I think in the grand scheme of Greek mythological retellings (especially feminist retellings), this one ranks somewhere midway. It's not a bad premise, but I don't know if it has anything particularly memorable or unique about it. Though, to be fair, I did like what Heywood did when she rethought the myth of Perseus from the perspective of a handful of normal people calling out his BS.

If you are a fan of the Perseus myth, prepare to loathe this man-baby.

<i>NetGalley gave me an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.</i>

While I enjoyed the writing style and did like the beginning when we first met Danae I think this retelling was a little too real for me. I didn't realize going in that this was going to be missing all the magic that really sucks you into a Greek myth so the story felt a bit flat for me.
I felt bad for the women Perseus hurt, and I know the author was trying to be as factual as possible but found myself wishing since this is a feminist retelling that one of them, maybe Andromeda or his mother or anyone really would just kill him already! I really disliked him throughout the story and had a hard time connecting with any of the women.
Even though this particular story wasn't for me I do think that a lot of others would really like this.

I rather enjoyed this retelling of Perseus’ tale through the eyes of Danae, Medusa, and Andromeda. I do feel that Medusa got the short straw in this story as far as knowing more about her. Her chapters were significantly shorter than those of Danae and Andromeda. The removal of the fantasy elements made the story and the way the women were treated crueler in every way. I think most everyone is familiar with the phrase “history is written by the victors” and this definitely rings true with this interpretation of Perseus.

“Then how do you have children?” She saw his eyes drift to Halla, her babe strapped to her chest as she swept the cave floor. “Each day the world gives birth to another wronged woman,” Medusa said quietly. Gogo had spoken those very words to her years ago, when she had asked the same question. Perseus turned his eyes back to her and smiled faintly as if at the wit of her reply. And she knew that he did not understand, that he could never really know the truth of those words.

Since the story wasn’t written from a singular perspective (or even in the same geographical vicinity at least until the end) the story felt a little disjointed. We don’t “see” Perseus’ journey from his island home with Danae to where he meets Medusa or his journey from Medusa to Andromeda so it was hard for me to piece together where he actually was. I will say that the author’s piece “A Note on Setting” in the back of the book would serve far better if it were in the front of the book. Reading it helped clarify Perseus’ journey more than the story lent.

She could have let her anger make her monstrous. She could have hated the world and everyone in it. She could have taken revenge on those who had wronged her — even now she could. But why become what they had tried to make her?

Overall, I enjoyed this different style of retelling of Greek mythology into something gritty and grounded in reality rather than fantasy. I would very much like to thank Dutton/Penguin Group for the chance to read more about the unsung women in Perseus’ life. All opinions are my own.

I'm a deep fan of Claire Heywood's work, and The Shadow of Perseus did not disappoint. Another great feminist retelling of a long misunderstood mythology.

This story transports readers into the the time of Greek heroes and myths - what made this retelling different was that the story of Perseus was told through the eyes of three women whose lives were drastically altered by him. While I appreciated the storytelling and lyrical writing, Perseus's character felt underdeveloped and lacking motivation for his violent actions, especially in the first three parts. Even by the end when I had more of an understanding of why Perseus has acted as he did, I did not find anything redeemable about him. I think the story either needed to continue, or his character be more fleshed out from the beginning. Overall, this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend!

There’s a line in Shadows of Perseus where two people are gossiping about how much Perseus sucks, and one of them asks the other whether they believe in monsters and monster-slayers. The answer sums up the vibe of the book. Of course monsters exist. Of course heroes exist. Our main man Perseus just isn’t up to the task of being a monster or hero. He’s more of a vulture.

It’s well known (lmao “well known”, as if more than 5 ppl read this) that I don’t go hard in for euro-centric feminist retellings. This one however, avoids some of the common slumps by effectively being 3 short stories and an epilogue, each one tracking the life of a woman who has Perseus thrust upon her, and how her life just becomes WRECKED in the aftermath. Perseus is milky little brat and we hate him, but he gives off just enough of the “i’m safe, i’m a friend” recognition in women that they let down their guard and trust him before realizing he’s the “nice-guy-turned-murderer” of their nightmares..

TLDR: Tell a man he has a “destiny” and he’ll commit himself to being the worst.

