Book Title: Antigoddess
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: The Goddess War #1
Series: The Goddess War #1
Date Started: October 4th 2013
Date Completed: October 8th 2013
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Thriller, Adventure, Action
Rating: Four stars
Review:
I love Blake's work, and even though I wasn't certain what to expect from Antigoddess, I knew I'd really enjoy it; and I wasn't wrong. This novel was a really enjoyable read and actually very well thought-through and planned, if slumping into slightly immature phrases at times. Nevertheless, I thought the book was great, and bordering on better than Anna Dressed in Blood (Blake's debut novel).
Aiden was a god. But then the gods fell and now they're dying. So Aiden hid, until he found her: the girl he loved; the girl he cursed thousands of years ago; the girl who was reincarnated as Cassandra, and who is other gods are now hunting down for her powers. But Cassandra isn't even aware of the abilities he gave her all those years ago, and Aidan has to think of a way to save her the truth, but get her away from the fearsome deities on her trail.
I think Blake's writing has grown since Anna, it was a lot more detailed and informative in this book. Although that probably has something to do with the research that must have gone in to make the story so consistent, there are elements, such as the internal monologues and the reactions that the characters have, that proves that through writing her first two novels, Kendare Blake has learnt a lot. That's not to say she wasn't good at the start, she's just gotten even better.
After that rather long paragraph about Kendare's progress in writing, I'll also mention that the action would written very smoothly and vividly, and the relationships between the characters were believable to me.
It's very clear to me that a huge amount of research went into this novel. I was raised up on greek and egyptian mythology, among other things, so I was vaguely aware of the stories of the gods before reading this book. It was almost nostalgic, connecting my childhood memories with the things mentioned in the book. Continuing on, I thought it was presented very well; you often get books that have a take on previously told stories that just don't do it justice. This, however, did. Even more than that, it modernised the gods in a way I haven't really seen before, so that was especially engaging for me to read.
My favourite scene would by far be the woods scene. (If you haven't read the book, what I'm about to say won't make a whole lot of sense to you, but I'll try and describe it as well as I can without giving away any spoilers.) The thing I loved about this scene was that it wasn't predictable, and the tension rose extremely quickly within. I know from experience that it's a hard thing to write suspense without it getting too out of hand. But Blake pulled it off very well and also managed to create a scene that pulled on the heartstrings.
The climax scene was awesome. If I could change one thing, I'd split it up to make it seem like the character were safe before everything crashes down around them, rather than have it on a continuous line. However, it was very well written and I really felt for the characters as they went through it. There was a tangible danger and each person/god's reaction was realistic and set off everything else like a chain reaction.
The ending scene left me wanting more, and wanting a happy ending for once. That is all I will say.
I really liked the characters, but sometimes I felt they fell out of their personalities a bit. I have a feeling this was to show certain parts of the story as particularly scary, but I didn't quite connect with that.
Having said that, I really got on with Cassandra. I felt sometimes she was a little bit too un-assertive, but I then understood why she acted that way when she (slightly spoiler ahead) turned into the other Cassandra. Although, I did really like the little similarities, as well as the contrasts, between her two selves. You could really believe they were the same person, but from different times and with mixed experiences.
I love Aidan, and I think his romance with Cassandra was really cute. (I can see a lot of Cas from Anna in Aidan's character.) I liked his protective nature, but also the fact that he knew when to step back and to not show his girlfriend up as being incapable without him. I also liked the way he clearly linked in with siblings and you could see the relation between them.
Athena annoyed me at first. But I think the reader is supposed to. Then I found myself gradually feeling more and more for her as a character; I genuinely believed her when she messed up and her complaints and feelings were all understandable. She was probably the most realistic of the characters and I'm glad Blake included it; it's very important in a fantasy novel to give the reader something they understand and can relate to - just to make sure it doesn't come a completely distant work of fiction.
Hermes and Odysseus were very good characters, but I felt they added to Athena's character, rather than becoming their own entities. There were times when I really thought each of them were the hero, but this only happened a couple of times, and then they blended into the background again.
Henry and Andie were really sweet. Henry was a great brotherly figure and Andie was a good friend, but I didn't get the feeling Cassie cared about her quite as much as Andie cared about her. I liked their little backstory as well.
The pace was generally good for the overall story, but there was a big issue with chapter lengths. I got the short end of the stick and became more involved with Cassandra and Aidan than I did with Athena and Hermes, so this annoyed me especially. The chapter lengths differed greatly. The Cassandra and Aidan chapters tended to be reasonably short, whereas the chapters for Hermes and Athena were ridiculously long. I understand that the gods' story had a little further to go before they joined with the other characters, but I think the chapters could have been more split up, especially since the other side of the story was shown in such short snippets.
On the other hand, it did flow very well, despite favouring one side over the other, and there weren't any points where nothing was happening.
I would recommend Antigoddess to anyone who likes their mythology. I really liked the new takes on the stories and it was just as informing as it was enjoyable. There's also some cute romance, and good tense scenes, with action and drama thrown in for good measure as well.
