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A review by solaceinprose
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
4.0
I really wanted to give this 5 stars, but considering I spent the first 50 pages or so confused and lost, it dropped the rating a bit. I don't know if I just wasn't paying attention, but I felt as if we were dropped in the middle of a story with little explanation, and I had to figure it out as the story went along. After I finally got the gist of what was happening, I was able to focus on the story and really fell in love with the characters and the plot. I enjoyed the plot, the twist on the gods, and the use of a poem I had never heard of until this book. I love that Greek mythology is so steep in different interpretations that we can still reference myth and legend as we see fit.
I want to focus on the Medusa myth, because Alexandra touches on the two different tales to it. It demonstrates how man twists the tales throughout time. I don't mean man as in mankind, but man as in the male of our species. This book was really a story of how women continue to be victims in a patriarchal society, and how even when we try, we cannot escape from it entirely. The women can't be new gods. Women can fight, they can battle, but they can never be the vessels to the gods, because their ancestors and their current archons use the literal translations of the poem to fit their own needs. Even Athena, as much as you want to hate her by the end of the novel, is just a product of how men view her; that she is nothing without her father, that she is just merely an extension of him. She talks about how she had to change her appearance to give counsel since men refuse to listen to women. This story is so much more than just modern gods and the hunters who are after them. It isn't always subtle, but it isn't right in your face either.
This touched on a lot of stuff, mainly the relationships between daughters and fathers, and there were times where it was REALLY hard to read. So if you are a woman with complicated feelings about your dad or any father figure in your life, be careful treading into this novel. It is a brilliant book, and Alexandra does well in sucking you into her worlds.
PS. Miles is the friend we all need and I will die on that hill.
I want to focus on the Medusa myth, because Alexandra touches on the two different tales to it. It demonstrates how man twists the tales throughout time. I don't mean man as in mankind, but man as in the male of our species. This book was really a story of how women continue to be victims in a patriarchal society, and how even when we try, we cannot escape from it entirely. The women can't be new gods. Women can fight, they can battle, but they can never be the vessels to the gods, because their ancestors and their current archons use the literal translations of the poem to fit their own needs. Even Athena, as much as you want to hate her by the end of the novel, is just a product of how men view her; that she is nothing without her father, that she is just merely an extension of him. She talks about how she had to change her appearance to give counsel since men refuse to listen to women. This story is so much more than just modern gods and the hunters who are after them. It isn't always subtle, but it isn't right in your face either.
This touched on a lot of stuff, mainly the relationships between daughters and fathers, and there were times where it was REALLY hard to read. So if you are a woman with complicated feelings about your dad or any father figure in your life, be careful treading into this novel. It is a brilliant book, and Alexandra does well in sucking you into her worlds.
PS. Miles is the friend we all need and I will die on that hill.