Read If:
You prefer historical fiction over fantasy
You’re very over the “chosen one” trope
You truly believe that a mother’s love is unconditional

this was quite interesting to me! going into this, i didn't know much about perseus besides his conflict with medusa. the writing was easy to follow although, the cut-off's to each story felt more like a collection of stories than a singular book. overall, i enjoyed this and i really liked seeing the characterization of the women!

This is just so excellent. The characterization, the storytelling, the intricate details woven throughout the story! It was too good! I cannot wait to push this into my friends’ hands. Especially when I host a mythology readathon in April. This is going to be a favorite among its readers. I just know it. It’s so powerful and so well written. I was addicted to every page.

4/5

A Greek tragedy about the redemption, endurance of spirit and the damaging impact holding onto your pride can have on you and the world.

A quick but heavy read about Danue, her son Perseus and the life choices they made when they are cast away from home. The writing is lovely despite the darkness of the content, and the book moves quickly. I only wish it had continued forward with its resolution.

Danae was once a princess of Argos but was banished from her homeland after a prophecy foretold her father's death at the hands of her unborn child. After spending her life being coddled, starting a new life for herself and her young son, Perseus, proves more difficult than she ever imagined. As a member of a reclusive band of women called Gorgons, Medusa has severed all ties to the outside world. The Gorgons are especially wary of men and the corruption and pain that usually follow in their wake. But when Medusa stumbles upon an injured Perseus in the woods, she defies all she knows to help him. When a harsh sandstorm threatens her tribe's way of life, Andromeda offers herself up as a sacrifice to appease the gods. But when a passing Perseus misunderstands the ritual, Andromeda's life is upended. As Perseus becomes more obsessed with his destiny, his actions lead to severe consequences in all three women's lives. But he'll find the more he tries to silence them, the louder their voices become.

I enjoyed Heywood's previous release, so I was looking forward to picking this one up, and it was fine. I think it was a very straightforward retelling. I liked how it was told in different parts focusing on each woman. It made the story feel cut and dry, but it still got the point across. I was looking forward to Medusa's storyline the most since she is one of my favorite characters in Greek mythology, but Heywood's Medusa was different from any other take I've seen, and I'm just not sure it worked for me. I did like Danae's and Andromeda's storylines but found myself leaning more toward the latter as I thought she was slightly more interesting to follow. I thought Heywood's writing was easy to read, and I think this would be a good introduction to retellings, but I was hoping for a little more.

Song Vibe Check
"Holy (Til you let me go)" By: Rina Sawayama
"Your Age" By: Rina Sawayama
"Frankenstein" By: Rina Sawayama

Fitting to have three songs for all three women.

I have always loved Greek Mythology ever since I was a child. Percy Jackson was only the tip of the iceberg. From reading the middle grade series on the adventures of Pandora that became one of my favorite myths along with Goddess Girls, the song "Icarus" which holds a special place in my heart and eventually ending up with a Greek Mythology course that took me through the Iliad, the Odyssey and Circe, I have definitely dabbled into the mythological stories told and retellings always have some sort of interesting take to bring to the table.

So, as I started the Shadow of Perseus, I knew this would be from the women who were shadows in Perseus' story. What is meant to be a feminist portrayal seems to at least be the agenda it is on as it sets out to fill up big shoes.

It wasn't a bad attempt. It was still a test of patience to get through like all journeys occur.

Here we go.

Short Summary: A mother, a victim, a wife. These are the women whose lives turned into only footnotes into the legend of Perseus, but these women all have voices. And their voices ache to be heard as they tell the story of a man who is great but with a deadly shadow behind him.

Long Summary: Danae yearns for love even as her father grows desperate to create a heir to expand his dynasty. When the oracle reveals that Danae's son will be his downfall, he locks her to spend her days alone until she can no longer get pregnant. But a baker boy saves her from the loneliness as he spins the wheel of fate and grants her a son.

Separated from her love and thrown to the sea, Danae barely survives as she gives birth to a legend by the name of Perseus. But a boy eventually becomes a young man itching for adventure as he stumbles into the forest where the Gorgons live. And Medusa's changes everything.

Because a woman who gets pulled into the mystery ends up drowning in it and with her head on a silver platter as he uses her to get his real trophy, all in the shape of Andromeda, the daughter who is being given as a sacrifice all to end up having to get married to Perseus who has changed and chained her to a new life.

All three women have wishes and desires for a kinder world even as it treats them with cruelty, their voices unheard until now.

