Book Review- The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

Title: The Penelopiad

Author: Margaret Atwood

Series: Canongate Myths

Published:  October 2005

Length:  198 pages

Source: library

Other info: Atwood has written many things, such as The Blind Assassin, The Handmaid's Tale, and The Heart Goes Last. The Penelopiad was written as part of the Canongate Myths series.

Summary : For Penelope, wife of Odysseus, maintaining a kingdom while her husband was off fighting the Trojan war was not a simple business. Already aggrieved that he had been lured away due to the shocking behaviour of her beautiful cousin Helen, Penelope must bring up her wayward son, face down scandalous rumours and keep over a hundred lustful, greedy and bloodthirsty suitors at bay...And then, when Odysseus finally returns and slaughters the murderous suitors, he brutally hangs Penelope's twelve beloved maids. What were his motives? And what was Penelope really up to? 

Review: Since her husband Odysseus left to fight in the Trojan War, and then gets caught up for ten years on the way back, Penelope has been left running her household, and fighting off suitors who want to marry her, and eat her out of house and home. Now that she's dead, she's ready to tell her side of the tale, as are the twelve maids who were hanged.

According to Goodreads, I read this a few years ago and gave it three stars, but I don't remember doing that. Now I know the Odyssey a bit more, and we're doing a feminist-orientated piece of English coursework, I decided to pick this up, and now I understand things better, I loved it.

There's reinterpretations and challenges to the characters and stories. Obviously, there's those against Odysseus, where there's the question of whether the Cyclops he fought was a monster or a one-eyed barkeeper, and whether his years with Circe and Calypso were spent in brothels or nymphs and witches. But there's also a conversation with Antinous, one of the suitors, explaining why they wanted to marry Penelope so much, and the presentation of Helen as vain, proud, and wanting to conquer men just because she can. Atwood has taken inspiration from multiple sources, not just Homer's epic, but also theories from Robert Graves (who used many writers to inform his work) and Homeric hymns. I like the possibilities this gave Atwood to work with, and the ways she used them.

Penelope's voice often dryly comments on various parts of the stories, and I enjoyed her different insights. What I liked most was the use of the chorus, the twelve maids, whose chapters mostly alternate with Penelope's and change styles each time. Poems, songs, plays, and a transcript of a modern-day murder trial are some of the ways the maids pass their story on in many ways. The writing is well crafted, allowing each of the styles as well as Penelope's main narration to work together to make a story that is intriguing and easy to read.

Overall: Strength 5 tea to a book that makes you think about the different interpretations a myth can have, and provides a new one.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website | Foyles

Book Review- Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Title:  Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Author:  Rick Riordan

Series:   Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Published:  May 2005 by Miramax,  May 2006 by Puffin

Length:  377 pages

Source: bought and library

Other info: Many other series such as The Heroes of Olympus and the Kane Chronicles have stemmed off. There was a film adaptation of The Lightning Thief.

Summary :  Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse-Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

Review: Percy Jackson is a mostly normal child. Yes, he has trouble concentrating and keeps getting thrown out of schools but mostly, he's ok. Until, on this school trip, it looks like he'll get thrown out because his maths teacher wants to kill him. And he vaporises her with a sword. More things happen, and Percy ends up at Camp Half Blood, with satyrs, demigods, and a centaur of a Latin teacher. And a quest. Because Zeus is angry. And things get better from there.

I love this series from the bottom of my heart. I read it first when I was eight or nine, maybe? I don't know, but I wanted a book and I asked my dad for recommendations in Waterstones and he picked this off the shelves and I fell in love with it when I read the chapter titles. Add the fact that I already had a love of Greek mythology and you can see how this is going to work out.

I reread this because my reading aim for 2015 is to work my way through all of Rick Riordan's demigod series and this is the first one.

The world of this is wonderful. The Gods are alive and kicking and operating out of the USA, doing what they've always done in a more modern way. This "what they've always done" includes having children with mortals, thus necessitating Camp Half Blood, a safe place to train and live without fear of monsters.

The characters  are well fleshed out and great to read about. The new takes on mythology are genius, especially when you notice the clever ways little things are updated'. You just fall in love with all the characters- Percy for his determination to keep trying, Grover for his determination to keep trying, Annabeth for her cleverness and levelheadedness, Chiron for his general badassery of being both a centaur and a Latin teacher...the list goes on.

They adventure in such a way that we meet a variety of creatures from Greek myth. I must say, when I first read it, I felt so proud of myself for being to guess ahead as to who this threat was, and I also enjoyed learning about new aspects of mythology too.

The writing describes well, but has a huge dose of humour. Case in point: chapter titles. But I loved the sheer amount of fun that this book was, comparatively speaking to everything else I was reading.

The  plot keeps running in new direction throughout the whole novel. The twists at the end where we learn how the thing got in, I  did not see coming the first time I read it. It was foreshadowed so perfectly and the way it all came round made me happy.

Overall:  Strength 5 tea to  a strong opening to a brilliant series.

Links:  Amazon| Goodreads | Author website |

Book Review- Fleeced by Julia Wills

Title: Fleeced

 Author: Julia Wills

Series:  N/A

Published:  1 January 2014 by Templar

Length: 400pages

 Source: Publisher

Summary : Meet Aries, the wise-cracking ghost-ram of the Golden Fleece!
Aries, the ram of Golden Fleece fame, remains furious at the loss of his beautiful coat - stolen by Jason and the Argonauts centuries ago. So he hatches a plan to return to earth, along with his friend Alex, zookeeper of the Underworld. But instead of arriving in ancient Greece, they teleport slap-bang into the British Museum in modern day London.
Aries and Alex soon discover that the Golden Fleece is in the clutches of evil immortal sorceress Medea - now a world-famous fashion designer. With the help of twelve-year-old human girl Rose, Aries and Alex must foil Medea's wicked plans and save Aries from an eternity of being bald!
A madcap, mythological adventure ewe don't want to miss!

Review: Those of you who know Greek Mythology may have heard about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest to find the Golden Fleece. Everyone remembers Jason, but what about the ram? Aries, the ram from whom the Fleece is stolen, is still upset at the loss of his fleece. When Athena holds a contest in the Underworld for a chance to go up to the real world, Aries and Underworld zookeeper Alex compete and win, sending them up to modern day London. With the help of a human girl, Rose, they try and find the Fleece. It won't be as easy as they hoped. It's  in the hands of Medea, the sorceress, who is now a fashion designer, and who has a plan for the next wearer of the clothes made with fleece...

  I heard about this at the Templar/Hot Key blogger event thing. They said something along the lines of “I know this is aimed at slightly younger readers but I think you'll enjoy it.” Whoever said that was right.

The idea for this is wonderful. The big name Greek myth book is of course Percy Jackson, and Fleeced presents Greek mythology in a totally different way.

Either Rose or Aries is my favourite character. Not sure which. Rose is a wellbuilt character, and one of the few twelve year olds I don't find really annoying. Aries, well for starters non human main characters are awesome, and I love his thought processes. Medea is a wonderfully put together interpretation of the one from the original myth. Both she and Rose are sharp and clever, and seeing them dance around eachother with wits is great to read.  I didn't really like Hazel, because she didn't seem to do much, but everyone else was good.

The plot moves quickly, with a lot of back and forth around the scenes for effective cliffhangers, with commentary remarking that they're moving back and forth around the scenes.  It works in a lot of Greek myth elements, and I liked seeing them all have a small part.

This is one of the most fun, and funniest, books I've read all year.  My love of Greek Mythology meant I enjoyed all the gags about that, and there's lots of more modern jokes in it too. Then there's the chapter titles, of which about 95% are puns. By the time I got to The Flocky Horror Show, I was  absolutely done.  Then there's everything to do with

The narrator is one of the most sarcastic ones I've met. They're chatty, and narrate everyhing in a distinct way that made me laugh a lot. Then there's the bit at the end, the scroll providing a handy glossary of creatures and characters in Greek Mythology. Best who's who ever; Medusa's says “anyone who looked at her immediately utrned into stone, which made it very difficult to get agood hairdresser” and Narcissus' says “He stayed by the pool until he died. I know. How silly was that? But, as I said, he was good looking, not smart”.

Final point-my Latin teacher loves the idea of this. 

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to another book spreading the love for Greek Mythology

Quotes from the Uncorrected Proof. They may change in the final copy.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | 

Book Review-The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Title: The Song of Achilles

 Author: Madeline Miller

Series:   N/A

Published:   September 2011

Length: 384 pages

Warnings: gently described sex scenes, taking of women as prisoners to most likely be used and abused, the normal gore/death/blood that comes with Greek mythology and war

Source: library

Summary : Greece in the age of Heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he is nobody, just another unwanted boy living in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles.
Achilles, 'best of all the Greeks', is everything Patroclus is not — strong, beautiful, the child of a goddess — and by all rights their paths should never cross. Yet one day, Achilles takes the shamed prince under his wing and soon their tentative companionship gives way to a steadfast friendship. As they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something far deeper — despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother Thetis, a cruel and deathly pale sea goddess with a hatred of mortals.
Fate is never far from the heels of Achilles. When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate.

Review: Patroclus, son of a king,  is just a boy when he is exiled for accidentally kiiling another boy. Sent to the court of King Peleus, he gradually befriends and falls in love with his son Achilles, growing close over training for war and despite sea-goddess Thetis, Achilles’ mother, disapproving. Carry on a few years. Helen of Sparta’s been kidnapped. Achilles is destined to go to war and be the greatest of the Greeks. Patroclus is honour bound to go to war because of an oath he swore when he was nine and being put up as a suitor for Helen. Together they go to war and meet their destinies.

I’ve been in love with Greek mythology since I was...eight? maybe. And ever since we studied the Trojan War in history when I was ten, I’ve loved it (even though the thing I’ve always remembered most is that Hector dies and Achilles drags his body round Troy three times). So yeah. Retelling of Illiad. Fun times.

Patroclus is really the main character, despite the title. You follow him from an early age, you get into his head a lot, you see him following around Achilles a lot. Achilles is a bit annoying at times, but also kind at times, mainly because Patroclus asks him to be. My favourite character is Briseis, a girl from one of the villages raided that Patroclus asks Achilles to claim, and then befriends. I also really liked Odysseus. Some of the Greek kings were idiots.

The romance features heavily. The connection between Patroclus and Achilles is different to the typical male/male relationship structure seen in Ancient Greece-it’s a very deep one, grown over years, that you can easily see how it would set up the climax of Patroclus’ story-Achilles sulking after Briseis is taken, Patroclus going off in Achilles armour, and the following events.

You get a lot of action written well. It’s all very quick, you feel as though you’re there. Madeline uses the mythology really really heavily, giving sea-goddess Thetis a starring part, and having gods like Apollo show up onthe battlefield. I would have liked to go a little more into the way that the gods interact with humans, but I guess that wasn’t really the focus. Also, there’s a lot of stories from along the timelines of Patroclus and Achilles, for example the killing that sets it up, the training of Patroclus and Achilles with centaur Chiron, the hiding as a woman at someone’s palace that Achilles does to avoid  being called to war and so on. I would have liked Madeline to put in a bit more of her own spin on things like plot and characterisation, instead of the only major additions to the stories I already know being Patroclus gushing over Achilles (which he does fairly regularly).

The writing is poetic, the dialogues a little less so. It’s kind of awkward going into a book knowing that your narrator dies. However, Madeline keeps the story going after this happens, really well, before drawing it to a good conclusion.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a beautiful retelling of the Illiad, with further backstory and character interaction.

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website |

Book Review-The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer

Apologies! This is a day late. The post actually scheduled for today will be posted later.

Title: The Dark Wife

 Author: Sarah Diemer

Series:   N/A

Published:   12 May 2011 by Createspace

Length: 256 pages

Warnings: rape, non-explicit sex, misgendering

Source: free download from OceanID

Summary : Three thousand years ago, a god told a lie. Now, only a goddess can tell the truth.
Persephone has everything a daughter of Zeus could want--except for freedom. She lives on the green earth with her mother, Demeter, growing up beneath the ever-watchful eyes of the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. But when Persephone meets the enigmatic Hades, she experiences something new: choice.
Zeus calls Hades "lord" of the dead as a joke. In truth, Hades is the goddess of the underworld, and no friend of Zeus. She offers Persephone sanctuary in her land of the dead, so the young goddess may escape her Olympian destiny.
But Persephone finds more than freedom in the underworld. She finds love, and herself.

