Title: Dark of The Moon
Author: Tracy Barrett
Publication Date: September 11, 2011
Published By: Harcourt Children's Books
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
*This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
Summary
Ariadne is destined to become a goddess of the moon. She leads a lonely life, filled with hours of rigorous training by stern priestesses. Her former friends no longer dare to look at her, much less speak to her. All that she has left are her mother and her beloved, misshapen brother Asterion, who must be held captive below the palace for his own safety.
So when a ship arrives one spring day, bearing a tribute of slaves from Athens, Ariadne sneaks out to meet it. These newcomers don’t know the ways of Krete; perhaps they won’t be afraid of a girl who will someday be a powerful goddess. And indeed she meets Theseus, the son of the king of Athens. Ariadne finds herself drawn to the newcomer, and soon they form a friendship—one that could perhaps become something more.
Yet Theseus is doomed to die as an offering to the Minotaur, that monster beneath the palace—unless he can kill the beast first. And that "monster" is Ariadne’s brother . . .
My Thoughts
Before I wrote this review I looked up Minotaur mythology to compare to this book, I wanted to see if the stories were the same or if it was a re-invention of the story. From what I can tell, (and I am definitely not an expert) they are pretty close with only a few variations.
I've always found mythology confusing and hard to sort through but Dark of The Moon was easy to read and totally enjoyable. The story is told from the POV's of Ariadne, the "Minotaur's" sister and Theseus, the king of Athens' son. I got swept up in the ancient world of these characters really quickly and enjoyed it more than I thought. Dark of The Moon didn't focus so much on the Minotaur as I thought but more on Ariadne and her struggles with becoming a woman and "She-Who-Will-Be-Goddess". As well as Theseus and his coping with being sent a away as a sacrifice. It also cast a more flattering light on the Minotaur and had a much happier ending. The only thing I can complain about and it's totally minor is the constant use of "She-Who-Will-Be-Goddess" and "She-Who-Is-Goddess" in reference to Ariadne and her mother Pasiphae. As a whole the story was great, it's even got me more interested in Greek mythology, so if that's your forte then I definitely recommend.
Before I wrote this review I looked up Minotaur mythology to compare to this book, I wanted to see if the stories were the same or if it was a re-invention of the story. From what I can tell, (and I am definitely not an expert) they are pretty close with only a few variations.
I've always found mythology confusing and hard to sort through but Dark of The Moon was easy to read and totally enjoyable. The story is told from the POV's of Ariadne, the "Minotaur's" sister and Theseus, the king of Athens' son. I got swept up in the ancient world of these characters really quickly and enjoyed it more than I thought. Dark of The Moon didn't focus so much on the Minotaur as I thought but more on Ariadne and her struggles with becoming a woman and "She-Who-Will-Be-Goddess". As well as Theseus and his coping with being sent a away as a sacrifice. It also cast a more flattering light on the Minotaur and had a much happier ending. The only thing I can complain about and it's totally minor is the constant use of "She-Who-Will-Be-Goddess" and "She-Who-Is-Goddess" in reference to Ariadne and her mother Pasiphae. As a whole the story was great, it's even got me more interested in Greek mythology, so if that's your forte then I definitely recommend.
I'll have to come back and check out your review once I'm done reading this, since I'm about to and don't read reviews that close to reading a book :)
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