Title: AntigoddessISBN: 9780765334435
Publisher: Tor Teen
Released: September 10, 2013
Page #: 336
Series: The Goddess War #1
Source: My public library
Summary:
"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 others of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these antigods 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."
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First Lines:
"The feathers were starting to be a nuisance. There was one in her mouth, tickling the back of her throat. She chewed at it as she walked, grabbing it with her molars and pulling it loose. Warm, copper-penny blood flooded over her tongue."
Page 9
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Review:
Athena. Hermes. Apollo. Hera. Aphrodite. Poseidon. They're all dying. Strange things are happening to each of them and they don't know why. But there has to be a solution and someone has to be behind all of this! They just don't know who... or how to stop them.
Cassandra has always felt that she was weird because of her ability to see the future. Usually it's just in the form of a coin toss game, but she starting to have vivid visions. But she has no idea what they could mean and who they are about. When things start to come together, she realizes that not everyone is who they seem. And now she's somehow become the center of a war between the most powerful gods.
Sometimes I get a little confused when there are varying perspectives in a book. Especially when the different two are dealing with totally separate storylines - even when they eventually converge. So I had a little trouble keeping up with what was going on. I think I would have preferred to follow Cassandra's story and then have the gods stuff figured out as you go along. Alas! It also got a little murky in the ending and the stories had finally come together. The switching in perspective happened much more often and with less warning. There were several moments of thinking, "wait, why would she think that? Oh. Right. That wasn't her."
I think part of me had a hard time sympathizing with Athena as a character. You immediately know that she's dying... that feathers are taking over her body. Which is really gross when you think about it. This author does a really good job writing those squicky bits... so gross and slimey! blech. Anyway, Athena has lived for thousands of years. So why do I feel bad that she's dying now? And that she's willing to sacrifice just about anything to stay alive? She turns to people who used to worship her - which puts them in danger. Truly, I'm a huge fan of mythological characters - especially Athena - but I have a hard time thinking "poor you" about them. :)
Speaking of the gods, I wanted to know much more about Apollo. How did he get where he was? Why is he basically living like a human? What has he been up to all these years? You know there had to be way more to his story and how he became a lovestruck teenager. If I recall, there wasn't much explanation given... besides love. And I'm not sure that's enough for me to make it believable. Give me more, Apollo! You're a badass god! Uhm.... also, I took issue with the gods dying - which a few of them do. So, each of the gods has a purpose in mythology. Love. Sea. Sun. Moon. War. What happens when that god dies? Something catastrophic, surely. But that didn't play out here. I'm hoping those deaths will have some major impact on the world in the next book.
Honestly, this book took me a while to read. I've been staring at the ARC for months, but I expected to fly through it when I did sit down and read. But there was something about the story about Troy and all of those characters that I sort of had to wade through and digest. Who those characters were and what part they played in the Trojan War... It's not something that I know offhand, so it slowed me down a bit.
The whole concept of this book was fascinating to me and I did enjoy it - even though it seems like I didn't. The ending was a little shocking and I'm wondering what in the world will happen in the second book! Which looks like it will come out in October. I haven't read this author's other books, but I have heard great things about them. I may have to give them a shot... even though they look super scary. :)
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