Review: This is the story of Hades and Persephone, in which Hades is female. Hades offers Persephone freedom from the expectations of Olympus, romance grows between them and Zeus tries to take Persephone to do what he wants her to do.

Hades and Persephone is a famous story, not particularly one of my favourites due to the fact that  it can be read as rape, but anything that retells Greek myths well is my kind of thing.

It starts off with Persephone falling in love with the nymph Charis and planning to leave so that Persephone doesn't have to do what Olympus says. Then Zeus rapes Charis because,  well Zeus is Zeus, aka a colossal asshole and also a complete fricking monster at times, leaving Persephone alone. Then Persephone, after meeting Hades at Olympus, chooses to go with her, and, with the help of Pallas, settles in to life in the Underworld.

Persephone is nice enough. She isn't particularly standout to start with, but she's likable and sweet. By the end she's standing upto people  and being a bit more independent. Pallas is a bit more interesting. Hades is the best-more on that later.  Charon is very interesting-a merge of all the souls he has collected payment in formats other than money.

The romance, it was a bit more subtle than I would have liked because at times it didn't feel there. The plot is good, mainly involving finding a way to stand up to Zeus.  There's some nice development of Persephone's character.

I love Hades' resentment at the fact that humans don't believe a woman can run the Underworld, when she does it fine. I feel like this could be a metaphor for the whole ancient Greek view of lesbianism (ie, it doesn't exist, because sex can't happen if a penis isn't involved)  but  could also be a general rage against the patriarchy, which I'm also totally up for.

Sarah's writing style is very gentle and descriptive. I liked it and it suited Persephone's character.

Overall:  Strength 3.5, probably more a 4, to a retelling that added more to it's original story.

Links: Amazon |  Goodreads | Author website |

Book Review- Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Title: Starcrossed

 Author:  Josephine Angelini

Series:  Starcrossed #1

Published:  3 July 2011 by Macmillan

Length: 514 pages

Source: Publisher

Summary :  Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is--now it's getting harder. She's having nightmares of a desperate desert journey, visions of three women weeping tears of blood. And why is she possessed by the sudden, unstoppable urge to kill the handsome new boy in school, Lucas Delos?

Review: Helen Hamilton is your general shy girl. Lucas Delos is your general hot guy. Obviously, they fall for each other. But there’s big problems. From ancient warring families, they’re cursed to hate and kill each other. Despite this, they still want to pursue their relationship and therefore want to find a way of escaping the curse.

The first thing I got from this was that it was a really thick book for what was described on the back. And I wasn’t sure how a romance could be dragged out for that long. then I got into it, and found a lot more to it than just  love bringing two teenagers together.

The first thing that grabbed me was Helen’s dreams. They were written really vividly and the idea behind her actuallygoing to the Underworld was really interesting.

This book heavily relies on Greek mythology, slightly more relating to the heroes’ side of things. it’s not often you see anything relating to the humans rather than the gods that come up in these stories, so the four warring family set up was really nice.

Helen, I found a little bit boring, as well as really nice. She’s strong and able to defend herself, but she’s all quiet and drawn away, which I think puts me off her a little bit.  The family was good, with a lot of different dynamics. Actually, all the supporting cast was good. Lucas...I didn’t like him.

I don’t think I’m the only one to notice how similar it is to Twilight. Strange family, understated heroine, romance that’s meant to be nice and engaging  but doesn’t turn out that way. At least there’s some improvement-no love triangle and Greek mythology being the main bit.

The plot goes through a lot of changes, some not really making that much sense. What does make sense  makes up for it and the best way to enjoy Starcrossed is to pretend that half of it didn’t happen.

The whole plot element relating to Creon and his lot was the most engaging thing for me. It’d be nice to see how that carries on in Dreamless.

Josephine really plays with Greek mythology. A lot. She plays with it kind of well, but there are some bits where I do think that there could be improvement. Demi-gods being pretty much all powerful? Helen and Aphrodite? To someone who loves Greek myths, these things really stand out. however, I do like the added mythology of the wars between the demigod houses and such.

Overall:  Strength 3 tea to a book that I’d recommend if you want a dose of paranormal romance that’s fun and sticks to a familiar and (sometimes working) formula, but not really deep. It’s like junk  food-you know it’s not that good a quality, but you still enjoy it anyway. And I meant that in a good way.

Links: | Goodreads | Author website |