The Shadow of Perseus ~ Claire Heywood

“…an imaginative and female-centered reinterpretation of the myth of the great hero Perseus, told through the voices of three women who are sidelined in the traditional version—his mother, Danae; his trophy, Medusa; and his wife, Andromeda—but whose viewpoints reveal a man who is not, in fact, a hero at all.”

A really great spin on the classic tale where the women are compelling and heroic all at the same time.

Greek mythology is really having a moment again, and this is another book marketed as a "feminist retelling" that is actually a pretty straightforward rehashing of the original source material that just happens to be from a female perspective. There is nothing particularly feminist about it. The writing is fine, but when I read a retelling I'm usually looking for a deeper dimension or fresh perspective and I found this story a little too sedate for my liking.

I have a lot of respect for Heywood's idea of bringing the myth of Perseus to a more down-to-Earth level where the legends of his actions are more the result of tall tales than of actual magical interactions with gods and monsters. The issue arose when the more realistic sides of the story resulted in three women being treated horribly and abused.
As a testament to Heywood's good writing, all three women that interact with Perseus over the course of the story are incredibly likable and easy to connect with. So Danae's unfair banishment and solitude, Medusa's horrible ending after helping the injured Perseus, and Andromeda's 'rescue' by way of kidnapping and abuse feel way too real and hit a little too hard. These three women find themselves destroyed by having Perseus in their lives and it's as different as could possibly be from the myths everyone is familiar with. It's a series of escalating incidents of abuse carried out by a spoiled, entitled brat that destroys lives left and right.
It was an interesting read and I don't regret reading it, but I don't think I could recommend it unless someone was looking for a lot of drama and pain told by way of great writing.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for giving me a chance to read this thought-provoking book.

I went into this expecting a re-telling of the myth of Perseus. The story is marketed as that, but told from the perspective of the three female characters that play a big part in the myth; Danae (his mother), Medusa and Andromeda (his wife). You think you know what to expect from a book like this, but it was nothing like it seemed to be.

Every single mythical part of the story has been taken out. There is no involvement of the gods, which makes for a rather confusing story at first. Instead of being impregnated by Zeus, Danae has a boy who she meets every night while she is imprisoned. This caught me off guard as I went in expecting a re-telling. It is hard to retell a myth without including the gods, especially when essential parts of the plot are tied to that. I tried to adjust my expectations of the book after this but it never really got better.

I love a good myth retelling and this story absolutely delivered. This was my first novel by Claire Heywood and I am looking forward to reading more of what she comes out with in the future.

This story is Greek mythology, but without the mythology. Unfortunately, I found that I really like the mythology.

This book is told from the POVs of 3 women in Perseus's life. But all of these women were just abused and degraded, and helpless to do anything for themselves. This was probably to drive home to the reader how misogynistic ancient Greek civilization was, but it made for a victim-filled novel full of powerless women.

The story is very linear and predictable, and just felt sad and unfair. I kept waiting for the women to make some kind of empowering actions, but nothing happened. I mean the best future they could envision was "managing" the hot temper of Perseus. Just, yuck.

Although the author worked hard to make this a story of historical fiction, "re-telling" the epic of Perseus did not translate well.

A female-centered reinterpretation of the myth of the great hero Perseus, told through the voices of three women who are sidelined in the traditional version--his mother, Danae; his trophy, Medusa; and his wife, Andromeda--but whose viewpoints reveal a man who is not, in fact, a hero at all.

RTC

I just love Greek mythology and this book felt like such a great representation of that. I loved how the story of Perseus was told not by him, but from the perspective of 3 women who were an important part of his life. It really helped to explain where he came from and provide a unique position of who he was and what he became. I loved the story so much that it made the ending feel a bit abrupt, as I did not want it to end. Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton for the ARC.

The Shadow of Perseus by Claire Heywood. Pub Date: February 21, 2023. Rating: 4 stars. I really enjoy reading greek mythology themed books and this book was no exception. Claire Heywood takes the reader on the journey of Perseus, a child born to be outlawed his entire life and ultimately leads to an adulthood full of strife, grief, self preservation and death. The book starts out with the beginning of his life into his adulthood years where he is married, finds his mother again after years of not having her around and ultimately his desire to rule and conquer what he believes he is owed. I did not know much about Perseus and found his story to be engaging. If you like greek mythology, I highly recommend reading this novel. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley #theshadowofperseus

I'm probably with the minority here but this was not for me! I was looking forward to this as the premise of telling the story of Perseus through the women in his life is so intriguing but the execution left me a bit disappointed.

