I've changed my rating on this book so many times in the week since I picked it up, but for now at least I'm settling on 3 stars.

There were aspects that I really liked of this book. This take on The Illiad changes up a lot from the traditional beats of the myth, but I enjoyed that the changes made me think a lot about how myths evolve and how we perceive ancient culture in modern times. I liked the inclusion and added layers of all the cultures because I think too often "Ancient Greece" is thought of as a monolith that encompasses all of the societies on the Mediterranean. And I thought the portrayal of the gods was really fascinating.

I also liked the exploration of womanhood in the novel. Achilles is an angry bisexual trans woman, and she is super messy and unlikeable but there is something compelling about her. And the conversations around Achilles' divine transformation compared to the other trans characters who were not given the same treatment was interesting. There are content warnings for heavy transphobia.

All that being said, I struggled to get through this book. I don't know if it was the writing style or the pacing or if it was my headspace but I found this book a bit of a chore to get through and I didn't overly enjoy the reading experience. I did switch to the audio part way through and I found the narration was helpful in following along, but just when I thought I was getting into a groove there were some plot twists that immediately threw me off again. And I'm very unsure of how I feel about the ending.

Overall, I think this book is a remarkable achievement and it will be a hit if it can find it's correct audience; however, I think the comp to Madeline Miller misleading. The only thing that really connects this to Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles is the source material, but the scope and intentions of the retellings are vastly different.

The Trojan War has been retold many times in books, films, plays. Deane's tale is a refreshing and wholly unique reimagining of Achilles' adventures. I was enthralled from the first page. Deane has a knack for imagery and picking the exact right detail to bring a scene to life. The battles were exhilarating but my favorite scenes were the intimate, quiet moments between two friends. The power of women's friendship is center stage and I am here for it.

Wrath Goddess Sing is an epic reimagining of the Trojan War that moved and inspired me. Through the thrilling adventures of Achilles and Deane's gorgeous and vivid prose, the experiences of trans people were brought to life for me in a way I've never read before. The story was both an intimate portrait of a woman fighting to be at home in her own body and society as well as a celebration of friendship.

4.5 stars

I read The Song of Achilles forever ago and thought that it was just okay. My big problem with it is how it softens the horrors of war and the actions of the characters to focus on the love story. Wrath Goddess Sing does not give you the luxury of ignoring the setting or the conflict. This is a book, if you couldn’t guess based on the title, driven by anger. Achilles’ rage at others’ perceptions of her gender, her upbringing, the gods, Helen…the list goes on. While no one in this book is a good person, per se, they are all extremely compelling. Deane’s rendition of Helen is so much more interesting than any that I’ve read before; she is immortal, beautiful, cruel, and has so much more agency than she’s been afforded before. The relationship between Achilles and Helen is the most charged in the book.

Deane reimagines a lot of the relationships in the Iliad in Wrath Goddess Sing. Patroklos and Achilles are not romantically involved in this (so if you are looking for The Song of Achilles, this book is not for you). I thought initially that this would disappoint me, but their relationship is so strong and thoughtfully done, as is Achilles’ relationship with Meryapi, Patroklos’ wife. And now I have to talk about Meryapi briefly. I LOVED Meryapi. The Iliad is 10000 times better with an Egyptian sorceress who can speak to dolphins. Though the focus of WGS isn’t on romantic or sexual relationships, Deane does remind us of Achilles’ queerness and how it shapes her identity.

My only substantial criticism of the book is about the clarity. Clearly, Deane has done a ton of research into cultural crossover in the Mediterranean and she depicts this in WGS. I think Deane is incredibly smart in this area, but I am unfortunately not as smart, and was often confused. Often gods will be called by multiple names, because Deane is depicting how people often worshiped the same concept with a different name, but I had trouble keeping all of the different names straight.

All in all, a really fantastic book. I look forward to seeing what else Deane does!

The writing is funny and witty and lyrical, but the story wasn't my cup of tea. I do appreciate how authentic the writing is. She does a really good job of capturing the struggle that Achilles goes through.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC.

