The Song of Achilles

Hardcover, 416 pages

English language

Published Nov. 7, 2012 by Ecco Press.

ISBN:
978-0-06-206061-7
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OCLC Number:
773303923

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4 stars (23 reviews)

Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.

31 editions

Lived up to the hype.

5 stars

One of the rare cases that I absolutely loved a book that I have seen heavily recommended on social medias. This was a fantastic read. I never read The Iliad (and obviously really should, reading more book revolving around the gods would be a fun challenge for next year), so I cannot speak on how it holds up against that. But from my understanding, this is a retelling of the tale from Patroclus' perspective.

The wording was beautiful and there were no wasted moments that were plugged in to elongate the book. Truthfully there was a lot of time that was skipped over to be able to stick to the major moments. I also very much appreciated that the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus was not watered down or skirted around. It was the driving factor behind this book and the story would not have worked without it.

Overall very …

#Gay4Achilles

5 stars

Forbered deg på å gråte mot slutten. Miller setter ord på så mange kjærlighets- og forelskelsesfølelser jeg ikke hadde lagt merke til selv. Fordi alle vet hva som skjer med Akilles til slutt, satt jeg gjennom hele boken og håpet på mer tid, akkurat som Patrokles gjorde. Men jeg angret aldri på å bla om, hver side var en fryd.

Subjects

  • Trojan War
  • Greek mythology
  • Fiction
  • History
  • Trojan War
  • Achilles
  • Patrocles
  • LGBT+
  • Romance
  • Fantasy
  • Mythology

Places

  • Turkey
  • Troy (Extinct city)
  • Greece