Lore
Ratings114
Average rating3.5
Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games vibes....but for adults. And I loved it. The idea of this novel is so awesome and perfect for the fantasy/”new” adult(?) genre I love so much. I love greek mythology and adaptions of it, and Lore provides a fantastical, mature, and entertaining read that I'm blown away at.
The premise of this book sounds very intriguing and compelling. However, the execution of this book could have been better. The world is rich and complex, but most of it is left unshown, it needed more exposition. The information comes in clumps here and there, making it feel like the reader is continually behind on everything, and that would be fine, if the reader learnt that information with the characters, however, that is not the case. Moreover, there are some plot-holes that really do not make any sense, for example, gods are supposed to regain their powers after Agon, yet, they use them all the time DURING the Agon. And then these all-powerful gods are supposedly to so easily be killed by humans. Additionally, if the gods themselves hate each other so much and it is established that being killed by other god is permanent, why even involve humans? Gods could just kill each other and be done with all this, without having to do Agon for thousands of years. Why it takes them until now to understand that they can kill each other? It just makes no sense.
The characters are entirely unmemorable and the romance(s) are boring and mostly told rather than shown. Only one or two characters have very little growth and the rest, unfortunately, has none. The relationship between Lore and Castor is based almost entirely on their prior friendship as children, and so even though some of that friendship is shown, there's almost no connection to their adult interactions now so it reads like instant love coming out of nowhere. It is very hard to be invested in or really care about because there is no development in real time. A friendship with Iro is intriguing and could have had a lot of potential, but is barely covered.
For the whole book there is a mystery surrounding how Castor got his powers. It is revealed only at the very end, when it does not even matter anymore. Additionally, it is revealed in possibly the worst way – a dream.
Aside from two of the gods are also underused, others are mostly left in the background and hardly play any significant role, if any at all. The “villains / bad guys” are all one-dimensioned, being evil for evil's sake, no motivation, nothing. The “last villain” has been redeemed with no explanation, even if it is the whole reason Lore returned to Agon again.
No plot. No discernible story-line. No idea what the end-game was. No big surprises. No huge plot-twists that the reader could not see coming.
Very violent and grapic from the get-go with a bit of brutality in the prose, but it works well from the prologue. Breakneck pace and action in first 30 pages but still somehow develops characters well enough to keep up. Feels like it picks up in the middle of a world already built, but able to pick up references to pieces of a story that hasn't been told yet. Like the duality of ancient Greek Gods in modern NYC, but can get confusing with prose seeming like its set in ancient days but also as it's taking place in the modern world. Oddly, something just didn't seem to grab/click as it went on, which might indicate it was a bit long and overdone at parts. Could also been lacking a little bit of a character to root for or identify or relate to?
“Power does not transform you, it only reveals you.”
Synopsis
Since Ancient Greece, a handful of mortal bloodlines have participated in a game called the Agon. Every seven years, the gods and goddesses of Olympus become mortal for a week and if a mortal kills them, they will gain their power and godly status. At least until the next games. Lore was raised for this life and to compete in these games, but after her family was killed by a rival bloodline she swore to have nothing more to do with it. Now the Agon is on again and Lore is being pulled back in.
“Anger was like a disease to the soul and no aspect of it was more contagious than violence.”
Tropes & Themes
- Deadly competition
- Gods & Demigods
- Greek Mythology
- Vengeance
“I was born knowing how to do three things - how to breathe, how to dream, and how to love you.”
Content Warnings
- Descriptions of murder of children
- Violence
“The exceptional among mortals will always stand alone, for no one in the world was made for their task. Take confidence in that, and let it be poison to your fear.”
My Thoughts
- I found this book gripping from the intrigue of what happened in Lore's past, where the aegis, what happened to Castor and who could be trusted, even as the not-knowing sometimes frustrated me.
- Some of the flashback scenes were hard to read, especially those concerning the deaths of Lore's family.
- Overall the book is quite fast-paced, but although the flashbacks provided the necessary back story and exposition, they interrupted and slowed the pace of the narrative in a way I sometimes found frustrating.
- I enjoyed Cassian & Lore's past and evolving relationship. I appreciated how it wasn't a primary focus of the narrative and it didn't feel misplaced or emphasised over the main plot, which was focused on the Agon and the bloodlines.
- Miles and Van's attraction to each other was very clearly spelt out so I'm not sure why the other characters in the book were so surprised!
“An oath was, after all, a curse you placed on yourself.”
After the mess that was the last book I read, Lore was a much needed breath of fresh air. It truly is the Greek mythology version of hunger games and my younger self was very happy. The ending was almost perfect, though I do wish there was a sequal or even a prequal. I loved the story and it definitely kept me on my toes (looking at you athena). All in all a really nice read
This book is mediocre, at best.
Would have DNF'd if it wasn't for my buddy read.