Danae's perspective was one of my favorites in the book and the lush descriptions make me wish I could write as beautiful as this author does. While the story strips all the magic to make this a grittier, more realistic retelling, it brings an interesting contrast to the usual sugar-coated stories we read of magical happenings that make us wonder what is real and what is myth.

I for one, was glad this was made in the perspectives of women as we acknowledge how silenced women were forced to be in the Ancient World. Sure, it still bothers me that there was not a lot of magic that gives the mythological feeling, but we still know the roots and it is a retelling after all.

We can't expect it to be exactly like the original myth.


Overall: 3.5/5

I have always enjoyed mythology, and enjoy stories which twist the story as we know it. The only thing I knew about Perseus was that he was said to have slain the Gorgon Medusa, so I was intrigued by this alternate version told from the perspective of the three most important women in his life: his mother Danae, Medusa, and his wife Andromeda.

This book is very good at creating three separate women whose personalities shine through, and it is clear on how they were limited in their lives by virtue of being women. Andromeda's story in particular was very vivid and tragic.

The thing I liked the least was Perseus, in large part because I couldn't figure out whether I was supposed to see him as a strong, dangerous villain, or a weak, pathetic boy. I was very frustrated at times by the inaction of those in the story but it spoke to the larger theme of how a patriarchy functions.

All in all, I thought it was an interesting concept and the author has a real knack for writing that you can picture perfectly.

I am reaching a point where I never want to hear the word “retelling” again in my life. If this book were written as its own story, not as a “retelling” of existing myths with existing characters, I don’t think it would have gotten published, at least not in this state. This book could not stand on its own as a novel, and that is why I gave up torturing myself after 55% and DNF’d this mess.

This book reads as if Claire thought, “hey, what if Greek myths were stripped of all their magic and intrigue,” and then she did just that. The story being told not about Perseus but about three of the main women in his life has been done over and over for a variety of other heroes and stories, and this book pales in comparison to works like Circe, The Penelopiad, and The Book of Longings, for example. The three women who are meant to be central to this story are flat, they are paper dolls standing in as a way for the author to share the impressive amounts of historical research she did.

This book is still about Perseus, and in her attempt to take him down a peg and presumably emphasize the way that Greek storytelling turns mere humans into mythical figures of pure masculinity or something, she just makes him an embarrassing whining “nice guy” teenager. He is so far removed from his namesake as to be unrecognizable. In removing the magic from his story, she makes the whole thing a bland mess.

That the book is well researched is abundantly clear, the three portions of the story take place in different regions in this ancient time period, and so have wildly different customs and cultures and each was given ample attention. Too much attention! The story was bogged down in historical detail, to its detriment. Since there are three different cultures to depict, there is three times as much explanation of outfits and class structures as you want to read.

Due to the fact that I did not finish this book, I will not be sharing the review on my Goodreads page, although I will discuss my feelings on the book in a vlog that will be posted to my youtube channel, youtube.com/c/rubyreads.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin Group DUTTON, for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for this honest review!!

This was such a compelling and wonderful read! As a great lover of the Perseus myth (Clash of the Titans was one of my favourite films as a kid), it was fabulous to see the story told through the eyes of the women involved in his life. The narrative is split into parts, each told from the perspective of one of the women - Danae, Medusa and Andromeda and I thought that Claire Heywood captured each woman beautifully. Focusing on the plight of these women and exploring how Perseus's actions impacted their lives was a genius move, showing some of the less savory aspects of the story in all their unpleasant detail. I genuinely loved every minute of this book and cannot recommend it highly enough!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me access to this arc. I wanted to really like this because I am excited about this new wave of feminist retellings of greek myths and I appreciate them so much but I found this book falling flat for me. It wasn't that it wasn't well written, it was pretty straight forward but I don't think I was able to receive it in the way that it needed to be. I found myself drifting and not feeling connected to this book in any way and I left feeling that this book is pretty forgettable.

Solid work! It was emotional and well done! I was not prepared for the emotions this would evoke. It is a well done story of previously neglected characters

This is a feminist re-telling of the Greek Myth of Hero Perseus and the three women who played major roles in his life. When a prophecy is told that the son Princess Danae will bear will be the end of King of Argos, he banished his daughter and her unborn child to the sea where he assumes she will perish. Medusa lives deep in the woods with a band of women known as the Gorgons, her sisters, isolated from the harsh world and its cruelties and she comes across a young man in the woods. To spare her people and family, Andromeda sacrifices her body to the Gods until she is “rescued” by a young man who changes the course of her life forever. All three women have their lives altered forever by Perseus, the common thread that binds them to the consequences and horrors of his choices.

