Sunday 12 January 2014

{Review} Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

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Author: Kendare Blake
Release Date: September 10th 2013
Publishers: Tor Teen
Pages: 333
Genre: Greek Mythology 

Old Gods never die…

Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god.

These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning.

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out.

Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.

*I received this review copy from Tor Teen Publishing in exchange for an honest review*

Review - No Spoilers 

So a lot of you know that I am a huge sucker for Greek Mythology so when I saw this (A long, long while ago) on the Tor Teen website I was dying to get my hands on it. They were nice enough to give it to me for review and I (shamefully) neglected it and I just don't know what took me so long to read it!!! And also they gave it to me in HARDCOVER!!! So many thanks to them for supplying it to me.

On to the review...

Oh my gosh, I cannot explain to you in words how much I loved this book. I love Greek Mythology thanks to the Percy Jackson series and I was worried that I wouldn't like it because I always thought nothing could come near how fantastic that series is. BUT I was deeply mislead and I'm so glad I finally picked it up.

Greek Mythology
The Greek mythology aspect of this book was spot on. The author has to be incredibly skilled to pull of this genre because not only do you have to get the mythology aspect right but you have to make it so that's it's not a massive info-dump on the readers. Kendare Blake did such a skilled job at it and I felt like I learned a lot more of the whole history of the Trojan War. It was cool seeing it from the characters perspectives and not just having it told as a boring story.

Writing
The one thing I really took noticed too was the excellent writing! Usually I don't enjoy 3rd person because I find I can't connect to the main characters as well but in this novel it worked. Also there was dual perspectives which is another pet peeve I hate about certain novels but this time round I wasn't bothered by it at all. The flow of the writing made it easier for me to get into a set pace while reading and I was able to finish it one sitting.

Characters
I LOVED the characters. Each character was done so well. One of the perspectives was done in Athena's point of view and I just couldn't believe how well her character was done. If you don't know who she is Athena is the Greek God of wisdom and she would probably be one of the hardest characters to portray. It was cool being able to see into her mindset and how she saw things and her thought process. Cassandra was also an interesting character to read because she is often overlooked in most books so I didn't really know much about her and her history.

Overall
I love this book and I regret taking so long to read it. As a major Greek Mythology fan this is just what I needed and I think Kendare Blake did an excellent job writing this story. I'm definitely going to keep a look out for her other books and I suggest you pick up one of hers too! This novel shows that the author put great time and effort to research the history of the Trojan War and I think anyone with a passion for Greek Mythology would love this book!


4 comments:

  1. This sounds so good! I haven't read much Greek Mythology but I really enjoyed what was in The Goddess Test. The idea of a goddess war sounds so awesome. Still can't believe an overseas publisher sent you a hardback, so lucky! Now you can check another book of your to review list. Great review!

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  2. OMG YES YES YES! THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME! Yep, it's definitely one of the better mythology books -- and I really like the way Blake wrote the characters too. Even though Athena is a goddess she still shows human flaws sometimes. And omg I can't wait to know how her relationship with Odysseus will develop in the next book. Brilliant review, Francoise! <3

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  3. I really like Greek Mythology books too. :) They're just so interesting! I haven't read this one yet (though I do have it--I'm glad to have the gorgeous cover on my bookshelf), but I'm really glad to hear good things about it from you. Great review, Francoise!

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  4. Yay, thanks for the reminder to read this book Francoise! I bought it a while ago and can't wait to get into it, I've only heard good things and I LOVE Greek mythology. Happy new year Francoise!

    Jeann @ Happy Indulgence

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