Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

1017 reviews

badmom's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The choice of first person narrative through Patroclus is clever & moving, giving the entire story more emotional depth, in addition to adding an outside perspective to one of the most famous Greek heroes. 

The historical references and details of weaponry & battle are peripheral; the bulk of attention is spent humanizing the characters through their lesser-known thoughts & behaviors. 

In the end, this well-known war story becomes a rich, beautiful examination of friendship, love, & family. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

srolocs's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bluedilly's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • 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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 It's always wyd and never "If I had words to speak such a thing, I would have. But there were none that seemed big enough for it, to hold that swelling truth." 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

booklover01's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

gaia004's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lokioste's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is a slower burn with a rapid climax and finish. I think as a first book from Miller, it is solid.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

rori_ratsoma's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted sad slow-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

5.0

My Roman Empire honestly 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

annamay1021's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional reflective sad 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

4.25


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jayvdw's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The book started by surprising me, the main character is not Achilles??? I was in shock, but the more and more I read, it started to make sense with respect to the book's themes. Achilles was not just a man he was Aristos Achaion and for that reason would not be a good main character. The only person that could really convey the story of Achilles was Patroclus.

I was already very familiar with the story of Achilles, having read Heroes and Troy by Stephen Fry. But the interpretation of the original story by Madeline Miller made this story so much more than just another hero's journey. I really enjoyed that the main focus of the book wasn't on the Trojan war, as this story has been told numerous times.

Some other things that I really liked about the book were < spoiler> the change from Achilles being invulnerable, to just being a genius fighter who is still vulnerable to attacks. , the way gods were presented as selfish and unethical, and the conflicted depiction of Odysseus, as a person with his own motives and drives.

The ending of the book was perfectly executed. While reading I was wondering how Madeline Miller would pull this off, but she clearly exceeded my expectations. 

For my rating: I loved the book, but I have two minus points. First, the book sometimes felt a bit too slow-paced for my liking. Secondly, the book missed a certain spark to get 5 stars. I only felt this spark in the last 4 chapters. For this reason, I gave it a 4.5.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings