Review: 4.5 stars for this inventive rewriting of Greek myth
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 2, 2014
From the second a lady giant named Maggot appeared on the scene, I was hooked on this book. It was a creative, well written, and satisfying read. Kudos to the author for writing such an engaging novel.Persephone is a poor excuse for a goddess until she is sent by her mother to use her talent for growing things to rejuvenate a poisoned earth and diseased human population. Her mother (Demeter) isn't selfless in this--she knows that without humans to worship them, the gods will tear themselves apart with the war that has already started. To make things worse, Hades is distracted and is no longer collecting the souls of the dead and leading them to the Underworld.As Persephone experiences life among humans, her goddess powers grow. As in the original myth, Persephone ends up in the Underworld, but the story takes a lot of twists and turns before she gets there. On the way, you will be treated to some lovely prose, the general havoc that both gods and humans can wreak, and interesting, well-drawn characters. I especially liked Hades--he is treated here much more like he was portrayed in mythical times--he's not evil, it is simply his job to be guardian of the souls that have passed on. I liked that he was protrayed that way, no more random or vengeful than any other god.Overall, I give the book 4.5 stars. That means I really dug it. The epilogue seems to indicate there will be a sequel, and I will be keeping an eye out for it. There has to be more to the tale! Only half of the myth has been covered (although the book has a satisfying end and you could stop with this one, if you wanted.) I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.