Greek mythology based fantasy novel; A Prophecy, a Golden Apple and The Twelve Gods

The premise of the book

(No danger here, spoiler-free zone.)

Meet Danae, a fisherman’s daughter living in the island of Naxos, Greece. With her sister, mother and father. Since we are talking about Greek mythology; the girls go out with their mom, to pay their tribute to the Twelve Gods. These tributes can start from ‘innocent’ bounty of the land and sea; like vegetables, grains, fruits and fishes to end with extreme human sacrifice.

I don’t want to spoil anything so I will just say, what can be mostly read everywhere as a synopsis.

Danae eats a golden apple, prophecies come and go, and she has to embark on a journey to eventually fight the gods. And triumph over them. Your typical fantasy, hero-like journey. 

Daughter of Chaos (bookshop.org)* is the first instalment of the series titled; The Dark Pantheon. It is the debut novel of author A. S. Webb.

My Initial Thoughts – no spoilers

I don’t think this is going to be a deep review as I don’t really have much to say on it. The novel is mainly plot-driven, although there is our main character arc as well. It is not a thick book to read, with its 464 pages it is mostly devourable. I did fly through the pages in the beginning of the novel, then I had a harder time finishing it. 

I’m not sure that this book is the best choice for adult fantasy readers. If you are a young adult, just tipping your toe in the Great Lake of Fantasy and you just want to read something that is action-packed, has a little romance as well then absolutely give it a go. For the most part, I don’t think it was meant for me, as a target audience. I do tend to realise, as I’m reading more books that are published recently, that the reason why these books can’t live up to hype, is because they are not necessarily targeted for the right audience. At least this is what it looks like. I might be completely wrong.

 Or, not categorised accordingly. Orbital by Samantha Harvey is an example of that. Anyone who loves and reads science-fiction was expecting something completely different, even based on the synopsis. This doesn’t mean that Orbital was bad at all, if you know what you are going to dive into, it really blooms and flourishes. 

Anyway, back to the book. 

Ready, Set, Go! – spoilers

I do believe that every book has something to offer, and it has its audience. Daughter of Chaos is no exception. I absolutely loved how the novel started out. I don’t read much Greek mythology based novels but when I do, I tend to absolutely fall in love with them. Circe by Madeline Miller* was one of the last literature loves I had. Still think about it from time to time. So, I was absolutely excited to start Danae’s adventures. 

I loved how the author described the island Naxos, how it was for Danae to live there with her family. Her love of the ocean and swimming. How deeply the author went into the characters. Her mother for example. How she was not so easily loveable at all. How her father was for the most time absent from the family dynamics as he was working day and night as a fisherman. Her sister, her devotion and love for her.

I loved how every chapter was easily readable, things were happening left and right, the plot rolled on like a red carpet. The characters were built up sentence by sentence. We get to experience the mystery, the sinisterity of the twelve gods and their sacrifices. How more serious themes were introduced to the reader, like sexual assault, or ostracism. 

I really enjoyed the first quarter of the book. It was brilliantly done.

I’ve Lost My Steam – spoilers

Then, somehow things were just not clicking for me for the rest of the novel. I was hoping for a little bit more relation and time from certain side characters. And a little bit less from others.

I think my main problem mostly, and it is personal preference, is that I’m a character-driven reader. You can give me the most amazing plot that exists but if I miss the relationship, or the chance to get to know the characters… I feel like there is a huge hole in my chest that hasn’t been filled. This, like everything else here, is just my personal preference. And I usually criticise my own reviews endlessly. So, just keep this in mind when you read this. 

The pace of the book varied quite a lot. There were some actions that had been closed off too quickly, and there were some that dragged along for a tiny bit too long. For the most part, I didn’t have a chance to grieve for certain characters, as the plot was already moving under my feet like a loyal travelator at an airport. 

It felt like the author wanted to give us a little story in each chapter. Which she beautifully did by the way. However, because of this, it felt like there were tiny discrepancies between each of the ‘waves’ of these chapters. Which were reinforcing each other and added up in the end. 

Overall (no spoilers)

I think young adult readers will absolutely love this book. I also think that there is a big chance for the upcoming instalments in the series to elevate this story to a higher level. I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who loves high fantasy, or even someone who would like to think of this novel as capital A, adult fantasy. 

It was a fun read, I enjoyed it for the most part. If I had been younger, probably even more. So do not necessarily take advice from me. I just use my reviews as a way to fight my writer’s block. I’m definitely not a professional critic. 

I would recommend this book to any reader who is: a young adult or likes YA and plot-driven novels. Loves fast action, sprinkled in with a little bit of romance as well. Someone who loves Greek mythology but not necessarily nit-picky with it.