Title: The Song of Achilles
Author: Madeline Miller
Published: April 12, 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978-1408821985Genre: Historical Fiction
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.
Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.
Rating: ★★★★★
I would like to say in all seriousness: This is now my favourite book.
I've been trying to figure out what to say in this review for a few days now, and I just can't? This book destroyed me.
This book was meant for me.
I remember the first time I ever saw this book was in an airport. It can't have been very long after it was published because this was only about 3-4 years ago, and I was on my way to visit my Father in the UK. I hadn't even read the blurb, but I had decided I wanted this book. I knew I was going to love it. I wanted to buy it! But, as my Mother pointed out, I already had enough books to read whilst I was away - I could get the book when we got back.
I didn't get the book when I got back. I ended up getting it on Kindle years later, and then put off reading it for months.
Why? I don't know. I love all things Ancient History - more than anything, the Ancient Greeks. This is exactly my kind of thing. I remember having this same love affair with Mary Renault's The Alexander Trilogy. So I honestly don't know why I waited until now to read this book.
Do I regret that I waited this long? Absolutely not. It might only be a matter of 3-4 years, but I would never have appreciated this book then, the way I do now.
The Song of Achilles is the story of the illustrious Achilles Peleides, Aristos Achaion. More than that, it's the story of what made him human in spite of being half-god. The book is told from the narrative of Patroclus Menotiades, an exiled prince, who comes to the court of King Peleus, and there meets the second half of his soul.
Miller has obviously followed Plato's interpretation of their relationship here. Contrary to major movies starring Brad Pitt, Achilles and Patroclus were not cousins. They were not remotely related. There is no definitive answer to the question of 'were they lovers?' but I like to think they were. There's enough evidence out there for me, and certainly Homer doesn't make it explicit, but you cannot deny the way, aside from it's depth, in which Achilles grieves - refusing to burn Patroclus' body, keeping it in his tent and weeping over it - provides pretty compelling evidence.
Anyway ...
What I really love about this book? The fact that it's told from Patroclus' narrative. This was a genius stroke by Miller. It certainly wouldn't have been anywhere near as good if it had been told from an impersonal third person, or even from Achilles point of view. How could you possibly relate to someone who was half-god? But to the poor mortal who loved him? That you can relate to. Almost everyone will have had that experience of thinking someone divine through the force of your feelings for them. The only difference here, is Achilles really is of the divine.
Patroclus is the relateable outcast. He's not a loser by any means, but he's just not a warrior in a culture where the true measure of a man is in his ability to be one, surrounded as they are by stories of heroes and gods. So far in that the divinities are real characters in this book: Thetis, Achilles' mother; Chiron, Centaur and teacher; and cameos by Apollo and minor Gods. The addition of these characters adds a sense of magic, whilst maintaining a sense of realism. You feel that it is quite feasible that they existed once, and that they did play a part in this story.
The Story of Achilles is one that is recognised the world over, and the name of Achilles is synonymous with the name Troy. But that's not what this book is about. This book is a love story. It's the story of two best friends growing up, learning to love each other, discovering their world together and their willingness to sacrifice for the sake of their love.The depth of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is what really sets this book apart from all the other re-tellings of the Illiad.
If you only read one book this year, make it this one.
Title: The Darkest Minds
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Published: October 22, 2013
Publisher: Hyperion Books
ISBN: 978-1423159322
Genre: Dystopian/Sci Fi
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.
Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.
When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.
When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.
Rating: ★★★★☆
How to write a typical Dystopian adventure, and get it completely, 100% right.
I really enjoyed this book. I had such high hopes going in and it did not disappoint me at all.
Really interesting premise and awesome characters, and oh mY GOD A FEMALE CHARACTER THAT I ACTUALLY LIKE!!!1!
The world building is superb. The way that Bracken only gives you enough information to understand what is going on, but little enough to keep you intrigued is terribly clever. There are a lot of authors who try too hard at this end up failing miserably. Not so in this book; the balance is just right.
