Much like its predecessors I went into this book so excited for yet another look into this world of Greek mythology, which I love, but with the scope of understanding that the women of these stories are deep and complex and are more than monster/prize/catalyst for war that traditional retellings seem to make them.

One thing I loved about this books is that it does deviate enough that I felt okay reading it without remembering every last detail of its previous two books. It feels somewhat independent from them.

All in all I enjoyed returning to this space. There are definitely aspects of the story and writing that required really intentional reading, this sometimes made it hard to relax with this book. Which is okay! But definitely contributed to my overall experience of this book. As the final installment to a series I’ve enjoyed so much it was definitely a win for me!

Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday for providing the ARC of Pat Barker’s next book in this trilogy. I love these retellings told from the women’s perspective and this was no exception. I enjoyed Ritsa’s story and was fascinated by the character of Cassandra. Definitely recommend this for anyone who read the first two books, although it’s not entirely necessary to read them as a series, if you haven’t read any, I’d recommend starting with the first.

I came across this series just before the first book came out, and was so impressed by Barker’s writing. After doing a quick reread of the first two books, I was ready to start this one, and it far exceeded any expectations that I had for this trilogy ender.

To start with, the first two books in the series tell the story of the fall of Troy, but through the eyes of the women sidelined in the story, primarily Briseis, a former Trojan queen who was given to Achilles as a slave. I love how Barker gives voice to the women who are basically overlooked in The Iliad, which tells the story only through the voice of men. This final book doesn’t feature Briseis, but carries on the story of the voiceless females on their journey back ‘home.’ For the women, they’re heading farther from what they called home, but don’t have much control over the events in their lives now that they are slaves.

This book centers on the experiences of Ritsa, a healer who worked with Briseis and is now assigned to be Cassandra’s slave; along with Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s wife. There are a lot of conflicts that go on in the wives of these women, and it kept things interesting. I went into this knowing the basics of the story—Cassandra being given the gift of accurate prophesy, but cursed to have her predictions ignored; Cassandra being taken home to Mycenae with Agamemnon, and the brutal showdown between Agamemnon and his furious wife, Clytemnestra, which has been brewing for years. But Barker added complexity and depth to the bare bones of the story, and really giving the women an actual voice of their own for the first time.

The relationships between the women in this story are what really made this series so intriguing. While the original Greek myths surrounding the Trojan War only focused on the warriors, they don’t say much about the women and definitely don’t explore how their motivations and life experiences that led them there impact their lives and interactions with others.

By the time we really get to know Cassandra, a daughter of Priam and a virgin priestess in the temple of Apollo, her station in life has dramatically changed and she’s often discussed as a woman suffering from madness. As someone trained in mental health, I couldn’t help but wonder if her madness came less from the ability to have others believe in her prophecies, but more from the traumatic events of the sack of Troy, culminating in her brutal rape in the Temple of Apollo, and even the shift in her circumstances: watching her brother and family members die, witnessing the brutal murder of children, and going from a princess to a slave. Ironically, we never really find out what Cassandra is actually thinking, and her personality is shared through the eyes of Ritsa and Clytemnestra.

Clytemnestra was another complicated character in the story. She has been incubating her fury for a decade, since her husband Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter to the gods in an effort to obtain a good wind to sail to Troy. I have seen firsthand the terrible grief that occurs with the death of a child, and I can’t even imagine how much worse it must feel knowing that your husband was the cause, and viewed her death as a means to an end, the sack of Troy. On top of that, she’s dealing with her husband coming back home for the first time and flaunting his new slave, and then realizing that Cassandra isn’t just a slave, but also his new wife. This places Cassandra and consequently Ritsa in a perilous position in Mycenaean society, directly at odds with Clytemnestra. As always, Agamemnon made it worse by telling her to be nice to Cassandra. Putting myself into Clytemnestra’s shoes was easy in this story, since it’s all about the experiences and thoughts of the women involved.

There has been a resurgence in mythology retelling in the last few years, and this series is a gold standard for me to measure other retellings against, much like Circe by Madeline Miller became. I was a little concerned about this story, and how it seemed to be taking a sharp turn by shifting the narrators from the one in the first two books and incorporating two in this story. I definitely missed Briseis, but loved seeing Ritsa get a larger role in this book, as well as getting a different perspective on the events that changed the lives of all of the women involved—including Clytemnestra’s remaining daughter, Electra. My only complaint is that the narrator changes between chapters aren’t labeled and were a bit confusing at first, until I got to know the voices of Ritsa and Clytemnestra.