Me encantó, la mitología griega en este libro es fascinante, la historia está muy padre y lo disfruté mucho
Toen ik de aankondiging voor dit boek zag, kwam het meteen op mijn TBR. Ik moet maar “Griekse mythologie” horen en mijn interesse is gewekt. Maar dan kwamen er steeds maar meer negatieve recensies, waardoor ik echt schrik kreeg om hem te lezen. Onterecht zo blijkt, want ik vond dit boek echt wel goed. De manier waarop de mythologie wordt gebruikt is uniek en uiterst origineel.
Dit boek ik vrij gewelddadig en vaak oneerlijk, wat ik wel passen vind. Een enorm spannend avontuur, dat op een heel hoog tempo wordt verteld. Ja, het boek mocht misschien wat dikker zijn, om nog net een tikkeltje meer betrokken te voelen, maar al bij al vond ik het heel geslaagd.
Ook worden een aantal heel zware, moeilijke thema's op een heel goeie manier aangekaart en behandeld.
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R14KZ1V2U70CBC/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0892548HC
My appreciation of this book followed a bell curve. At first, I was fairly bored with the stock urban fantasy characters - angry, outcast anti-hero, sassy gay sidekick, lost friend from youth - but I became interested in the story midway through with its unusual background, but at the end, I was back to impatience at the cliches and tropes.
So, to begin with, Lore is Melore Perseides of the Bloodline of the hero Perseus. Sometime in the 6th century, nine Olympian gods - who are real, as, apparently, are other pantheons - rebelled against the loss of their believers to the upstart Galilean. Zeus put them down because he's a pluralist kind of god and condemned Ares, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo and the rest of the Olympians other than Hera and Hades to exile from Olympia and the requirement of the “Agon,” where there immortality is stripped for seven days every seven years. During the Agon, anyone who kills a god, takes over as that god, immortality included.
To make matters even more competitive, Zeus recruited the bloodlines of nine Greek heroes to act as hunters of the gods during the Agon. The hunters want to kill the gods so as to bring the god's power under their control for wealth and power during the intervening years.
Lore is the last remaining scion of the Perseus bloodline. When she was 12 years old, her family was slain by the bloodline of the hero Cadmus (the “Kadmeides.”) Worse, the Kadmeides have a “new god,” the successor to Ares, under their control and he intends great things.
We meet Lore as a 19-year-old on the eve of the next Agon in New York City where she is kicking the ass of men in underground boxing matches. She had received training as a warrior, up until she was around 12, which explains why a 19-year-old girl with limited upper body strength can best any male challenger despite the numerous examples of women athletes regularly losing to male to female transgenders.
You go, girl!
She meets her lost friend, Castor, of the line of Achilles. She discovers later that Castor has “ascended” to the position left vacant by Apollo's death. She also is recruited by an injured Athena - who presents as an unlikable character throughout the yarn - to help Athena's cause in return for the promise that Athena will put down the new Ares.
Then, Lore is off and running everywhere - breaking into House Achilles and then House Cadmus. She goes toe to toe with numerous hunters and their best warriors, whom she regularly bests despite not training and being a nineteen-year-old girl. She suffers fatal injuries on two occasions. On one she is helped by Castor's healing powers in his form as the new Apollo.
This is the author's book, but at some point, the over the top girl warrior aspect becomes too much. If she had magical powers or superior training, then maybe it would be fine, but neither apply to Lore. For me, “too much” was reached when Lore was wielding the Aegis against the new Ares. The Aegis wasn't doing too much, but Lore is able to stand up to this godlike warrior and cut off his arm, and go for a draw in wrestling him, all while resenting his male chauvinism. Again, perhaps the example of “transwomen” breaking the jaws of female boxers has jaded me.
I didn't particularly like the stock feminism that comes out at odd moments. Lore chastises Athena with arguments that men are bad, Athena is bad for supporting men, and Athena was wrong for turning the Medusa into a monster (or not, according to Athena) just like they were in the middle of a feminist class consciousness-raising session rather than being hunted by two bloodlines of warriors.
Priorities, people.
Another bit of senseless ideology was the pairing of Lore's sassy gay friend with Castor's best friend, because that friend has been protecting Castor because of an unrequited crush because, obviously, any male relationship has to be sexual for it to be meaningful. Again, this is the author's book, but is it really necessary to have an unnecessary gay romance in every story published after 2020?
The ending turned into a lot of talking and posturing. This is pure stock villain dialogue:
““What use do I have for it now?” he said, glowering at her. “When my victory draws near? I cannot summon him and I will not be able to carry it. From this day on, I will only ever hold a sword.”
Bracken, Alexandra. Lore (p. 526). Disney Book Group. Kindle Edition.
And this was done better elsewhere:
“Lore drove down harder, and saw the moment his eyes widened when she didn't take a stance he recognized, and instead drove her knees down onto his lower stomach, just where his breastplate ended.
“Your biggest mistake was trapping yourself in this city with me,” Lore said.
Bracken, Alexandra. Lore (p. 522). Disney Book Group. Kindle Edition.