The characters, whilst certainly nothing I haven't seen before, are infinitely likeable - even her villains. They are complicated, diverse, well-fleshed out and human. It's so easy to make your character into a caricature of what a human being is supposed to be, but Bracken doesn't take it too far here. She captures all of the good and bad parts of humanity in all of the best ways.
And, ultimately, that's what this books is about. Humanity and how we fight to keep it in the worst of conditions.
Maybe a little predictable at times, but there's so many dystopian stories out there now that they're obviously all going to be following the same recipe. This one is no different, but it doesn't take away from your enjoyment at all.
That ending, though. Welcome to heartbreak hotel.
I can't wait for book 2 to arrive.
You said it, Liam.
Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: US Imports
Published: November 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0062085504
Genre: Dystopian/Sci-fi
I have a curse
I am a monster
My touch is lethal
I am their weapon
Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
DNF at 37%
This was actually painful to read. Kat Kennedy wrote a review in which she said: "Shatter Me, otherwise known as: When Creative Writing Class Goes Wrong." She hit the nail on the head.
It's either that or like trying to read really, really bad fanfiction for pretty much any dystopian book ever.
Mafi actually has the makings of a pretty interesting story here and then completely bombs in the execution. The writing is ... well ... I'm pretty sure I covered that with my opening statement. Her characters are flat - they have absolutely no dimension to them. Juliette is every teen, dystopian heroine ever but worse. There is nothing likeable about her - there's nothing to relate to. Adam actually lacks a personality completely. He doesn't have one. At all. I'm not even joking. He is literally the token bad-boy love interest and that is as far as his character development seems to go. Warner is your typical too-good-looking-for-your-own-good Villain who is obviously going to end up number 3 in their epic love triangle. I'm upset that this book is so popular when this has been done so much better in much less popular books: Shadow and Bone, The Darkest Minds.
What's worse is that there is no discernible plot to this book. I might have carried on if I thought that the book was actually going in even a vague direction. It wasn't. It was just scene after scene of Juliette sniveling, Adam brooding and Warner being his evil-genius self.
So much potential with the plot and it's characters but it ends up as an Epic Fail. I'd like to introduce you to the paragraph which finally forced me to give up on this book:
As I said before: I murdered every minute I wasted reading this tragedy and I mind very much.
Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Chicken House
Published: August 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1908435132
Genre: Dystopian/Sci-Fi
If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.
Everything is going to change.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
Remember. Survive. Run.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
This book was disappointing.
No.
Not disappointing.
Underwhelming.
This book could have easily been a five star read but fell woefully short.
The plot of this book is incredible: young boys have their memories wiped and are then forced to live in the middle of a mysterious maze and then have to work together to find their way out. It is original and exciting. Even the contrived slang used by the Gladers didn't bother me all that much.
The pacing and structure of the book is also good. It never felt like it was going too slow or too fast. There was never a lack of suspense or action. This wasn't a book that I couldn't put down but I did find myself going back to it a lot. I would read it in burst: read for an hour, leave it alone for twenty minutes. But I still always went back. It definitely has that going for it.
The characters. Oh! The characters. Thomas pissed me off. I've heard a lot of people say that his constant question asking pissed them off. I'm going to go against the grain and say that it actually felt completely natural and did not piss me off at all. The guy had his memory wiped and was then dumped into the middle of some big-ass mysterious maze; I'm pretty sure he's entitled to ask as many questions as he wants. I'd be concerned if he wasn't asking questions. What pissed me off about him was how much he let the others walk all over him. Every time Alby, Newt or Minho told him to shut up and bugger off, he did. I mean, seriously? You just woke up in a maze with amnesia and you're going to let people fob off your questions? As if.
Newt and Minho, however, are the lights of my life. I can't remember the last time I connected to characters in this way. By three-quarters of the way into the book I just wanted every scene to feature on or the other, or both. Actually, I wish they were the main characters of this series. Gah! Love them. I hope I get to see plenty of them in the remaining books.
This could have been truly brilliant but there is something fundamentally lacking in the execution. I couldn't justify more than three starts, as much as I wanted to give it more.
On that note, I will definitely be reading the other books in this series because Newt and Minho. That is all.
