Book:
Antigoddess
Author: Kendare Blake
File Type: Ebook
Release Date: September 10, 2013
Publisher: Tor Teen
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
synopsis:
The Goddess War begins in Antigoddess, the first installment of the new series by acclaimed author of Anna Dressed in Blood, Kendare Blake.
Old Gods never die…
Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.
Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god.
These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning.
Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out.
Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.
The Goddess War is about to begin.
I don’t know about you, but I thought that this was much much MUCH better than
Anna dressed in blood and
Girl of Nightmares.
If you take the aformentioned books into consideration, we can come to a unanimous conclusion that Kendare Blake sure as hell knows how to write a novel.
She writes things that are very engaging and fast-paced. There is lots of badassness. Lots of gruesome-ness (if necessary). Lots of action (oh boy oh boy) and Lots of looove. (OH YEAH. But not the sappy kind so keep your cringing in, all you cringers!)
I love Kendare Blake’s writing. What I couldn’t love was the fact that what she presented to me earlier lacked that ‘oomph’ factor. That factor which makes people go mad and suspends them into a suspension which screams ‘Pigs are flying and it’s exciting’ (ooh, that rhymes). The factor which makes you LOVE a story and makes you gaga over the characters. It’s a wonderful feeling, you know. Now, while I enjoyed ADIB and GoN, I just couldn’t go past that phatic stage of communication. I just couldn’t get intimate with it. And I crave intimacy with my books. I want to love them in and out, front and back, up and down, left and right, top,centre and bottom and....AND...Long story cut short: just about EVERYWHERE.
And I think with
Antigodess, I’m touching new heights of intimacy.
WOW.
This was great.
I have my own reasons to love this book more too. But first things first. Lets start with the general analysis.
Gods are dying.
There are two teams. One’s the good team and one’s the bad one.
Both the teams are looking for ways to prolong their lives but the bad one’s are slightly more whacked as they’re plan of action is to gobble other gods to prolong their lives. Gross.
As for the good team?
The good team is led by Athena, the goddess of battle strategies and wisdom. And then you have the enigmatic comic aspect of the novel, Hermes the god of thieves. Together they search for decent solutions to save their ‘immortality’ without chomping down their brethren or becoming the chow-chow themselves which then leads them to an ordinary human, Cassandra and her group of friends.
But is she really ordinary? Hell no.
She is the KEY to the weapon to the solution of the mind-blasting goddess war.
Wow. Oh wow.
It wasn’t all that exciting as it sounds right now but what follows later had me singing praises. So yes, I’ll stick with the WOWs.
You see, I love badass female protagonists and Athena is the goddess of
battle for lords sake! I thought that she was fantastic. I loved her attitude. I loved her I-will-look-you-in-the-eye-and-mock-you-and-smile-at-you attitude. I loved her inner turmoil. I loved how she was fighting her instincts to do what was right for everyone and not just her. You see, it was all about saving the lives of the gods and her own and human beings were these little pawns which would help her achieve her goal because afterall, she’s a
goddess and a powerful one. She doesn’t need to care about the lives of mortals and yet, there she was fighting for doing what was rationally right. That doesn't mean that she didn't make mistakes. She was egoistical. She was filled with pride. She was downright bossy
because She is , afterall, a goddess. And she was meant to live forever. But now she was dying and all she knows that she isn’t going to die without putting up a fight.
I loved her.
And then there was Cassandra. I get her actions and her reaction to certain events but that doesn’t mean that I have to like them. I mean, she was a great character. A pivotal one. It’s safe to say that the entire plot revolved around her, which is fine since she is the key to the survival of the gods. But then, there were times where I felt like whacking her because she was just so infuriating. What she did made sense but sometimes things that make sense deserve a nice beating. Just saying.
I think the characters were wonderful and well laid out. I loved Cassandra’s brother Henry and her friend, Andie. I loved Aidan. (OMG.) I LOVE LOVE LOVE Hermes! He’s like this cute teddy bear that I intend to hold onto and never let go. Then there was Odysseus. Hah! I can’t wait to see his luring tactics when it comes to reeling in a girl.
What I’m telling you right now won’t make any sense until you read the book and I strongly urge you to catch hold of one because it’s bloody good.
And now for the BIGGEST reason of why I love this book to bits.
TROY.
Do you remember Troy? The movie?
Brad Pitt? Eric Bana? Yes?*sighs*
Ever since I saw that movie, I’ve been in love with it. Infact, I love war movies. Be it of any period and
Troy is one of my favourites!(If you haven't seen the movie, YOU MUST.)
You see, Brad Pitt, is Achilles and Achilles is a fascinating character. That man destroyed empires and in the died because of a stupid arrow. And Hector? The brave prince of Troy who was the only man with the balls to compete and stand his ground with Achilles. The Trojan War itself is a very interesting concept in itself. I remember screaming at the TV screen at those stupid Trojans who thought that the Greeks had waved the white flag and had left. I was screaming more when they decided to take that stupid Trojan horse INSIDE their impenetrable kingdom because they thought that the Greeks were nice people who liked leaving mementos. Can people really be so stupid? Troy was destroyed and the royal family was murdered and THEY FUCKING KILLED BRAD PITT. Brad Pitt was not supposed to die. Why must all the nice guys die?!?! *weeps*(Thinks about what happened in the book and starts to cry more.)
The story of Troy fascinates me till now. (even though the Trojan were idiots.) and the Trojan story was a MAJOR element of the story-line and I think, Greek Mythology fascinates most of the people on this planet, so , obviously, this a Win-win situation.
Although, I love the book, I will warn you that there is not much that will surprise you in the book because well....nothing is that surprising. But the tempo of the book is exciting and energetic and that exceedingly makes up for whatever flaws I seem to be blind to.
The only thing, I ask from a book is to give me originality and an engrossing story. The concept here is clearly, very original and engrossing, it is. So if I were to read these 400 pages again and again, I would do it again and again, with love.
Oh and you guys must read it too.
"Everything born must die." she repeated.
