Title: Argos Author: Joy Williams In: Xo Orpheus (Kate Bernheimer) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Greek mythology, Mythology Dates read: 28th February 2021 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Penguin Books Year: 2013 5th sentence, 74th page: I was always Argos.
Argos has always been loyal. But that doesn’t necessarily guarantee a happily ever after.
My heart broke a little as I read this story. Probably because it basically features a dog that has been abandoned.
Actually, this whole story is written from the point of view of the dog’s acceptance of his lot in life. I would hate for my puppies to feel that way.
This mostly was a quick, easy and pleasant read. But it did also make me want to read Homer – since Argos is featured in that.
Title: The Nymph’s Labyrinth Author: Danica Winters Series: Nymph #1 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Greek mythology, Nymphs, Paranormal romance Dates read: 26th June 2020 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Crimson Romance Year: 2012 5th sentence, 74th page: “I’m glad to see you are okay.”
A world shrouded in mystery and intrigue, the Sisterhood of Epione must not be exposed.
Shape-shifting nymph Ariadne Papadakis is tasked with keeping the truth of the group’s existence and their ancient mysteries far out of reach of the American archaeologist, Beau Morris and his troublemaking son, Kaden. When forgotten and forbidden passions are awakened, Ariadne is forced to make a choice – fall in line and continue to be overrun and pushed down by the sisterhood, or follow her heart and put Beau and Kaden’s lives in danger.
Can she have the man she loves or will the pressure and secrets of her past keep her from her heart’s desire?
This was one of those cute, easy to read and quick little paranormal romances. Not only was it a great couple with a good paranormal spin. But there was also a great back story with the addition of the Greek mythology, a curse from Zeus and some seriously bitchy little power plays. Actually, it was the Greek mythology aspect that really and seriously drew me in…
This isn’t a hugely lustful and graphic romance. It does have some sex steams, but they’re really not steamy. More a kind of sweet, innocence that I don’t always get in a good paranormal romance. It was a nice change from many of the paranormal romances that sit on my shelves. It is also fantastic that not only is there a romance between Ariadne and Beau, but also between his son, Kade and another nymph. The young love helps to add an extra layer of innocence to the story.
I love that The Nymph’s Labyrinth isn’t just about one relationship. It’s also about Beau and Kade’s reuniting and figuring out how to be father and son again. Kade also gets to fall in love alongside Beau. And they both get to tackle a potentially horrible future and a mysterious illness together. And then, interwoven amongst all of this – stories of mythology and betrayal. Power plays and confusion. It all works together to make a very great, impossible to put down little romance that left me feeling very content and happy on a late Saturday night in the middle of winter.
Although the romance in this story is kind of great, I actually love the reminder that we should honour our sisters and the feeling of sisterhood. There are too many times when we tear each other down. And so a story in which this doesn’t happen, but is about not having power over one another. And just finding a way to all honour and respect each other… I think that we need many, many, many more stories like this.
War is upon the half-bloods as they prepare for battle against the Titans, knowing that the odds of victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows.
While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time.
Except Percy is running out of time as the long-awaited prophecy surrounding his sixteenth birthday finally unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.
I already knew what was going to happen in this story – I’ve read the novel that it was based on. But it was still beautiful and stunning. Almost impossible to forget. There is just something so beautiful about this graphic novel. It’s a lot lighter than some of the graphic novels that I tend to read. It’s also great to see a graphic novel interpretation that actually envisions things like I did. It didn’t ruin my perceptions by being something so totally different.
Spending the night reading this graphic novel made me want to go to my shelves and grab yet another Rick Riordan novel. I kind of need to finish / start the Kane Chronicles, so it’s definitely something that is insanely tempting… but I probably need to finish some of the series that I have already started.
I found the Last Olympian novel a bit of a darker storyline than the rest of the series. Yet, somehow, this was quite a nice, light book. Both in the gorgeous colours and the way that the storyline is set out. The more horrible parts don’t take up a large portion of the storyline, but they do still feature. In a way that makes the tale a little more uplifting and bright than what I was expecting.
This was a great, easy finish to the graphic novel adaptations. It was a good way to spend an hour just drifting back into an amazing world that I’m not all that keen on leaving most of the time.
Honestly, blowing up another school was the last thing I wanted to do.
As the son of a Greek god, I’ve had my share of near-death disaster – and now my arch-enemy Luke wants to invade camp via an ancient labyrinth.
If he succeeds, thousands of bloodthirsty monsters will attack. So it’s ‘Goodbye, sunshine; hello, darkness’ as four of us descend into the terrifying underground and beyond…
It took me a little longer to get into this graphic novel
than the first three in the series. I don’t know if it’s maybe because I just
didn’t originally like this storyline as much (it mostly just sets up the final
battle), or if I picked it up at an inconvenient time. But, regardless, it took
me a fair bit longer to read than a graphic novel usually would. Although, once
I got past the first part / chapter, I didn’t stop.
