Cassandra

Starred review from November 1, 2013
The fall of Troy as viewed by participants in the horrors. Cassandra and her twin brother, Eleni, the children of King Priam and Queen Hecube of Troy, are a priestess and priest of Apollo the sun god. When a bored Aphrodite makes a wager with Apollo for a golden apple, the lives of Cassandra and Achaean healer Diomenes, called Chryse, are forever changed as they become pawns of the gods. Cassandra is cursed with the gift of prophecy. She cannot tell what she knows about the future of Troy. While Cassandra is growing and learning in Troy, Chryse is becoming a gifted healer whose life is forever changed when he is called upon to treat his first love, Elene of Sparta, the most beautiful woman in the world. Though she's married to Menelaus, Elene is nevertheless sought by many powerful men, and a war will soon be fought over her. When Elene runs off to Egypt with Cassandra's arrogant brother Pariki, the Achaeans have the perfect excuse to declare war on Troy even though they know that the Trojans would gladly have given her up had she not remained in Egypt. Under the excellent leadership of Cassandra's brother Hector, the Trojans withstand a long siege while the Achaeans are picked off by disease and useless forays. Cassandra and Chryse meet when he rescues her twin and returns him to Troy. What the Achaeans cannot achieve by battle, they achieve by following a plan conceived by the clever Odysseus. The second in Greenwood's Delphic Women series (Medea, 2013) offers a far different premise on a familiar story, crammed with well-researched detail, fascinating characters and erotic scenes.

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November 1, 2013

Aphrodite and Apollo are bored up on Mount Olympus, so they devise a test to see if mortal love is stronger than death and loss. It is on this conceit that Greenwood's second book in her Delphic Woman trilogy (after Medea) is based. Told in the parallel voices of Cassandra, Trojan princess and prophetess, and Diomenes, Achaean peasant and healer, this story follows both characters' lives leading up to the Trojan War. Diomenes is particularly fascinating, as he meets many famous mythological figures and also studies medicine. Greenwood deftly portrays her protagonists' growth as they face loss, pain, and death. VERDICT Originally published in 1995 in Australia, this is an intriguing take on Greek myth, particularly when looking at the culture of the ancient Greeks. But mythology purists may be disappointed with some of Greenwood's departures. An extremely violent, highly sexualized depiction of ancient Greece, this novel is at its best when describing cultural and historical details including medicine and festivals. Definitely a change of pace from Greenwood's delightfully cozy "Phryne Fisher" mysteries, it may appeal to readers who enjoyed Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles.--Katie Lawrence, Chicago

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