“You are the fire that burns within my heart. There is room for no other. When I die, it will be your name upon my lips”
It took me way too long to get to this sequel in my TBR, and I have been absolutely so ready to get there. Rise of Princes is the follow-up to Song of Sacrifice (my review here), a re-telling of the Trojan War, with a strong emphasis on telling the story from the perspective of the lesser known characters.
The Battle of Troy has begun. The Greek armies swell on the shores and they by begin raiding and taking local cities on their way to conquer Troy. The greed and selfishness of Menelaus reigns over the armies. There are also familiar faces on the battlefield. There’s Odysseus, reluctant for war and keen to be back in Ithaca with his wife and young son. Patrokles, steadfast and loyal to the Myrmidons, and Achilles, the greatest warrior of his time.
“War brought men gold and honour, but for women, it brought only grief and sorrow.”
In particular, I loved reading the tenderness between Hector and Hecuba balanced against the marriage of Mynes and Briseus, contrasted against Briseus’ later relationship with Achilles. Janell Rhiannon has a fine talent for exploring complex social relationships in the backdrop of Troy. I had to continuously remind myself that I may not always agree with how the women in this book are treated or talked about, but that is likely also reflective on the role of women of that period and the realities of women caught in war – where rape, abuse and violence does occur. Its difficult to read, but I understand why this wasn’t shied away from in Rhiannon’s research of the period.
Rise of Princes strongest drawcard is in its exploration of the roles of women through the lens of The Battle of Troy; a war long seen as male-dominated. In Song of Sacrifice, we read the complexity of women caught in the roles deigned by kings, brothers and husbands. In Rise of Princes, we read further into the female experience of war and the balance of femininity, motherhood, childlessness as the women of Greece and Troy are caught in the webs of war, and live in a society where they have little means or rights to act, all while the gods look on.
“There is no greater warrior than a mother protecting her children. No greater heart.”
That is not to say any of the women in this series are meek. The women are warriors as much as their male counterparts; its just that their war doesn’t take place on a battlefield. We continue reading Clytemnestra’s hate for Agamemnon and her quest for vengeance; Penelope safeguarding Ithaca for Odysseus’ return and the spurn of war as history repeats itself first with Thetis and Achilles and now, Deidamia and Neoptolemus as Achilles’ son is dragged into life as a warrior.
“I will take Troy. By fire, by blood… I will not leave this land until I have razed that fucking city to the ground, or I am burned to ashes before its Great Wall.”
The Battle of Troy is heating up in all the ways I wanted it to. What I love is that this is not just a series about war, there’s a strong line on the role of women in war throughout and the lesser characters that you’ve never understood or seen so powerful. This is a take on Troy that a lover of Greek Mythology and history must read. I can’t wait to pick up Rage of Queens.
Content warning: this book does contain many references to abuse and rape and may be triggering for some.