There was a lot of information in the original novel, and a lot that was missed out in the graphic novel. But Vendittiand Riordan managed to work this perfectly. I didn’t feel like important aspects were skipped out on, but rather, wondered why I enjoyed them so much in the novel. There was a great flow and pace to the storyline as you sink into the depths of the labyrinth and hope for the best with Percy and all his friends.
One of the parts of this graphic novel that stuck with me
was the panels which showed Annabeth, Percy, Grover and Tyson walking through
the labyrinth. Each panel has a different background to the characters and I
thought that this showed the tricky, everchanging nature of the labyrinth
perfectly.
Title: Percy Jackson: The Ultimate Guide Author: Rick Riordan Series: Percy Jackson & the Olympians Companion Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Easy reading, Greek mythology, Urban fantasy Dates read: 5th – 14th June 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Collection Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Year: 2010 5th sentence, 74th page: The symbol of Hades is a helmet which helped him to stay invisible.
It’s the handbook no half-blood should be without: a fully illustrated, in-depth guide to gods, monsters, and all things Percy. This novelty companion to the best-selling series comes complete with trading cards, full-color diagrams, and maps, all packaged in a handy, “manual-size” POB with a crisp, magnetic flap enclosure.
This is a quick, easy read. A great little companion to the rest of the Percy Jackson series, but not one that I’m likely to want to pick up again and again. It was just a cute little overview of Greek mythology. And since I’ve read many other books on the Greek pathos, this was a little too PG for my tastes.
The pictures and fun little cards at the beginning of the book helped to completely immerse yourself in the world that Riordan wanted to take me to. I used to love books that acted as a how-to guides, ones that helped you think the storyline was real. That it was completely plausible and possible that these gods, beasts and creatures walk among us every day.
Although I really enjoyed reading this book, there really
isn’t much to say about it. It’s one of those experiences that makes you smile,
but you won’t remember forever. Which is good, because in years to come, I can
pick this up again and enjoy the experience all over again.
IT’S NOT EVERY DAY YOU FIND YOURSELF IN COMBAT WITH A HALF-LION, HALF-HUMAN.
But when you’re the son of a Greek god, it happens. And now my friend Annabeth is missing, a goddess is in chains and only five half-blood heroes can join the quest to defeat the doomsday monster.
Oh and guess what. The Oracle has predicted that not all of us will survive…
I felt like
there was a little more information left out of this graphic novel adaptation
than past ones. Although, since this is the book that really starts to set up
the final battle, that really wasn’t very surprising. And, the parts that they
left out and glossed over really didn’t affect the way in which the storyline
actually moved forwards. Which, all in all, didn’t leave me feeling too
disappointed.
Like the
first two graphic novel adaptations, the drawings in this were exquisite. They showed
almost exactly what I had picture in my mind’s eye. It really wasn’t hard to be
swept away in the story all over again.
Although I
have read the novel, I love the fact that there was a big enough gap between my
readings that it almost felt like I was reading the story all over again. My
only real disappointment was that it was over so quickly…
You can’t tell by looking at me that my Dad is Poseidon, God of the Sea.
It’s not easy being a half-blood these days. Even a simple game of dodgeball can turn into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants – and that’s just the beginning.
Now Camp Half-Blood is under attack and, unless I can get my hands on the Golden Fleece, the whole camp will be invaded by monsters. Big ones…
This was such a fun, easy and enjoyable read. As an adaptation from a novel that includes a lot of detail, it works kind of brilliantly. It also swept me up in the world of Percy Jackson all over again. Enough so that I quickly picked up Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor as soon as I turned the last page – Riordan always takes you on such a great journey through mythology and teenage fun!
There were some parts of the novel that I missed in this
retelling – primarily the prophecy which Clarisse is given. It is vaguely
mentioned once towards the end, but it doesn’t feature as heavily in Clarisse’s
character development (what little there is) throughout the story. Although, since
this is a series about Percy, it is understandable that one of the first
aspects to be cut out is the development of a secondary character.
I love that this isn’t an overly bright and colourful graphic
novel. The series isn’t really one that lends itself to a bright and
deliriously happy outlook. After all, Percy spends the entire five years of
this storyline being attacked by numerous gods and monsters… but it is still a
little light and colourful, and that humour and enjoyment of life manages to weave
itself into the colour scheme.
Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek God.
I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. Now I spend my time battling monsters and generally trying to stay alive. This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I’ve stolen his lightning bolt – and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.