Overall, this is a fantastic story, and I really loved how Barker breathed life (and estrogen) into tired old Greek myths that desperately needed it. I can’t exactly say that I ‘enjoyed’ this book or series, because it focuses on enslaved women and the experiences that they face, but it was written beautifully and sensitively. The women face the murder of their husbands, children, and family members, only to be taken as slaves and given to the heroes of the battle as a reward. Grief, enslavement, rape, and abuse are topics that arise over the course of this book and the series, but Barker takes appropriate care with all of the topics, and attributes resilience to these women. When one character takes control of her own destiny with both hands, it creates a chain reaction of events that ultimately fulfill Cassandra’s predictions. I can’t recommend this book and the series overall enough, and they’re criminally underhyped. This would be a great read for you if you like reading Greek mythology retellings, female centered stories, books about strong women in tough situations, or simply want a different viewpoint on male-centered myths.

I loved every page of Pat Barker’s The Voyage Home. I highly recommend this book to fans of Madeline Miller’s Circe. The writing is just as beautiful and vivid. This is the 3rd book in the Women of Troy series but it easily reads as a standalone. The character lineup includes Cassandra, Agamemnon, and Clytemnestra, among others. Each storyline is fascinating and all merge together beautifully. Despite the tragedy inherent to Trojan mythologies, the ending was so satisfying.

This is a series that has loved rent free in my head and my heart for some time now. The Voyage Home was beautifully written, and I loved the coming together of some of my favorite Greek characters. It was interesting to see the profession in the relationship between Cassandra and Ritsa evolve over the course of their journey. Clytemnestra as always is a force to be reckoned with. I did feel for her as I always do when her story is written, and would be interested how Barker would have written her final days. The myth surrounding the children was done in an almost surreal way that really had me thinking about it long after reading. I am really sad that this series is over and I cannot wait to re read them all in succession.

THE VOYAGE HOME (WOMEN OF TROY, #3)
BY: PAT BARKER

Having read and loved the two former books in this series which the first one called, "THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS, and the second one called, "THE WOMEN OF TROY," I've been dying to get to Pat Barker's third installment, called "THE VOYAGE HOME." I have to say that this is accessible to everyone, and I think Pat Barker did a tremendous job in making me feel like she breathed new life into the emotionally grieving of Clytemnestra that is profoundly moving. Of course, I studied Homer's texts in College and have read many feminist retelling of Clytemnestra's story, but this was written in such extreme moving prose that I felt I connected with her pain on a visceral level. I'm impressed how Pat Barker's depiction offered the most notably, most powerfully written portrait of trauma of her loss that felt completely fresh and I feel that I felt the grief as if I endured it myself. That gaping hole in your heart that time fails to lessen it, which I feel is difficult to do of a character written in the first person. I felt devastated which signified to me to be able to feel Clytemnestra's pain made this unique which was surely sad in several other retelling of Clytemnestra's loss of her eldest daughter, but this was remarkable in it that felt more touching and offered the most in depth suffering which as a mother this felt the most authentic. It felt so masterfully written, that I was affected by this deeper exploration that made me think for several reasons this is a spectacular final installment that I feel this to be the strongest of the three and that's quite an achievement.

