even more impactful.
I also felt like the final part in the Trojan War was a little rushed - after spending so much time first in Scythia then in Greece, the Troy section felt more like a coda than a full chapter where some pretty major character development and plot points happen. It could potentially risk repeating what is said in For The Most Beautiful, which may be why Hauser opted not to spend too long on it, but I would love to have spent a little more time in Troy - with Admete getting to see her brothers and husband, perhaps, or Hippolyta reuniting with Helen - and not have such an abrupt ending.
These are only a couple of nitpicky criticisms to what is on the whole a great book and a fantastic conclusion to what is definitely one of my favourite trilogies!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Xenophobia, Blood, and War
Period-typical attitudes
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