Title: Antigoddess
Author: Kendare Blake
Publisher: Orchard Books
Release Date: 10th September 2013
Source: Bought
Rating: 4 out of 5
Description:
He was Apollo, the sun, and he'd burn
down anything that tried to hurt her... Cassandra and Aidan are just your
average high-school couple. Or so Cassandra believes. Blissfully unaware that
she was once a powerful prophetess, Cassandra doesn't even know thats god
exist... Until now. Because the gods are dying - and Cassandra could hold the
answer to their survival. But Aidan has a secret of his own. He is really
Apollo, god of the sun, and he will do anything to protect the girl he loves
from the danger that's coming for her. Even if it means war against his
immortal family... Sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological
intrigue; relentless action and suspense
Antigoddess is a compelling take
on the Greek Gods. It’s gory and dark with sharp wit and snappy dialogue. It’s the gods, as you have never seen
them before. If I have learnt one
thing from this book, it would be to not piss them off. The entire family is
tearing it self apart from the inside. They are in the midst of a war and its
tremendously fun watching them bicker, bitch, moan and attempt to get their
way. If you love Greek mythology then this is a perfect book, with a fresh premise,
tight writing and an unexpected ending. It’s a haunting tale of survival,
family and the mistakes of the past.
The story pulled me in right from
the first page. You can immediately tell that this isn’t your average story and
that something big is happening. There is never a dull moment. Kendare Blake’s writing is
vivid and expressive. The imagery is bloody and gory. Throughout the book there
is a great undercurrent of humour that is sharp and witty. The twilight of the
gods is approaching, meaning that their death is imminent. The only way for
them to survive is to kill each other and find Cassandra. Cassandra is a normal
teenage girl apart from her ability to see the future. Now the gods are after
her and Aiden her boyfriend will do anything to protect her. Alliances are
formed, battles are fought and the past is repeating it self. The story depicts a highly modernised
version of the god. These are gods that live in our world, blend into its
surrounds and know pop culture references. I immensely enjoyed reading about these
modern gods.
The gods are not how you would
expect them to be. They are frighting in the truest sense of the word. They are not the heroes of this story
nor are they the villains. They have various amoral and ambiguous areas. They are willing to do anything for their
survival, and don’t care about the mortals in their path. Hermes is sometimes a
coward. Athena is unrelenting. Apollo is a bit stupid. Aphrodite is a child and
according to everyone, Poseidon is a Prick. Even though the gods are ruthless,
their story still evokes sympathy. You can understand where they are coming
from and why they do what they do, especially Athena. Athena and Hermes were my
favourite characters despite their shortcomings. I wanted them to succeed in
their mission. Athena struggles with who she was in the past and who she is
now. She is a character that does shocking things but there is a redeemable
quality about her.
The family aspects of this story are
layered and complicated. These gods haven’t seen each other in hundreds of
years and they do not particularly care about each other. However deep down Blake
manages to create subtle family ties and alliances. They do care about each
other despite their actions; you just need to look hard enough to see it. The
mortals in this story, Cassandra, Henry and Andi also play important roles and
are not to be overlooked. I have a feeling that they will play a more important
role in future books. Cassandra was the hardest character to get to know. We
were just dropped into her story and there were many things about her
background that were not explained. As the story moves forward she emerges as a
stronger force but I still believe we have only scratched the surface with her.
Her relationship with Aiden was something I had a bit of trouble getting my
head around. When we meet them they are already in a solid relationship. I wish I could have seen a bit more about
their courtship so I could understand their relationship and sacrifices better.
The ending was very surprising. I
wasn’t expecting Blake to take the story there and present a heartbreaking loss
of all of its players, but I really enjoyed the outcome. It means that this war
isn’t over and it’s going to get worse. I can’t wait for the next book.
No comments:
Post a Comment