I am all for young characters going on their “hero's journey” but this is uniquely snotty. We've seen nothing that indicates that Lore has the ability to take on a god (much less two). This is right up there with Bat Woman's statement that the Bat-suit will be “perfect when it fits with a woman.” Humility and modesty are virtues and make for likable characters, but hey!, You Go, Girl.
I have always been a big fan of mythology, however, I've always found it a bit confusing. With that being said, this book was the perfect book for me! It was so unique and a great take on a modern day Greek mythology.
Many years ago Zeus created the Agon-every 7 years the Gods will walk the earth as mortals for 7 days. And for these 7 days bloodlines of the great heroes of past can hunt them and, if killed, take their immortality and power. Lore is one of the last of her bloodline and has turned away from the very secret world of the hunt after her family was brutally murdered. Now, 7 years later, Lore finds herself being drawn back in after Athena herself comes to her for aid and an old friend, thought dead, returns in her life.
I, unfortunately, have become one of those people that falls asleep every time she starts to read. If that wasn't the case I feel like I would have spent many sleepless nights with this one. There is adventure, betrayal, friendship, romance, and, of course, Greek mythology. The relationships and characters are easy to like and to relate to. Lore is an incredibly strong and intelligent woman and works through her flaws and her self awareness through the span of the book. I love a book with some good character growth!
Overall I would highly recommend this book to those that love fantasy and especially retellings of mythology. Even if you are just a sucker for some strong female leads you will probably enjoy this book!
2.5 Stars
This book wasn't quite what I was hoping for. Firstly, the timeline of this story doesn't make sense to me so it throws off the whole story for me. Due to the flashbacks and dream sequences and just the math of the years spent here and there, the time and the pacing of the story is a little jarring. The whole scene/ memory of France on the Odysseid's estate felt like it was added at a later time and just doesn't seem to fit in the timeline correctly. The character's all had great potential but didn't feel completely fleshed out. I did really like the character growth that we see in Lore, especially at the end.
Loved the premise of the story, but that's it. Ending was very weak.
All in all, it's OK, younger me would've liked it more.
oh my GODS
this book was so fantastic, and being described as “Greek mythology meets hunger games” was VERY accurate
Small warning, this definitely isn't the most accessible book in the world when it comes to the mythological aspect of the story. You need at least a basic understanding of greek mythology to understand and probably a bit of googling, at least I did lol
I'm not entirely sure what to rate this bc it toon a while to get into but the ending just has such a strong effect on me, so maybe 4.5
Some of it went way over my head as I'm not quite used to reading fantasy in English (even YA). Nonetheless, it was a great read. A very interesting and original story.
Great read that completely submerges you into the story! You feel like you're a character on the journey with everyone in the story. Didn't expect there to be any plot twists, let alone these great ones. Author did an excellent job at maintaining the theme without making it feel repetitive.
How have I never read anything by this author? This was such an amazing read. I loved the writing, the characters, and...well everything about this one.
Greek Mythology has been a long-time favorite subject of mine and I'm having a lot of fun reading and falling into these stories.
Will definitely be checking into this author's other books.
4.5* stars
Okay, I truly truly loved this book. It was written so well and all the characters were mysterious, great and just terrifying. Every time I turned a page I was afraid it would turn to hell, reduce to ashes.
The only thing my heart does not agree with is Athena's betrayal in the end and the final chapter itself. I wanted to see and meet Zeus, maybe even a glance at Apollo and Athena who should have found a way to escape the Agon before it officially ended forever. I wanted more than just them becoming mortals in a mere second, but the rest was fantastic and bloody and gosh so much violence.
I loved this book! As a huge fan of Greek Mythology (it's what actually got me into reading), I savoured every single part of this book. The gods, goddesses, the legends and the myths really spoke to my heart.
The plot was amazing and really interesting: the almighty gods and goddesses becoming mortal for 7 days every 7 years in something called the “Agon”, people hunting them for their powers in a different city every Agon, mortals becoming gods. That's “Lore” in a few words.
I loved the characters and how they protected each other, I screamed at the plot twists and things I wasn't expecting, I devoured every single page of this book and I couldn't put it down. It was definitely a 5 star read for me and I'm sad it's a stand-alone. I need more, even though this book didn't leave me hanging. I just want to see more of these amazing characters and this crazy world.
2.5 stars
This book was underwhelming, I was expecting much more.
The premise is amazing and exciting but the execution... not so much.
The characters were underdeveloped and some events felt too convenient.
The story is told through Lore's POV and it might have been better for character development if there were multiple POVs. It felt like the story was unbalanced if that makes sense.
Some aspects of it were very creepy.
I did enjoy the flashbacks that gave us glimpses of Lore's past. The fight scenes were really good and I was curious how it would all end.
There are a lot of trigger warnings, so beware of that if you want to read it.
TWs: murder (including children); rape/sexual assault; loss of loved ones; grief; terminal illness; misogyny; abuse; gore; graphic violence; pedophilia; slavery.