The Shadow of Perseus doesn't seem to include an ounce of magic in it as I was expecting since the Greek myth of Perseus was full of magical creatures and adventures so that was the first and biggest letdown. Secondly, I didn't expect this kind of portrayal for Perseus as from reading the myths, he appeared to be charismatic while in this retelling he seemed aggressive and unapproachable that didn't really gave the depth of his character I was anticipating. I was expecting the author to portray him as a more charming character who was good at hiding the monster underneath, but oh well!

There were also a few other more subtle things that rubbed me the wrong way. A minor thing that bothered me was that Perseus addressed him mother as "Ma" where in Modern Greek we don't have a term of endearment that only contains two letters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I enjoy most re-tellings of fairy tales and mythology. This one felt a bit different as the author changed the story a great deal. The mystical properties were pulled from the story. The monsters weren't actually in the story but had been Perseus' embellishments. Perseus, himself, seemed almost psychotic at times so he was anything but a hero. Instead, you see how he impacts the lives of his mother, wife and Medusa (the victim not a monster).

As a true and long-time lover of all things related to Greek mythology, it wasn't my favorite re-telling. However, I can see what the author was trying to do by empowering the women. Of course, it took the entire story for the women to find their strength and finally stand up to Perseus. By the time they did, many people had died unnecessarily because of his vanity and pride.

Overall, it was an entertaining book. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I'm a sucker for mythology and was so excited to read this version of Perseus's story. While there were some intriguing parts, overall, the story fell flat. The story is told in chunks from the three women's perspective, but none of them felt fleshed out enough to maintain interest. As soon as I felt hooked with the characters or story, it would jump to the next and leave the threads hanging.
I love the concept of women taking back their stories, and there is only so much that can be done without going against the originals, but this just did not have the strength I expected. Perseus was a very annoying character, which may be on purpose, and Danae, Medusa, and Andromeda seemed muted by the end in a way that seemed more from the writing than the events in the story.

The Shadow of Perseus by Claire Heywood is a brilliant retelling of Perseus. Told through an enchanting lens, this book is wildly exciting. The realism and moody prose added so much more to the story.

“Silence was strength when it was all she had, but words would be her true power.”

Claire Heywood, author of Daughter of Sparta, returns with a fresh and female-centered reinterpretation of the myth of Perseus. This retelling brings to life the voices of the three women who are no more than sideline characters in the traditional story: his mother, Danae; his trophy, Medusa; and his wife, Andromeda. Their points of view will reveal that maybe Perseus is not as much of a hero as everyone has always thought.

Instead of telling a story focused on Perseus aka the hero’s journey, the author focused on the women who shaped his life. Starting with Danae, his mother, and her upbringing as the princess of Argos. She is a young girl who longs to marry in order to escape her home and her abusive father. The king is already a paranoid man but when the Pythian Oracle foretells that in the future he will be killed by Danae’s son, he locks her in a cellar in the castle to avoid this from happening. However, through a whole in the room Danae befriends and comes to love a young man which will evidently lead to her pregnancy. Danae’s father ties her on a boat ans casts her away at sea so she can die along with his grandson. But, Danae is rescued by men who take her in and will help her out when Perseus is born.

The next two parts are poignant and show Perseus most villanous side. Because these stories aren’t his to tell and won’t be tainted by his lies. These are Medusa’s and Andromeda’s stories. First we encounter Medusa. Her point of view is always interesting to read about, although painful. As a member of the Gorgons, a group of women who live deep in the woods, she is secluded from the outside world. That is, until the day she meets an injured boy and helps him out. But of course, when she rejects him, he does not take it well… Later on, we meet Andromeda. A sandstorm threatens to destroy her tribe’s way of life and so she sacrifices herself to appease the gods, but a forceful Perseus comes to her “rescue” and the trajectory of her life is changed. It’s so interesting to see Perseus portrayed as someone who persuades everyone into thinking he is a hero who fought against monsters and saved people by hiding the ugly truth of what he really did to these women, not caring at all about their voices.

Lastly, we come back to Danae. Perseus and Andromeda find her again and as they all go back to where the story began the reader will find a surprising conclusion to the Pythian prophecy.

Heywood’s writing does not shy away from portraying the cruelty of what these women went through as members of Greek society. They’re all oppressed and of course, as women who decided to take their fate into their own hands, they suffered a great deal of abuse and trauma. Perseus is just a boy who tried to become a man. As he becomes more obsessed with the promise of his prophecy, the shadow that haunts him casts itself across the three women’s lives leaving a trail of violence behind. Will these three women find a way to reclaim their voices and get themselves a better future?