There is something about the Percy Jackson stories that I just can’t seem to get enough of. Actually, almost anything created by Rick Riordan seems to draw me in pretty fully and quickly. So I’m not really sure why it took me so long to realise that there was a series of graphic novel rewrites of the original series… and then why it still took me a little while to get my hands on the first one of these… and now that I have… I’m super, super glad. And looking forward to getting the other four and spending my afternoons in the beautiful illustrations.
It’s always hard to adapt a full length novel into anything shorter. I mean, there’s a reason that I very rarely like movie adaptations of well-loved books, there is ALWAYS something that needs to be left out. I might only just be sinking my teeth into graphic novels, but it’s definitely the same for these adaptations too. What do you leave out? What do you leave in? Luckily for me (and unluckily for my bank account), this adaptation was kind of perfect. Yes, there were many small details and moments left out, but the storyline was still able to move on quite happily. Within two pages I had ordered The Sea of Monsters, because this adaptation was able to meet all my expectations.
Title: Circe Author: Madeline Miller Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Family, Greek mythology, Strong women, Villains Dates read: 26th March – 3rd April 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2018 5th sentence, 74th page: I tried to mimic the sounds I had heard Aeetes make when he had healed my face.
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe has neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Her isolation leads her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.
When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, vengeful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia, where she learns to harness her occult craft. But there is danger for a solitary woman in this world, and Circe’s independence draws the wrath of men and gods alike. To protect what she holds dear, Circe must decide whether she belongs with the deities she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
Breathing life into the ancient world, Madeline Miller weaves an intoxicating tale of gods and heroes, magic and monsters, survival and transformation.
I can’t believe it took me THIS LONG to pull this book off my shelf and read it. It was just amazing!! And rave worthy. And completely, completely world-shatteringly good. The only reason that I didn’t read it in one sitting is because I got about 60 pages in and stopped. I had work that I had to do, and I knew if I didn’t stop then, I never would. Five days later I blocked aside almost a whole day so that I could forget about the world and just enjoy the amazing journey that Miller was able to take me on.
From the very first chapter, I had a box of tissues next to
me while I was reading this. Something about the way the storyline was
unfolding made me think that this would be a Greek tragedy. No one would have
their happily ever after, and, since I was holed up in my house to read this, I
could let the resulting flood of tears wash over me. Luckily for my sanity, and
happiness, it wasn’t a tragedy at all! Don’t get me wrong, there were heart
rending moments, but everything actually worked out all right. And I turned
that final page with a great big, happy smile on my face.
Greek mythology seems to be a pretty recurrent mythos which
authors like to use in retellings. And why not? It has sex, mayhem and pettiness
all wrapped up in one neat little bow. But, most of the retellings that I’ve
had the pleasure of reading thus far are quite PG in their set up. They gloss
over all of the rape and horrible things that the gods and their followers do.
They don’t focus on the fact that women, even in the pantheon often had little
to no rights. (Just think of Hera and Zeus… as an adult I actually feel for
Hera more than anything). So it was really nice to read a retelling in which these
aspects really weren’t glossed over. The impotence and inability of women to be
given their own autonomy is the driving factor for many of Circe’s decisions. And
it is a way to completely retell a story in which the traditional woman is
repainted as one who was just able to stand on her own two feet… which of
course, just didn’t go over very well.
Title: The Listeners Author: Nina Kiriki Hoffman In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves: Greek mythology,Tricksters Dates read: 15th March 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Firebird Fantasy Year: 2007 5th sentence, 74th page: Nysa went down to the gate with her shoulders bowed, her gaze on the ground.
Nysa is a slave unwilling to face the future that is laid out before her. A prayer to Hermes might help to set her feet on a whole new path, but will it be one that she truly wants to follow?
I’ve always been fascinated by Greek Mythology. Ever since I was a tiny child. But I wasn’t expecting to find such a story in a collection of tales about Tricksters. I don’t know why, since Hermes is the god of thieves (and in a way tricksters). And Zeus… well, the amount of insane shenanigans that man gets up to… well, there is seriously no reason that the Greek Mythos shouldn’t find it’s way into this collection. And Hoffman did this brilliantly.
Although I have read quite a few stories on Greek Mythology,
I haven’t read many that are based in Ancient Greece. The fact that this story
is not only set within this time, but also around a young slave, worked
brilliantly. It was both completely different to what I’ve read before, and so
similar. Nysa is incredibly relatable in some ways, she’s a young woman who is
trying to find a path that works for her. That has hope for the future. Okay,
she’s a slave being put in situations that she really isn’t happy with. But the
general gist of wanting to find a path that works for you is something that I
think we can all relate to.
