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Actual rating: 4.5 stars
A deadly game involving the gods and descendants of legendary heroes? High stakes and plot twists? Sacrifices demanded to be made? A strong female protagonist who has to face her past? A found family of misfits? This is how you bring Greek Mythology into our modern world!
Lore was one of these books that I knew I had to have, but was too anxious to ever pick up. Would I like it? Does Greek Mythology really work in our world (we‘re not talking Percy Jackson here)? Can everything really be packed into a standalone? What if it doesn‘t work for me? What if it can‘t meet any of my expectations? Questions among questions that kept holding me back from reading it. Questions that I had to ignore, because this book serves. In a way that is unexpected, but works so well with the source material that inspired it.
Unlike most books inspired by Greek mythology, this one doesn‘t retell tales or myths, but offers a possible answer to the question of „Where are they now?“. While the gods and goddesses from Ancient Greece are not worshipped any longer, and are mere tales we learn about in school or through books, they are still among us. Even more so than ever. As a punishment, nine gods have to face mortality for seven days every seven years which marks the time for the Agon - the time where hunters, descendants of ancient bloodlines and heros such as Perseus, Achilles or Herakles to name a few, can seize immortality themselves. For that person who manages to kill a god becomes a new one, receiving the powers of the one who‘s blood taints their blade. This is why Lore works so well. It doesn‘t try to tell us a known story again, but shows are a possibility of what the gods and descendants are facing now: a deadly game. In the middle of it, we find Lore who‘d been trying to escape her past, her connections to the Agon, and the existence of gods altogether. However, when she sees her childhood friend Castor as well as one of the remaining old gods, Athena, she gets thrown back into the fire, trying to seek revenge for her murdered family as well as a way to leave the Agon forever. As we move further into the story, find out more about the Agon, the other bloodlines, as the stakes get higher and the plot twists are revealed, this story becomes more and more a page-turner. I loved the setting, I loved how Alexandra Bracken incorporated the old myths without taking away any of the elements that makes this story itself so wholly unique.
Despite the fact that fantasy standalones usually let us explore their worlds at a quicker pace, Lore takes its time to introduce us to the mechanism of the Agon, the history of the ancient bloodlines, and where the various characters find themselves at the beginning of the story without feeling like you‘re being infodumped as the story keeps progressing quickly.
The set of characters we meet in the book are another aspect I enjoyed. Lore is a fantastic protagonist, who faces several aspects of strength during this journey. Aside from her, we also meet Castor, Van, Miles, and obviously gods such as Athena. Each of them follows a different goal, which can‘t be reached without the alliance they formed. I loved to see their dynamic, their different approach to problems, and how their bonds either strengthen or weaken during the course of the story. However, as this story is more plot-driven, I would have wished for more slower paced scenes in between that could have given us a better insight in the various relationships, especially the romantic subplot was sometimes too much pushed into the background for it to leave a big enough impact. Those things, though, are minor issues as the nature of the story didn‘t allow much of it, which was evident from the beginning, and it‘s more a selfish need of mine as I loved the characters.
What I also really appreciated was the feminist perspective shed on the myths and stories. Not only do we have an epic story dedicated to the female lead, but also the way rituals and glorifying legends are being questioned, actions are being differently viewed, and the position of women is discussed, gave this book a fresh reminder that no matter how much we like to romantize those tales, they weren‘t the fun stories we often make them to be. Alexandra Bracken did a fantastic job on staying true to the myths, putting them in perspective, and telling her own unique story.
The last thing I‘ll add to this is how glad I am to have finally picked up Lore. It positivitely suprised me with its unique take on how to incorporate myths, tales, and characters from Greek Mythology, and if you count yourself a fan of those, I can only recommend you to give this book a chance as it might very well suprise you, too.
A deadly game involving the gods and descendants of legendary heroes? High stakes and plot twists? Sacrifices demanded to be made? A strong female protagonist who has to face her past? A found family of misfits? This is how you bring Greek Mythology into our modern world!
Lore was one of these books that I knew I had to have, but was too anxious to ever pick up. Would I like it? Does Greek Mythology really work in our world (we‘re not talking Percy Jackson here)? Can everything really be packed into a standalone? What if it doesn‘t work for me? What if it can‘t meet any of my expectations? Questions among questions that kept holding me back from reading it. Questions that I had to ignore, because this book serves. In a way that is unexpected, but works so well with the source material that inspired it.
Unlike most books inspired by Greek mythology, this one doesn‘t retell tales or myths, but offers a possible answer to the question of „Where are they now?“. While the gods and goddesses from Ancient Greece are not worshipped any longer, and are mere tales we learn about in school or through books, they are still among us. Even more so than ever. As a punishment, nine gods have to face mortality for seven days every seven years which marks the time for the Agon - the time where hunters, descendants of ancient bloodlines and heros such as Perseus, Achilles or Herakles to name a few, can seize immortality themselves. For that person who manages to kill a god becomes a new one, receiving the powers of the one who‘s blood taints their blade. This is why Lore works so well. It doesn‘t try to tell us a known story again, but shows are a possibility of what the gods and descendants are facing now: a deadly game. In the middle of it, we find Lore who‘d been trying to escape her past, her connections to the Agon, and the existence of gods altogether. However, when she sees her childhood friend Castor as well as one of the remaining old gods, Athena, she gets thrown back into the fire, trying to seek revenge for her murdered family as well as a way to leave the Agon forever. As we move further into the story, find out more about the Agon, the other bloodlines, as the stakes get higher and the plot twists are revealed, this story becomes more and more a page-turner. I loved the setting, I loved how Alexandra Bracken incorporated the old myths without taking away any of the elements that makes this story itself so wholly unique.
Despite the fact that fantasy standalones usually let us explore their worlds at a quicker pace, Lore takes its time to introduce us to the mechanism of the Agon, the history of the ancient bloodlines, and where the various characters find themselves at the beginning of the story without feeling like you‘re being infodumped as the story keeps progressing quickly.
The set of characters we meet in the book are another aspect I enjoyed. Lore is a fantastic protagonist, who faces several aspects of strength during this journey. Aside from her, we also meet Castor, Van, Miles, and obviously gods such as Athena. Each of them follows a different goal, which can‘t be reached without the alliance they formed. I loved to see their dynamic, their different approach to problems, and how their bonds either strengthen or weaken during the course of the story. However, as this story is more plot-driven, I would have wished for more slower paced scenes in between that could have given us a better insight in the various relationships, especially the romantic subplot was sometimes too much pushed into the background for it to leave a big enough impact. Those things, though, are minor issues as the nature of the story didn‘t allow much of it, which was evident from the beginning, and it‘s more a selfish need of mine as I loved the characters.
What I also really appreciated was the feminist perspective shed on the myths and stories. Not only do we have an epic story dedicated to the female lead, but also the way rituals and glorifying legends are being questioned, actions are being differently viewed, and the position of women is discussed, gave this book a fresh reminder that no matter how much we like to romantize those tales, they weren‘t the fun stories we often make them to be. Alexandra Bracken did a fantastic job on staying true to the myths, putting them in perspective, and telling her own unique story.
The last thing I‘ll add to this is how glad I am to have finally picked up Lore. It positivitely suprised me with its unique take on how to incorporate myths, tales, and characters from Greek Mythology, and if you count yourself a fan of those, I can only recommend you to give this book a chance as it might very well suprise you, too.