Heywood also brings a fresh vision of the myth by not relying on the interference of the gods in the story and instead gives it a more realistic point of view. Perhaps this is what makes it more raw and what makes it all the more painful to read; because, sadly, for female readers, some of the events will definitely be easy to empathise with. Each of the women also has distinctive features and cultural beliefs according to the place they grew up in, making it all the more realistic as well since its all set in real and reachable places.

All in all, The Shadow of Perseus is a compelling retelling of the myth of the great hero Perseus. A story about the three women who shaped his life which will reveal a man who might not be a hero at all.

Thank you Netgalley, Claire Heywood and publishers for gifting me a copy in return for my honest review.

3/5

I would like to say that there is nothing wrong with this book it is a great retelling of the tale of Perseus and told from the perspective of the three women in his life. I just feel like there was nothing that grabbed the reader that hadn't been done a dozen times already. I can see what the author was trying to do but there really wasn't anything special about it that would make it memorable to me.

If you haven't read that many retellings with a feminist twist on greek methology then I believe you would really enjoy this book. But for me nothing stood out. I can see what she was trying to do but I missed a lot of the myths that were taken out in favor of more of a historical twist. This just didn't do it for me.

(I received this ARC courtesy of Dutton Books and Netgalley. This is my unbiased review)

The Shadow of Perseus by Claire Haywood is the retelling of the myth and the women that surround the mythic legend of Perseus. I can start by saying that I was quite intrigued by this feminist retelling of the Perseus myth given my background in Greco-Roman mythology and history. I grew up in the age of Clash of the Titans and the cinematic interpretation of Perseus.

In my world Danae and Zeus were the parents of the half-god Perseus, Medusa was a monster, and Andromeda was the princess being terrorized by a sea monster. The Shadow of Perseus throws this whole idea out the window. The monsters become non-existent or are women victimized by the hands of men, and the hero is the monster.

Without giving too much away I can say that the Shadow of Perseus was not what I expected. The story of the Shadow of Perseus is not at all a bad book. You take away the knowledge of the Greek myth and the stories of Danae, Medusa, and Andromeda are enjoyable. However, I am sad to say I was left feeling lacking.

Medusa was always a beloved 'monster' of mine as I truly believed there was more to Medusa then was told in the Greek myths. Unfortunately, while Haywood brings Medusa in her own radiance she leaves her in the dust figuratively and literally. Medusa's portion of the book is just left in a lackluster pit that is never truly fleshed out. The actions of Perseus are not fully addressed or explained, and the final exchange between the pair is just a quick cut that doesn't give Medusa the justice she deserves.

I can say the book will be a pleasure for those first discovering Greek mythology, but for those with a grown admiration for Greek mythology the Shadow of Perseus didn't sit well. The book seems to radiate the ideals of girl power and feminist appeal but then silences all of this at the end with a patient acceptance. At the end there was no strength of a woman acknowledged and the power of all it is to be a woman in a hero world was buried as deep in the sand as the head of Medusa.

To me the book could have used something more. While the story of Danae, Medusa, and Andromeda was welcome with open arms in the end it falls flat and left me wishing for something more. Until next time, happy reading!

DNFed at 35%: The writing was great and I love Greek mythology. I just don't think I was in the right state of mind for the book when I started. Perseus was being so possessive over Danai and it just made me feel icky. BUT I'd be open to revisiting the book later.

A tale of pain, growth, challenges. Superstition and fear of the gods ruled the lands. King of Argos has banished his daughter, Danae because of a prophesy that her male child would kill the king.. Danae was pregnant despite her father keeping her locked away. Left to die in the sea, she ended up being rescued by a ship and taken to a different land. The journey of her life and her boy who wants to be a man has begun. I was a bit irritated that the women were so weak, but the tale of her son Perseus and his determination to be a man was the goal of the tale.

I really wanted to like this book. I'm a sucker for mythology retellings and when I heard this described as a feminist retelling, I was so excited to dig in. In the end, this was an ok book, but not quite for me.

One of my problems was the pacing. This book had moments of fast-pace, but for the most part seemed to drag painfully slow. I was intrigued enough to keep going, but by the end I had to force myself to keep reading at times.

I also wasn't a fan of the ending. While I appreciate that the author was trying to stay close to the actual myth of Perseus, I found myself feeling really unsatisfied by the end.

I didn't hate this book by any means. In fact, there were parts I genuinely enjoyed. But overall, I was a little disappointed. I am still glad I gave it a read though!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Dutton, for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!

The Shadow of Perseus, like Circe or the Song of Achilles, is a take on Greek mythology but from a different perspective. Perseus, instead of being seen as a hero, is a mama's boy and a bully, but still in some ways a sympathetic character. The story is told from the perspective of 3 women: his mother, the monster he famously slayed, and the bride he rescued. In this version, there is more to these stories, and it is told from a feminist angle.