The shelf looked interesting. The books were predominantly in dark colored covers and there were interesting illusions and the attractive titles called to me: Goddess of the Spring, Goddess of the Sea, Goddess of the Rose.etc
A cursory glance over the back cover told me they were romances; of the kind I loved best. With the Greek Gods in them(I cant help but admit that I love Hades.).
I was curious but I knew my mother would never knowingly let me read them(a flip through the book assured me of its extreme smuttiness - though not enough to make people wince-) and I left those copies there nestled in the Fantasy section which was occupied by the likes of the Lord of the Rings and many others.
I did have the opportunity to peruse the book later on(thus bringing around a point to this post) and might I say, it ranks the lowest on all the books I have ever read. And that's saying something as I have suffered through things like Inheritance of Loss(Sorry, Kiran Desai. I know you won the Man Booker for it but it just isnt my cup of tea) and assorted lovelies whose first page I cant get past.
While I did get past the first page for this book(Goddess of Spring by P.C Cast; Hades was obviously first), I discovered that the Gods and Goddesses were mere foils for an uninspired story that attempted to touch on the metaphysical(is love only for the soul ?). Hades is nothing more than this well built, sexy man with a deep voice and the manners(If I had wanted just this, I would have gone to Mills and Boons). Where is the melancholy of the God of the Dead ? The one who reigns over Tartarus and every other deep, damned part of Hell. He has seen things no one else has. Things that scar and change people. He does not go around making furniture or decorating his palace.
Cast in the role of the man who didnt want anyone to see him for who he truly is, all Hades seems to do is be a teenager in front of Persephone. Iapis, a character I expected more from, disappointed. The difference in the time in the mortal and the immortal world could have been gone into a little more clearly(seeing as Lina encounters people with ancient Greek names and Orpheus comes to fetch Eurydice only when Lina is there).
Carolina Santoro the mortal who finally makes Hades fold for her like paper is practically no different from the Mills and Boons novels heroines(other than the interesting ability with the animals).
What could have been a lovely fleshed out fantasy story(Percy Jackson anyone?) crumbles down to a series filled with women who make the Gods fall in love with them(a super hero per say. The Gods have been reduced to this, eh?). Orpheus is a cruel husband; Hades talks of soul mates and love(my apologies but it seemed just like a bad build up for the end) . While Tartarus provides a stronger look at hell, it falls greatly short of the epic reality that Hell would be if it existed(Dante provided a much more realistic view). Hell is not about sexy men and cuddly horses; its darker and more wicked than your imagination can come up with. The conclusion is utterly unsatisfying as well.
The excitement when you think you're going to read about the Greek Gods fizzes out when you realize that they just misclassified a sappy Romance book into the wildly imaginative Fantasy section.
We, Fantasy geeks, like a lot more than this on the plate; we require beings like satyrs, centaurs, a venegeful God and Riptide(^_^)if its Greek Gods you offer us.
P.C Cast, your book disappoints greatly.
(...dont even think about attempting to read Warrior Rising. There goes another fellow I used to like...)
A cursory glance over the back cover told me they were romances; of the kind I loved best. With the Greek Gods in them(I cant help but admit that I love Hades.).
I was curious but I knew my mother would never knowingly let me read them(a flip through the book assured me of its extreme smuttiness - though not enough to make people wince-) and I left those copies there nestled in the Fantasy section which was occupied by the likes of the Lord of the Rings and many others.
I did have the opportunity to peruse the book later on(thus bringing around a point to this post) and might I say, it ranks the lowest on all the books I have ever read. And that's saying something as I have suffered through things like Inheritance of Loss(Sorry, Kiran Desai. I know you won the Man Booker for it but it just isnt my cup of tea) and assorted lovelies whose first page I cant get past.
While I did get past the first page for this book(Goddess of Spring by P.C Cast; Hades was obviously first), I discovered that the Gods and Goddesses were mere foils for an uninspired story that attempted to touch on the metaphysical(is love only for the soul ?). Hades is nothing more than this well built, sexy man with a deep voice and the manners(If I had wanted just this, I would have gone to Mills and Boons). Where is the melancholy of the God of the Dead ? The one who reigns over Tartarus and every other deep, damned part of Hell. He has seen things no one else has. Things that scar and change people. He does not go around making furniture or decorating his palace.
Cast in the role of the man who didnt want anyone to see him for who he truly is, all Hades seems to do is be a teenager in front of Persephone. Iapis, a character I expected more from, disappointed. The difference in the time in the mortal and the immortal world could have been gone into a little more clearly(seeing as Lina encounters people with ancient Greek names and Orpheus comes to fetch Eurydice only when Lina is there).
Carolina Santoro the mortal who finally makes Hades fold for her like paper is practically no different from the Mills and Boons novels heroines(other than the interesting ability with the animals).
What could have been a lovely fleshed out fantasy story(Percy Jackson anyone?) crumbles down to a series filled with women who make the Gods fall in love with them(a super hero per say. The Gods have been reduced to this, eh?). Orpheus is a cruel husband; Hades talks of soul mates and love(my apologies but it seemed just like a bad build up for the end) . While Tartarus provides a stronger look at hell, it falls greatly short of the epic reality that Hell would be if it existed(Dante provided a much more realistic view). Hell is not about sexy men and cuddly horses; its darker and more wicked than your imagination can come up with. The conclusion is utterly unsatisfying as well.
The excitement when you think you're going to read about the Greek Gods fizzes out when you realize that they just misclassified a sappy Romance book into the wildly imaginative Fantasy section.
We, Fantasy geeks, like a lot more than this on the plate; we require beings like satyrs, centaurs, a venegeful God and Riptide(^_^)if its Greek Gods you offer us.
P.C Cast, your book disappoints greatly.
(...dont even think about attempting to read Warrior Rising. There goes another fellow I used to like...)
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