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habgirl's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zuz_pas's review against another edition
4.25
I enjoyed this book thoroughly with great balance between point of views and exploring the inner turmoil of characters on both side of the war. I'm not too happy with the characterisation of helen. While there were aspects giving her some depth i would love to have just her pov and get into her head for a while. That's the only reason i 's not a 5star
tillymints's review
5.0
I enjoyed this so much that I'm not really sure what to write here, so I'm keeping it short...ish. Other than that I enjoyed it. A lot.
"A Song of War" is a book of seven segments, written by seven different authors, following the long-drawn out Trojan War. Despite being written by several people, each segment, told from the perspective of one or two players in the war, knits together beautifully, telling the lesser-known stories of those in the Epic.
While the book has the perspectives of more well-known warriors, such as Odysseus himself, what truly made this book shine were the more "obscure" perspectives. We follow Philoctetes, through his limp, into skirmishes for his old love Achilles, we get a better insight into Agamemnon's mind during the 10 year siege, and we feel sorrow for Hellenus, a son scorned but still so desperate to please. But my absolutely favourite aspect of this book are its female perspectives. Often seen as chattel, and prizes to be won, dismissed and rarely explored. Andromache, wife of Hector, is beautifully laid bare for us, seeing her doubts and fears from Day One. Cassandra is not pushed aside as some mad woman, but given a voice, and her role in the war, despite her words falling on deaf ears, is explored, aging her into a quiet maturity and acceptance throughout the book. Briseis is not some chess piece to be moved at the whim of her captors, nor is Chryseis. They are intelligent, shrewd, and brave - not victims, and they play pivotal parts in this anthology. My favourite, however, is Penthesilea. Wanting to die after accidentally killing her wonderful and heralded sister, the Cimmerian warrior finds her purpose and peace in a gorgeously written battle.
I also enjoyed how completely awful Paris is. Really loved hating him consistently. The little shit doesn't deserve a redemption arc.
"A Song of War" is a book of seven segments, written by seven different authors, following the long-drawn out Trojan War. Despite being written by several people, each segment, told from the perspective of one or two players in the war, knits together beautifully, telling the lesser-known stories of those in the Epic.
While the book has the perspectives of more well-known warriors, such as Odysseus himself, what truly made this book shine were the more "obscure" perspectives. We follow Philoctetes, through his limp, into skirmishes for his old love Achilles, we get a better insight into Agamemnon's mind during the 10 year siege, and we feel sorrow for Hellenus, a son scorned but still so desperate to please. But my absolutely favourite aspect of this book are its female perspectives. Often seen as chattel, and prizes to be won, dismissed and rarely explored. Andromache, wife of Hector, is beautifully laid bare for us, seeing her doubts and fears from Day One. Cassandra is not pushed aside as some mad woman, but given a voice, and her role in the war, despite her words falling on deaf ears, is explored, aging her into a quiet maturity and acceptance throughout the book. Briseis is not some chess piece to be moved at the whim of her captors, nor is Chryseis. They are intelligent, shrewd, and brave - not victims, and they play pivotal parts in this anthology. My favourite, however, is Penthesilea. Wanting to die after accidentally killing her wonderful and heralded sister, the Cimmerian warrior finds her purpose and peace in a gorgeously written battle.
I also enjoyed how completely awful Paris is. Really loved hating him consistently. The little shit doesn't deserve a redemption arc.
100pagesaday's review
5.0
The Trojan Wars are steeped history through myth, legend and epic tales. A Song of War brings together seven stories from throughout the war by seven different authors. Each story, or song, took me chronologically through the War, which made the songs flow together melodically. I enjoyed the changing perspectives, bringing forth different views from different sides. I especially liked that some of these characters were people that history has swept to the background. While the stories of Helen, Menelaus, Achilles, Paris, Hector and Odysseus were exciting and action packed, it was the stories of Cassandra, Briseis and Penthesilea that were the most insightful, heartfelt and brought true passion from all sides.
I truly enjoyed this anthology format for reading. Each author showed their own voice through their characters, yet there was still one full story pulled together through each verse. I was impressed with how each story was able to pull out a different emotion: greed, sacrifice, torment, tragedy, vengeance, thoughtfulness and hope. I think this is a great example of anthology style of writing, I enjoyed the focus not being on one character or point of view, but the experience as a whole. I can’t wait to read more from this historical fiction team.
