Jim Dozier

The authors research was impressive and she developed the characters from the Iliad and Oddessy beautifully. I believe she used too much ‘license’ in the portrayal of Patroclus and Achilles. Patroclus is portrayed as useless as a warrior and most definitely the feminine side of their love affair. Yet he becomes a wild killer on the battlefield killing hundreds including the giant. There is no evidence he could even drive a chariot much less throw a spearheaded . Achilles may have been gay or bi-sexual in the Greek novels but it seemed over played in this book. The purity of some women was paramount while others were just “bed-slaves”. I felt I was reading a modern day fairy tale- maybe that is just what the author wanted. Just seemed a lot of inconsistencies to me. Thoughts from the dead Patroclus weren’t particularly interesting.