The Greek Gods

 The Greek Gods by Evslin, Evslin, and Hoopes. 

"The Greek gods had more powers than mortals could even imagine. They could change day to night, turn people into animals, and punish men with eternal torture. Their whims and desires changed the course of human destiny. No legends are more fabulous than those of the Greek gods. This classic collection tells their stories."

General Thoughts: I read this book in my 8th grade English class and after my son and I finished reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, I thought it would be a good idea to get the most widely believed versions of Greek Mythology. 

Plot: These are the stories of the major Greek Gods. Each three to five page chapter is the story of them muddling about with mortals. They are short, concise, and simple stories that showed the basic characteristics and actions of most of the Gods. Though it doesn't have all the stories, it has enough to walk though Rick Riordan's books without losing a shoe. 

Setting: There isn't much here in the way of setting. If there are descriptions they are short and don't give you much in the way of a feel for the "world" that the Greek Gods are in. It almost has the feel of a text book, kinda dry but give the information. 

Characters: Each of the character, God or mortal, are simple. They are portrayed as if it was a story being told around a campfire, not a masterly crafted literature piece with characters you'd want to read about over and over again because they were so enticing.

Spice: 1/5 Spicy Chilis. I could probably say 0 instead of one just for how dry it is, but the fact that offspring happen and you have the Goddess of Love there, I'll give it a 1. 

Writing Style: It feels like a text book. Something you'd want to reference if you were writing a paper, not necessarily the best piece of fiction. 

Overall: It was something to show to my son that not all the stories in Rick Riordan's books are "mythologically accurate" but that he does a pretty good job at staying true to the myths. It was okay, but probably not a book that he or I will be reading again for a long while.  

Circe

 Circe is a retelling of the goddess Circe in Homer's Odyssey. 

Circe is a minor goddess, daughter of the Titan Hileos. She is forgotten and ugly compared to the other nymphs and gods she associates with. She can't do anything that her father or mother, also a nymph, does. Circe waits at her fathers feet, forgotten at his counsels and therefor hears everything. The titans are angry with Zeus and the other gods telling them what to do. After her brothers and sister leave to be kings and queens of their own nations, she finds a mortal and falls in love him. To make it so he doesn't die she gives him magics to make him his "true self" and he becomes a god then forgets her. When she confesses to a crime she committed for that love, the gods exile her to the island of Aeaea where she considers it a lenient punishment (for freaking the gods out because of her magic, not for the actual crime itself) and enjoys her solitude away from the ever pompous, obnoxious, and boisterous gods, titans, and nymphs she calls family. While on her island, people come. Hermes brings her news, her sister beckons for her to help with her birth of the Minotaur, and a very few others. Sailors who have lost their way and men take advantage of her isolation. Too late for some magic, she turns them to pigs as she deems there is no other image more suitable for them than swine. More and more sailors breech her shores until one day Odysseus, the famed Greek hero, comes to her island. 

It was a very interesting book. Aside from Percy Jackson, I knew only the bare basics of Greek heroes let alone some of the "villains" of the stories. Circe is very much her own person. Curiosity, yet having bounds on it, is refreshing. And I think it was good to see the repercussions over centuries of deeds, good and bad. Because it is a new fictional piece, it doesn't stick to all of the mythology around her "accurately." There are some stories it completely negates and others it gives a turn to fit the narrative the author wanted. 

Circe was relatable is some instances. She was naive and then grew knowledgeable about the world around her and how the gods manipulated everyone. She understand that manipulation, then refused to be apart of it any more. She was able to weave her magics like she would a cloth, and later her words as well. Her threats became real. I also liked how she would do anything to protect that which was most important to her. 

I also appreciated the way Ms. Miller handled sex. In the story, there was quite a bit of it, but it was never graphic, which I very much appreciate. Even when she was raped by sailors it wasn't harsh (which some people might have problems with, but I don't). It isn't a story of her rape; it is a story of all of her life. She does deal with that moment and invites all the suckling pigs in for bacon and sausage which is pretty crazy and rather nuts, but there is more to someone's life than the injustices they are dealt. 

The other characters were enjoyable as well. They seemed like their own people, which I think can be tricky with "historical" figures, but it was well done. I did find the ending kind of odd in who her two daughters come from... and her other mythological children aren't mentioned. It's weird. It's odd. It's Greek Mythology. 

Please do enjoy it.