I was so incredibly excited to read this book, as a transgender classics student - but I came away more than disappointed. Wrath Goddess Sing styles itself as a transfemme retelling of the Iliad with a rooting in real historical culture, and yes, technically, this is what I got. However, the rooting in historical culture made the world borderline inaccessible to someone who hasn't studied classics (e.g. Hittites instead of Trojans, the transliterated Greek names that look nothing like their anglicised common usages today). Whilst there is a Lot to be said for exploring what history is really like, one must remember that the audience reading this is 21st century, with 21st century knowledge, and thus dropping them into a historical world that they have no recognition of makes it inaccessible.

Second, although I know the author herself is transfemme, Achilles was incredibly badly handled. Within a couple of chapters this character transitioned medically (or divinely, as it were) and from then on her conflicts with herself and with the men of the Greek army seemed to be about them thinking a woman should not be a warrior. Before, the issue was transphobia - after, the issue was misogyny. She was treated, essentially, as cis, with an uncomfortably biologically essentialist stance on the validity of gender identity.

Furthermore, as a classics student, I had many issues. Why be so adamant in being faithful to the cultural context, but dismiss and warp all the mythological aspects? The nature of the gods, of Helen, the lineage of Achilles and Athena etc. I also could not stomach anything between Achilles and Agamemnon.

This is not even touching on the racism, the unexpected traumatic pregnancy, the badly handled transmasc character, and the fact that Achilles seemed to have very little personality besides hot-headedness.

The only saving grace of this book was the first chapter, which was intriguing and well-written, and the added character of Meryapi.

Wow - I have so many thoughts on this book! The plot and worldbuilding lost me slightly, it's a retelling of the Trojan War, but with many changes from the normal books like the inclusion of Amazonians and a large chunk set in Egypt. I really enjoyed those elements (also not a classicist, have not read the Iliad) because they added some real flavour. The writing was absolutely gorgeous, and I learned a lot.

The characters were so fascinating, I wanted to be in all of their heads and I will definitely continue to read from Maya Deane!

This book is not good!

So I was really intrigued by the premise of this book there is definitely support in the original myth to read that Achilles in trans. In the original myth he goes to an island and hides out to avoid war. He avoids detection by dressing as a woman.

In this retelling we start on said island where Achilles admits that they’re trans and this island has special herbs that makes her look womanly. She is found (just like the original myth by Odysseus). She leaves her lover for war and meets up her her best friend Patroculous and who married an Egyptian. This is the part of the book that’s starts to stray from the original myth.

Anyway, I like a good retelling that strays so that’s not an issue. My complaints come in with the fact that a lot of names used throughout this book for people in the myth and gods are not their actual names/not common knowledge so it ends up being a distraction. We also get a ton of qualifiers for every god each time that it becomes so frustrating to read (especially when some of them are made up/lesser known).

My other frustrating is the made up words for bottom and the f word slur for gays and a made up greek word for trans. I say these are made up because I looked them up online and couldn’t find them—if they are indeed made up a glossary with such terms would have been beneficial. But honestly including words that ancient Greeks wouldn’t have used or even thought of was also jarring to read.

I think the point was to do a queer retelling that reclaimed the myth and also brought it into modern times, but it fell short. The book is also too long probably should be about 100 pages shorter.

I hope someone else tries to retell Achilles through a trans POV because it’s a great idea it just wasn’t done well here.

I have had a lifetime love of Greek mythology and legend, which led to my study of the subject in university. I devour the stories and re-imaginings that have hit mainstream publishing, and I'm really finding the push to highlight the feminine component of these myths refreshing.

Maya does a really good job of highlighting the small parts of Achilles' mythos. In stories, it is said that Achilles hid as a woman on Skyros - taking some creative liberty, the author developed this from a machination for hiding identity to letting it be the start of where Achilles' identity flowers into full trans representation.