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This was a different re-telling than what I have read before. When I think of Greek Mythology, magic monsters and the legends of the Greek gods comes to mind, however in this re-telling, a more realistic approach is taken. Yes, there is belief in the gods but no magic, no monsters, just a boy on a path of destruction to prove himself a man based on a prophecy. The story is told in the POV of three women in Perseus’s life: Danae; his mother, Medusa; the Gorgon he slayed; and Andromeda; his wife. I was a little disappointed that Medusa’s section was so short, I would have loved to hear more of her background and life in the woods with her sisters. I love how the author breaks down the meaning of the word “hero” beneath all the legends and glory lies a boy trying to prove himself a man. I was very intrigued with how she hones in on human behavior and not the acts of the gods or special gifts. This was a quick read that I would recommend to any fans of Greek Mythology re-telling’s, it was refreshingly unique and I enjoyed it! Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This title will be available to purchase on Feb. 21st, 2023.

TW: Rape

I found the Shadow of Perseus to be good. I’m enjoying the trend of putting the females at the forefront of Greek retellings as a form of finding voice and agency and understanding the female role and existence in ancient times. However I found the novel to be just good. It does not sting or wow. That being said it is an enjoyable read.

The Shadow of Perseus is an eye-opening and heartbreaking retelling of Perseus as told by the women who knew him. In traditional tales, Perseus is the beloved son, the rescuer, the hero to save everyone from a monster. The Shadow of Perseus re-examines this narrative and instead tells the story of a destructive villain.

I loved this retelling!! I thought it was SO well-done! Perseus’ mother, wife, and Medusa all get a chance to share their experience with Perseus. While at times difficult to read, I thought that this version of Perseus seemed a lot more realistic than the paragon he is in other retellings. For me, the most heart-breaking section to read was from Medusa. Medusa’s strength, her history, and her steadfast intention to take care of the Gorgons was so deeply felt. Seeing her point of view really casts a new light on how Medusa’s story is told. I hope to see more books that tell her story!

The sections from Danae, Perseus’ mother, and Andromeda were also striking. The re-imagining of Andromeda’s story is horrifying and unimaginable. Andromeda loses everything to Perseus and yet is reliant on him to have any form of power or protection. As his mother, Danae is the person who has known Perseus the longest and she has always tried to raise her son to be a far better man than who he turns out to be. Perseus himself is such an aggravating and nefarious character. While he demeans and punishes the women in his life, he slips by on the privilege of being a man in ancient times and believes himself to be descended from Zeus.

The Shadow of Perseus is a well-written and striking retelling of Perseus- but more than that, it brings into light three women who are cast aside in traditional retellings. This is the story of Danae, Andromeda, and Medusa. It is a heartfelt and unputdownable tale. I would recommend this for fans of Madeline Miller!

The Shadow of Perseus is available February 21, 2023. Thank you to Claire Heywood, Dutton, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

‘The Shadow of Perseus’ is a female-led Greek mythology retelling following Perseus and told from the perspectives of the women closest to him. While this retelling did differ quite a bit from the original texts, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment in the slightest and I really liked the author’s version. This book is split into different parts, each following an important woman in Perseus’ life: Danae (his mom), Medusa (his trophy), and Andromeda (his wife). I loved how the author told the story from the point of view of the women Perseus (mostly negatively) impacted and how it gave a voice to the women who have historically been ignored and just used to further his story. It didn't paint him as the hero that the stories usually do, but rather as a deeply flawed, troubled boy. The writing in this book is so accessible. Even if you know nothing about greek mythology, it is so easy to follow along and understand the story. And it is so addicting, the pacing was perfect and I could not put it down. This book is so beautifully written and full of emotion. I found myself hurting for every character and boiling over with rage because of the things that happened to the women and the ways they were treated. My only critique is I wish this book was longer - solely because I was not ready to part with it. After already having read and loved ‘Daughters of Sparta’, this book cemented Claire Heywood as an auto-buy author for me and I cannot wait to see what she writes next!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for this ARC!*