Genre: Mythology, Fantasy
Release Date: August 17th 2014
Source: Copy in exchange for an honest review
Overall Rating: 5/5 Stars
Cover Rating: 4/5 Stars
Synopsis: Before he knew the Oracle.
Before he knew the Quad.
Before the Great Unknown threatened his world.
He was a hero, cursed forever.
Shunned by a family that doesn't understand him, demigod Lenka Tahile aka "Swindle" is a complete loner and he likes it that way. Then he meets the hero, Ace Remedy, the brother of an infamous demigod Prince, and his life goes from bad to worse. Ace is loud, rude, and disruptive to his peaceful existence in every way. He's also hilarious and daring, and Swindle ends up finding a friend just when he thought he'd never have another.
But little does he know, becoming friends with Ace was all part of the Fates' plan. Now his past is slowly coming back to haunt him and there's nothing he can do to stop it. Nothing but try not to bring to light the lost love, the failed hopes, and the cursed existence that he would kill to keep in the dark.
First Line: Summer Solstice break was over, forums had resumed, and all I could hope for was that I wouldn't slit anyone's throat before the say was over.
When I got an email from Diantha requesting a review of this book I almost jumped for joy. Anyone who has followed my blog for a while will know that I absolutely love the Oracle of Delphi series and also really enjoyed the first of the Mythos novellas therefore it is an understatement to say that I was excited to read this. At first I had difficulty with this book as it had been so long since I had read the others and couldn't remember everything but after a few pages I reconnected with the series enough to be able to remember most of the events. I personally think that is the mark of a really great series, there are so many that I have had to abandon because I couldn't remember what had happened previously in the series. Luckily that was not the case with Hero, Cursed.
The characterisation of the Oracle of Delphi series has always been one of the strongest I've come across. I really love all of the characters from the humans to the demigods to the actual gods. They're all so realistically flawed and therefore very easy to identify with. This novella exemplifies this by exploring the character of Lenka aka Swindle. In the main series Lenka fascinated me, he was so tormented and mysterious. Not Strafford-tormented but close. I was so excited to see that this novella was from his point of view for this reason and I was not let down. I was really hoping for a real plot twist to explain why Swindle is the way he is and Diantha did not disappoint. Normally I can predict this kind of thing but I was really surprised, there were some things I had already guessed from the original series but the majority caught me off guard. I feel like after reading this novella I understand the character of Swindle better, I liked him before of course but now that has been hugely magnified. The characters I already loved didn't appear much in this one but the glimpses I did get satisfied me for now.
I loved how mythology based this series is, a lot of books are based upon one myth and revolve around it only. This novella in particular incorporates so much mythology! References included Jason and the Argonauts, Medea, Odysseus, Calypso - they didn't all have big main parts but the name-drops themselves really made the book special. Also, after studying Classical Civilisation at A-Level I finally began to feel like that qualification had real life applications like everyone promised it would. As long as I can get mythological references I am happy!
I really loved this insight into the mind of Lenka and absolutely cannot wait for the the next novel or novella in the series - I don't care which comes first, I just need my Oracle of Delphi fix as soon as possible. I really miss the character who we didn't see much of! My love for Ace is still as strong as ever! I have kept all spoilers for both the main Oracle of Delphi series and the Mythos novella series because I really want you guys to read them for yourself, you won't regret it, I promise! Tell me whether you like the look of the series and any other views you may have!
Best Quote
"We weren't spying," I said. "We were observing."
"Same thing," the Naiad holding Ace by the cuirass said.
"No, it's not," he replied. "Spyin' is wha' idiot fellas do when they don ' t want a pretty wan to know they're lookin' at her. We have absolutely no issues with openly starin' at you and expressin' how much we like wha' we see."
"Nice, Remedy," I mumbled with admiration.
"Then why were you hiding in the lotus flowers?"
"We were jus' waitin' for you to come find us." Ace flashed a grin. "Hide. And. Seek."
To sway you further towards reading it check out my reviews of the rest of the series below.
Prophecy of the Most Beautiful (Oracle of Delphi #1)
Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise (Oracle of Delphi #2)
Solar, Defeated (Oracle of Delphi #2.5/ Mythos #1)
Prophecy of Solstice's End (Oracle of Delphi #3)
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