Sexuality in Ancient Greece was fluid. After all, the Greeks are the ones who developed the mythos of hermaphrodites, the concept of pederasty (aka boy love) most famously depicted by Zeus and Ganymede, and the belief that the word lesbian was derived by the actions and existence of women-love on the island of Lesbos. Even in modern times, Greece has been liberal on their stance for same-sex relationships and activities, having legalized these acts since 1951.

For the most part, the story was rooted heavily in the events of the Trojan War. The abduction of Helen of Sparta, wife of Menelaus. The arrival of the Greeks on the shores of modern-day Turkey. The intense rivalry between Hector and Achilles, and Hector's subsequent defeat and humiliation. The involvement of the Amazons.

There are a lot of freedoms taken with the text, and at times the blending of stories and peoples in the Trojan mythos. As a person who studied this, some I could see as being a convincing reasoning (ie Achilles' existence on Skyros) and others kind of rubbed me the wrong way. The biggest issue I had was the fusing of Andromache, wife of Hector, and Andromache, a lesser known Amazon. The author decided to emphasize the close friendship between Achilles and Patroclus, instead of highlighting the rumoured homosexual relationship they had. Other characters sexual identities were swapped (Briseis and Deidamia), and some relationships (Achilles and Agamemnon) were fabricated based on the author's portrayal of Achilles as a woman made flesh.

The author was very good at drawing parallels between the gods and goddesses of other beliefs. For example, Aphrodite is the common Greek goddess of love, but she is Hathor in the Egyptian pantheon, Astarte in the Canaanite pantheon, and Ishtar in the Babylonian pantheon. There were times where I felt like the equivalencies were used excessively, with it being mentioned each time a deity took to the page. This was similar to the practice of outlining the parties in specific scenes, which caused it to come across in a similar biblical fashion as the way lineage is portrayed in the Old Testament of the bible.

Otherwise, it was fairly easy to follow the premise of the story. There were times when sentence structure was fractured, leading to long descriptions of events and people. Some factual information was stretched - such as Achilles' horse becoming seasick and vomiting, despite the fact that horses do not have the ability to vomit.

This is a great liberal depiction and view of the events of the Trojan War and how the culture of Greece impacted those that were less willing to be involved. Achilles, both in myth and in this book, was hesitant to join the Trojan War, but it was prophesized to Odysseus that they would factor into the success of the Greeks on the battlefield - even upon his demise.

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for the chance to read this book, and to the author for bringing her own truth to the pages. This would be a good read for those that enjoy mythology (Greek or otherwise), Song of Achilles, and the bold representation of trans stories in literature - and why not join in at thumbing your nose at social convention? It's time to celebrate diverse stories.

After reading through several reviews and discussions on the racism in this book, I will not be reading and reviewing Wrath Goddess Sing. Being queer does not absolve you from including racism in your book. If the author is changing so many other things in the world they're writing, why would the author include enslaving people?

What's the point of writing a retelling or reimagining if you're not trying to make the world you're writing in better?

Deane changes our perception of what we believe happened in old times. It’s her true story of Achilles, one of the most fabled warriors of all time – and she’s a remarkable woman.

You read correctly. In WRATH GODDESS SING Achilles is not a man. She is a woman who was born in the body of a man but becomes a woman physically through the power of a goddess. A women who becomes a legend on the battlefield before Troy.

It goes back even further in time than most retellings. With her words, Deane brings back to life a world in which the archaic and passionate character traits of the gods are also reflected in their appearance: the goddesses have claws, feathers and teeth and the whole story is full of blood and violence, but also full of heartbreak and courage. I particularly liked the fact that Egyptian culture also plays a role.

Achille's sister-in-law comes from there. Through the clever move to make Achilles a woman (or rediscover the person as a woman), Deane puts many familiar elements of the narrative in a new light. As a result, their retelling also offers a lot of readers something excitingly new.

I highly enjoyed this unusual retelling. Deane did a lot of research for this.

Retracting initial feedback, upon reflection amid critique of aspects of the book from Black readers (both trans and cis). Regardless of “historical” context, the passages in question are hurtful and do nothing to interrogate the issues of race and racism or slavery.

Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane follows in the footsteps of other retellings of Greek Myths telling a well known story from a different angle. This time, the story of Achilles and Patrokolos is told from Achilles POV but with one major difference: This time Achilles is a trans-woman who the goddes Athena transforms into her ideal female form. While Achilles is called back to the Trojan war she joins the men as a woman fighting the same battles.

In my opinion this is one of the more creative retellings not only because of the unique gender-bend but also because it stays true to the brutality of Greek Myth. This book does not shy away form going into gory detail about the battles, sex and birth, allowing an exploration of the true pain of this war. I recommend this book if you’re ready to face those themes and love Greek Myths as much as me.

Thank you to William Morrow for providing an e-Arc of Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane for my review.

*thank you to hccfrenzy for a copy in exchange for an honest review*

I’m a massive classical studies fan, and mythology is such a huge interest for me. I have my own Greek and Roman mythology section in my personal library. The chapters that I did read (I think 4?), I absolutely LOVED. I love a good trans MC, and Achilles is amazing. I bought a finished copy as soon as I started reading this arc. I knew I would love it and I can’t wait to finish this!! Definitely a 4 or 5 star read!

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start just with wow, this book. I was very intrigued by the idea of a well-known mythological hero being portrayed as a trans woman and I thought it was so fascinating. It opened up so many topics of discussion and the whole community of kallai who Achilles stayed with and helped her with it. This book was a little difficult for me to follow along at points but the parts that intertwined with the Trojan War were some of my favorites. I also loved the inclusion of the Egyptian characters and the sorceress as well! All in all, a good read and the representation was absolutely amazing, definitely recommend!

Love all the queer & trans rep! A well imagined retelling of Helen of Troy, Achilles, and Patroklos. Magic, love, friendships, just *chef's kiss*!

- It's queer screaming time, because holy forking shirtballs, this book! Feminine rage! Power! Love! Deeply rooted queerness! WRATH GODDESS SING exceeded my high expectations and I need everyone to read it.
- I think it will probably help to have some knowledge of Greek mythology, as there are a lot of names and references to other events thrown around. However, it's not a straightforward retelling of the story of the Trojan War. The bones of the story are there, but many events and relationships have been changed to fit this framework.
- The prose of this book is a bit dense, often flowery, and there are a lot of gruesome battle scenes, all of which I know will put some readers off. For me, military influenced fantasy usually takes me forever to get through, but despite all these things, I found myself immediately fully immersed, and I absolutely could not put it down.
- I simply cannot stop thinking about Achilles. Her staunch belief in herself, her fiery rage, her impulsiveness, her intensity, her blooming godhood, her boundless love. Ugh, I already want to reread this!

I wanted to love this SO MUCH but it was just so dry. It read like your typical basic adult fiction and didn’t have proper pacing (everything just dragged!). I was so excited for this premise but am sadly leaving disappointed.

WRATH GODDESS SING is a fierce, visionary novel that reimagines the demigod Achilles as a trans woman. There is so much that can be said about this novel. It’s richly researched, a gorgeous blend of raw humanity and mystical divinity, an evisceration of the Greek panoply of gods, chock-full of gripping battle sequences, and a gut-wrenching story of love and found family. Above all else, though, is Deane’s Achilles, a brash, stubborn, and utterly fearless woman who takes on the gods with single-minded determination. I absolutely loved this version of Achilles and the other powerful trans and queer characters in this story. It feels like Deane asked herself, “why can’t everyone be trans” and went from there, and I am here for it. The tight-knit unit that Achilles creates with her cousin, Patroclus, and his wife the Egyptian princess/sorceress Meryapi is beautiful; I love how they love Achilles not in spite of her impulsive confidence but because of it. I don’t want to spoil too much but the power of love between trans people, especially between trans women, shines so strongly here, as does the feral potency of both war and childbirth. There’s also a pair of sassy horse friends, horny talking dolphins, and steamy threesome with Agamemnon - what more could you want?! There were a few things that didn’t work as much for me personally - I got a little lost in all the deity stuff at times, and there certainly was a lot of war - but that doesn’t stop me from whole-heartedly recommending this. Thanks to William Morrow Books for the review copy!

