Athena's Child

An intriguing retelling of the traditional Medusa story. Emotional to read even if we do already understand the consequences of Medusa's gaze. The sub-plots and circumstances play out a little differently and the characters are portrayed quite originally. I am also reading Natalie Haynes' Stone Blind and the differences are compelling. I've studied womens' retelling of mythology at university so I thought this was perfect but it's an excellent read for anyone with an interest in women having their voices heard and stories told.

I enjoyed reading this retelling if a well know story. I have never really read around the origin story of Medusa and this version was very interesting.

This story is the telling of Medusa and her curse and how this came about and the arrogance of gods and men!Medusa born a beautiful child and growing into a beautiful girl is brought by her father to Athena’s temple to avoid the prices offered for her as a wife.She becomes a priestess for Athena and talks to her about what she wants, she handles her meetings with people who need guidance from her followers but in doing so is brought to the attention of Poseidon. A god himself he becomes obsessed with her like countless men before but not willing to leave her alone. What follows is an attack Medusa cannot fight. Athena finding her curses her believing she accepted the attentions. Medusa now cursed and thrown out of the temple she has resided in for years is cast out and finds her way home back to her family. I’m this instant she then destroys her own family and makes her way to a deserted island only to be left alone with her curse.The next part of the story then leads to a Demi god Perseus the boy brought about by his mother being visited by Zeus. He is tasked with destroying Medusa if he completes tasks first and gains a crew to help him, this story is so well told and each character given their own understanding of the role they must play.Greek mythology is bloody and dark but also very entertaining and this author explained it so well looking forward to more from her.

This would probably be a three but for the ease of which it was to read, I gave it a 4.The book was enjoyable but by no means impressive as I was led to believe.The writing style was smooth with few instances of wording that were pleasing to read.I commend the attempt to modernise the tale by making political and social commentary from a feminist persepctive. Though not something I generally look for in books, I wasn't bothered by it one way or another.It is a tragic tale and I particularly found the first half of the book most emotive as it recounted how Medusa became the Gorgon and the immediate consequences of that transformation.My favourite part was with the Greae as it was quite humorous which broke up the story nicely.This is a well known tale so I'm glad the book wasn't overly long.For anyone unfamiliar with the tale I recommend the book. For those of you well versed in Greek mythology but are looking for a simple read that focuses on the "monster" more than the myth, I recommend it for you too.

This is a pretty well written story. I noticed a few grammatical errors whilst reading (I'm autistic, so they bother me more than other people, I suspect), but other than that, it was a decent enough if not quick read. I found the characters to be a little flat and undeveloped, and the change in perspective from one character to another was very abrupt.The author does a good job in getting you invested in the main female character Medusa, but at the height of her troubles, the perspective suddenly shifts to another character for the majority of the book, which feels jarring. I wanted to stay with Medusa and see her develop further and see how she dealt with her troubles rather than just revisit her briefly in order to align with the well-known myth about how she was eventually killed.Overall, a fresh take on the myth of Medusa and Perseus, though somewhat lacking depth. I also took issue with how the goddess Athena, who is famously very wise and known for her forgiveness and compassion, was portrayed as callous and cruel for the apparent sake of it - not to mention strangely ignorant to the truth of the matter surrounding Medusa and quick to punish and condemn, rather than use all of her famed wisdom and knowledge to get to the truth.

This is an exceptional re-telling of the Medusa myth. It is up there with the best. A must buy if you like to visit Greek mythology.

The tale of Medusa the Gorgon, the snake haired woman who turns every man into stone. And of Perseus, the hero, son of Zeus, who finally kills her. And how everything in the legend is a lie.It's an interesting and clever retelling of an old tale

I loved this book what a great story teller I actually felt so sorry for Medusa. Having been told her story as such monster