Fit for the Gods

June 15, 2023
Greco-Roman epics live again in this intriguing anthology of retellings from diverse authors. In the introduction to their first anthology as an editing duo, Northington and Williams invoke childhoods spent with d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths, and that affection is clearly shared with the 15 writers who transform stories of the Greek and Roman pantheons across lines of race, gender, sexuality, and genre in this collection, with mixed but often captivating results. Many of the strongest entries take the biggest risks regarding style and setting and prioritize examination of a theme over strict adherence to every plot point in the source material. Sarah Gailey's "Wild To Covet," which has a kinship with the stranger interludes in the Coen Brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? places Thetis' journey from wild girl to wife and mother of Achilles (here, "Esau") in American folklore. With admirably efficient storytelling and evocative prose, Gailey interrogates who and what is untameable. Who and what is capable of love is at the heart of another standout: Alyssa Cole's poignant and richly imagined SF Hades and Persephone reinvention, "Stasis (Bastion in the Spring)." In a nice editorial touch, both "Stasis" and the stunning story that follows it, Taylor Rae's "The Eagles at the Edge of the World," concern themselves with the aftermaths of climate apocalypses--in the latter, a girl who's one-quarter Kumeyaay is our Aeneas, attempting to find a new homeland with her mother in a flooded world. While not all the contributions are of the same caliber, the anthology ends in a blaze of glory thanks to Maya Deane's incandescent "No Gods, No Kings," which chronicles the Amazon queen Murina's contribution to the fall of the Titans. A collection of impressive breadth that will reward the mythically minded.

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July 1, 2023

Regenerated gods and monsters share their secrets on a talk show. A Hades and Persephone romance plays out on an Earth ravaged by ecological devastation. Trans oracle Tiresias navigates a house party and the other guests' preoccupations with gender. These stories and more fill this anthology. Greek myth retellings are popular, and this time- and genre-spanning collection brings an antipatriarchal twist to the trend with stories from authors across genres, including Mia P. Manansala, Valerie Valdes, and Alyssa Cole. Many stories highlight women sidelined or left unknown or unheard in the original myths, such as Sarah Gailey's "Wild To Covet," granting Thetis agency around her prophesied son, or Marika Bailey's "Trembling Aspen; Or, To Shiver," Daphne's breathtaking manifesto after becoming a tree. Also among the many standouts in this collection are "The Eagles at the Edge of the World" by Taylor Rae (a take on Aeneas and Dido where two Kumeyaay women flee rising waters to rebuild their nation) and "A Heart Inured to Suffering" by Jude Reali, a spacefaring take on Odysseus. The retellings' variety ensures there's plenty to enjoy. VERDICT This collection should please Greek myth fans who want to approach familiar stories from a queer, feminist perspective. Recommended.--Erin Niederberger

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2023
The editors credit Bulfinch and d'Aulaire with sparking their love of ancient myths, and in this collection they aim to give a more varied breadth of voices to the telling. The book opens with Zoraida C�rdova's talk show style confessional, in which the characters of Greek (and Roman) mythology navigate the unfamiliar modern world, and closes with Maya Deane's story of an Amazon empire. Sarah Gailey's satisfyingly feral "Wild to Covet" focuses on Thetis more commonly known for being the mother of Achilles. Penelope appears not as a patient weaver, but as a potter. Hades and Persephone, their relationship reimagined as a modern romance, make multiple appearances, once, in a postapocalyptic wasteland where Hades is a mechanical guardian of what's left of Earth's living beings. The stories play with setting, gender, family relationships--all the dynamics one expects given the source material, if not necessarily in its accustomed forms. These tales all feel rooted in the present zeitgeist, and they provide entertainment and windows into how ancient myths can fit into modern narratives.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.