Image Source: http://www.dateabook.com.au/assets/img/hotdates/9781408330753.jpg
I love Blake's work, and even though I wasn't certain what to expect from Antigoddess, I knew I'd really enjoy it; and I wasn't wrong. This novel was a really enjoyable read and actually very well thought-through and planned, if slumping into slightly immature phrases at times. Nevertheless, I thought the book was great, and bordering on better than Anna Dressed in Blood (Blake's debut novel).
Aiden was a god. But then the gods fell and now they're dying. So Aiden hid, until he found her: the girl he loved; the girl he cursed thousands of years ago; the girl who was reincarnated as Cassandra, and who is other gods are now hunting down for her powers. But Cassandra isn't even aware of the abilities he gave her all those years ago, and Aidan has to think of a way to save her the truth, but get her away from the fearsome deities on her trail.
I think Blake's writing has grown since Anna, it was a lot more detailed and informative in this book. Although that probably has something to do with the research that must have gone in to make the story so consistent, there are elements, such as the internal monologues and the reactions that the characters have, that proves that through writing her first two novels, Kendare Blake has learnt a lot. That's not to say she wasn't good at the start, she's just gotten even better.
After that rather long paragraph about Kendare's progress in writing, I'll also mention that the action would written very smoothly and vividly, and the relationships between the characters were believable to me.
It's very clear to me that a huge amount of research went into this novel. I was raised up on greek and egyptian mythology, among other things, so I was vaguely aware of the stories of the gods before reading this book. It was almost nostalgic, connecting my childhood memories with the things mentioned in the book. Continuing on, I thought it was presented very well; you often get books that have a take on previously told stories that just don't do it justice. This, however, did. Even more than that, it modernised the gods in a way I haven't really seen before, so that was especially engaging for me to read.
My favourite scene would by far be the woods scene. (If you haven't read the book, what I'm about to say won't make a whole lot of sense to you, but I'll try and describe it as well as I can without giving away any spoilers.) The thing I loved about this scene was that it wasn't predictable, and the tension rose extremely quickly within. I know from experience that it's a hard thing to write suspense without it getting too out of hand. But Blake pulled it off very well and also managed to create a scene that pulled on the heartstrings.
The climax scene was awesome. If I could change one thing, I'd split it up to make it seem like the character were safe before everything crashes down around them, rather than have it on a continuous line. However, it was very well written and I really felt for the characters as they went through it. There was a tangible danger and each person/god's reaction was realistic and set off everything else like a chain reaction.
The ending scene left me wanting more, and wanting a happy ending for once. That is all I will say.
I really liked the characters, but sometimes I felt they fell out of their personalities a bit. I have a feeling this was to show certain parts of the story as particularly scary, but I didn't quite connect with that.
Having said that, I really got on with Cassandra. I felt sometimes she was a little bit too un-assertive, but I then understood why she acted that way when she (slightly spoiler ahead) turned into the other Cassandra. Although, I did really like the little similarities, as well as the contrasts, between her two selves. You could really believe they were the same person, but from different times and with mixed experiences.
I love Aidan, and I think his romance with Cassandra was really cute. (I can see a lot of Cas from Anna in Aidan's character.) I liked his protective nature, but also the fact that he knew when to step back and to not show his girlfriend up as being incapable without him. I also liked the way he clearly linked in with siblings and you could see the relation between them.
Athena annoyed me at first. But I think the reader is supposed to. Then I found myself gradually feeling more and more for her as a character; I genuinely believed her when she messed up and her complaints and feelings were all understandable. She was probably the most realistic of the characters and I'm glad Blake included it; it's very important in a fantasy novel to give the reader something they understand and can relate to - just to make sure it doesn't come a completely distant work of fiction.
Hermes and Odysseus were very good characters, but I felt they added to Athena's character, rather than becoming their own entities. There were times when I really thought each of them were the hero, but this only happened a couple of times, and then they blended into the background again.
Henry and Andie were really sweet. Henry was a great brotherly figure and Andie was a good friend, but I didn't get the feeling Cassie cared about her quite as much as Andie cared about her. I liked their little backstory as well.
The pace was generally good for the overall story, but there was a big issue with chapter lengths. I got the short end of the stick and became more involved with Cassandra and Aidan than I did with Athena and Hermes, so this annoyed me especially. The chapter lengths differed greatly. The Cassandra and Aidan chapters tended to be reasonably short, whereas the chapters for Hermes and Athena were ridiculously long. I understand that the gods' story had a little further to go before they joined with the other characters, but I think the chapters could have been more split up, especially since the other side of the story was shown in such short snippets.
On the other hand, it did flow very well, despite favouring one side over the other, and there weren't any points where nothing was happening.
I would recommend Antigoddess to anyone who likes their mythology. I really liked the new takes on the stories and it was just as informing as it was enjoyable. There's also some cute romance, and good tense scenes, with action and drama thrown in for good measure as well.
Image Source: http://www.dateabook.com.au/assets/img/hotdates/9781408330753.jpg
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