Content warnings: homophobia, transphobia, bullying, misgendering, gender dysphoria, sexism/patriarchy, slavery, suicidal ideation, war, many types of violence and death, animal death, infant death

DNF at 34%

Honestly, I don’t have much to say about this because I just don’t find it interesting. This is one of those books that very prose focused, and I just genuinely don’t care to continue.

Thank you to the publisher, William Morrow, and HCC Frenzy for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Achilles has been hiding on Skyros among the kallai, living as a woman ever since she fled her cruel Myrmidon clan. When war is declared against the Hittites and Odysseus arrives to recruit ‘Prince’ Achilles, she chooses to die rather than be forced back to a life she doesn’t want, to fight as a man, but Athena, her divine mother, intervenes and grants her the woman’s body she has always wanted. And so Achilles goes to war. But as she becomes ever more entangled in the battles, she learns that it is the hand of the bloodthirsty gods behind it all. Their power fuelled by human sacrifices from wars over centuries, they have woven terrible schemes to make things fall into place and grow stronger. The cruel immortal sorceress Helen is at the center of it all and marks Achilles as a worthy foe, aiming to destroy everyone she holds dear in pursuit of a final battle with her. The war will not end until one of them is dead, and Achilles must be careful who she chooses to trust.

Wrath Goddess Sing was a magnificent retelling of Achilles’ tale and the Trojan War where Achilles is a trans woman, a demigod daughter of Athena. Somehow, this book completely slipped my notice when I was putting together my TBR for the year, but after seeing it on HCC Frenzy’s Summer Preview a couple of months ago, I knew I had to pick it up. I know a fair bit of Greek mythology, it being one of my favorite subjects for a retelling, but I’ve never come across something quite like this before. The key elements of the story are still there and as the book progresses, it becomes easier to pick out recognizable events and plotlines, but the way some of the other mythologies and cultures are woven in, particularly the gods’ stories, where the complex dynamics took some time to make sense of, were simply stunning. It takes the plot to some rather unexpected places for a retelling of the Iliad and it was so much fun to follow along with this epic version of an epic tale – this was the Trojan War unlike anything I could have ever imagined! I feel however, it would be a mistake to compare this to The Song of Achilles. The very interpretation of the two books are so far apart that going into this with similar expectations would result in a very disappointing read. Wrath Goddess Sing was a magnificent standalone and it’s hard to believe that this was a debut novel!

To my knowledge, the trans representation was well written, particularly the description of the kallai and how Achilles was portrayed. She was such an amazing character, strong, stubborn, loyal and flawed. I also loved the other characters, particularly Patroklos and Meryapi, whose arcs the author did a fabulous job with, bringing them to life and really allowing the reader to connect to them. Despite being a retelling, some core facts remain, so as a reader I knew what was coming all along – but it says something that this story still managed to draw me into this version of the narrative and shock me at those very points, making the emotional impact of those moments just as effective as if I was learning of it for the first time.

Perhaps the only thing I truly didn’t like as much about this book was the relatively slow pacing. While it was greatly beneficial in terms of character development, I felt like it slowed down the plot and could have been sped up a bit with no harm to the former. The plot itself seemed to wander at times and though they always made sense later when the pieces came together, I found it kind of annoying because I remember the events of the Trojan War on a kind of timeline and was waiting impatiently for the next major event or battle to come about. The whole deal with the gods and their complicated schemes also gave me a headache for a while, not least because the narrative wasn’t using the Greek names I was accustomed to – and the glossary that made it clearer was at the very end of my eARC so I didn’t even know it was there until I had muddled through it on my own.

Wrath Goddess Sing was an imaginative take on Achilles’ story that took me completely by surprise and I enjoyed it greatly. This is undoubtedly a book I’m going to be talking about for several months to come, and I can’t wait to see what this author writes next! If you are a fan of mythological retellings, I would definitely recommend this book!