This book was provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours.
I truly enjoyed this anthology format for reading. Each author showed their own voice through their characters, yet there was still one full story pulled together through each verse. I was impressed with how each story was able to pull out a different emotion: greed, sacrifice, torment, tragedy, vengeance, thoughtfulness and hope. I think this is a great example of anthology style of writing, I enjoyed the focus not being on one character or point of view, but the experience as a whole. I can’t wait to read more from this historical fiction team.
This book was provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours.
frizzbee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
chelsealynnmcmanus's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It's rare that I am compelled to read stories whose endings I already know, but I loved the perspectives that the book was told from and that they weren't the traditional POVs for an Iliad retelling. I enjoyed the last chapter the most by far, but maybe that's because I just love Aeneas and haven't come across a good (or any) Aeneas POV before. I need a part ii Aeneid version of this book.
riseclare's review
4.0
Loved this! The author diversity is really interesting, and the books were so engaging. I loved Stephanie Thornton's Cassandra, and her twin brother. It makes me want to go look up the other authors and read their books. LOVED the way the book presented Helen and Paris. 🤣 Good stuff!
wildwolverine's review
2.0
This book took me FOREVER to finish. I read the first two installments in this series-A Day of Fire and A Year of Ravens. Those feature a myriad of complex and sympathetic characters that made me feel for them all the more because their lives centered around such a tragic moment in history. Maybe it was because Song of War was all about fictional characters and a fictional war that it lacked the same emotional impact as its predecessors. There was a story or two that shone above the rest, but overall, I just didn't care and couldn't wait for it to be over. I would've given up if I wasn't so stubborn.
Kate Quinn opened this anthology, and she is flawless as always. Everything she writes is amazing and layered and transports me to another era. Even in short story format, her story The Apple is no exception.
I also liked Shecter's The Horse, but that was because it was succinct.
Thornton's story of The Prophecy was middling for me. Cassandra was a compelling character, but the story felt repetitive and unremarkable.
Everything else I couldn't stand, particularly Whitfield's piece about Agamnemnon. Gosh, was that a slog. I couldn't care less about a character than I did about him. He was either drunk or in heat the whole time. There was no evidence of the great king he was supposed to be. A major letdown of one of mythologies more well-known characters.
As for everything else, all you need to know is that everyone was either screwing each other or wanted to. That's pretty much it. Now, I like some good Harlequin every now and then, but this was all just angsty and "I'm drawn to him but I don't love him. He's too powerful for an emotion as human as love." Blah blah blah. Please. Spare me.
So, I'll spare you, reader of my review. Read maybe the first couple stories, and then just go read the Iliad. You're not missing any nuance by skipping this.
Kate Quinn opened this anthology, and she is flawless as always. Everything she writes is amazing and layered and transports me to another era. Even in short story format, her story The Apple is no exception.
I also liked Shecter's The Horse, but that was because it was succinct.
Thornton's story of The Prophecy was middling for me. Cassandra was a compelling character, but the story felt repetitive and unremarkable.
Everything else I couldn't stand, particularly Whitfield's piece about Agamnemnon. Gosh, was that a slog. I couldn't care less about a character than I did about him. He was either drunk or in heat the whole time. There was no evidence of the great king he was supposed to be. A major letdown of one of mythologies more well-known characters.
As for everything else, all you need to know is that everyone was either screwing each other or wanted to. That's pretty much it. Now, I like some good Harlequin every now and then, but this was all just angsty and "I'm drawn to him but I don't love him. He's too powerful for an emotion as human as love." Blah blah blah. Please. Spare me.
So, I'll spare you, reader of my review. Read maybe the first couple stories, and then just go read the Iliad. You're not missing any nuance by skipping this.
laiwyah's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Although sometimes it was a bit weird to have so many different writing styles, it added something to the book.
Some stories I loved more than others but it was an enjoyable read with nice twists !
Some stories I loved more than others but it was an enjoyable read with nice twists !
waiya's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Although sometimes it was a bit weird to have so many different writing styles, it added something to the book.
Some stories I loved more than others but it was an enjoyable read with nice twists !
Some stories I loved more than others but it was an enjoyable read with nice twists !