I'm aware that other reviewers have been disappointed since this is more of a character study and while I respect their opinions I thought that they might be feeling that the pacing was slower for the lower ratings. I happen to think that this was captivating from beginning to the end. I was skeptical at first when it incorporated Clytemnestra's character when the voyage home to Greek shores at approximately 20% in. My worries that I have read so many feminist retelling of Clytemnestra had me erroneously concerned that I didn't think it would be anything that I haven't already read so many times. I was quickly immersed because Pat Barker's third installment really does dive into all three women's perspectives of their different circumstances of how the ten year war instrumentally affected them all to be breathtaking portraits of trauma captured the variety of how they each were as women had more in common in their unimaginable losses. Ritsa whose story is told in the first person was another character brilliantly developed who I grew to love, begins the story by telling us she's Cassandra's slave. I as a literary fiction lover understand that when an Author does an amazing job with as stunning character development that was accomplished in this one, along with the atmosphere so acute, there is going to be less action, which I believe for the reason for some of the lower reviews. I don't happen to need action in recognizing the merits of as memorable as this turned out to be since the focus as I said is more atmospheric and character driven which is my favorite out of the three. It's a superbly well written novel that is so outstanding that illuminates humanity and I loved the aspect of the dead children incorporated as giving voice to both the children that Atreus killed along with the dead of Agamemnon's victorious pulverization of Troy who add another fresh dimension to this masterpiece. I even loved the portrait of Agamemnon's character as less powerful with his aging body returning home as less the all powerful testosterone warrior that gave glimpses of his more humane side like when he tells Clytemnestra to be kind to Cassandra since it's not easy being a slave in a foreign Country. I did say glimpses. The fact remained that he took her for his concubine after decimating Troy. I understood Clytemnestra's moments of being discarded and jealousy by watching him and Cassandra. This can absolutely be read as a standalone and I highly, highly recommend this. I loved how this certainly addressed the horrific effects of war was paid tribute to, but I felt this was more about the three different women and I felt the writing was crisp, and vivid and less about the men who were featured in the first two. It absolutely is more interesting in the more challenging choice the author made of choosing three women making this a contrast of each one in her prowess of writing a page turning triumph to this being the best one and ending this series showcasing Pat Barker's talent and gifts as an author.

Publication Date:

Thank you to Net Galley, Pat Barker and Doubleday Books for generously providing me with my fantastic ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
THE VOYAGE HOME (WOMEN OF TROY, #3)
BY: PAT BARKER

Having read and loved the two former books in this series which the first one called, "THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS, and the second one called, "THE WOMEN OF TROY," I've been dying to get to Pat Barker's third installment, called "THE VOYAGE HOME." I have to say that this is accessible to everyone, and I think Pat Barker did a tremendous job in making me feel like she breathed new life into the emotionally grieving of Clytemnestra that is profoundly moving. Of course, I studied Homer's texts in College and have read many feminist retelling of Clytemnestra's story, but this was written in such extreme moving prose that I felt I connected with her pain on a visceral level. I'm impressed how Pat Barker's depiction offered the most notably, most powerfully written portrait of trauma of her loss that felt completely fresh and I feel that I felt the grief as if I endured it myself. That gaping hole in your heart that time fails to lessen it, which I feel is difficult to do of a character written in the first person. I felt devastated which signified to me to be able to feel Clytemnestra's pain made this unique which was surely sad in several other retelling of Clytemnestra's loss of her eldest daughter, but this was remarkable in it that felt more touching and offered the most in depth suffering which as a mother this felt the most authentic. It felt so masterfully written, that I was affected by this deeper exploration that made me think for several reasons this is a spectacular final installment that I feel this to be the strongest of the three and that's quite an achievement.

I'm aware that other reviewers have been disappointed since this is more of a character study and while I respect their opinions I thought that they might be feeling that the pacing was slower for the lower ratings. I happen to think that this was captivating from beginning to the end. I was skeptical at first when it incorporated Clytemnestra's character when the voyage home to Greek shores at approximately 20% in. My worries that I have read so many feminist retelling of Clytemnestra had me erroneously concerned that I didn't think it would be anything that I haven't already read so many times. I was quickly immersed because Pat Barker's third installment really does dive into all three women's perspectives of their different circumstances of how the ten year war instrumentally affected them all to be breathtaking portraits of trauma captured the variety of how they each were as women had more in common in their unimaginable losses. Ritsa whose story is told in the first person was another character brilliantly developed who I grew to love, begins the story by telling us she's Cassandra's slave. I as a literary fiction lover understand that when an Author does an amazing job with as stunning character development that was accomplished in this one, along with the atmosphere so acute, there is going to be less action, which I believe for the reason for some of the lower reviews. I don't happen to need action in recognizing the merits of as memorable as this turned out to be since the focus as I said is more atmospheric and character driven which is my favorite out of the three. It's a superbly well written novel that is so outstanding that illuminates humanity and I loved the aspect of the dead children incorporated as giving voice to both the children that Atreus killed along with the dead of Agamemnon's victorious pulverization of Troy who add another fresh dimension to this masterpiece. I even loved the portrait of Agamemnon's character as less powerful with his aging body returning home as less the all powerful testosterone warrior that gave glimpses of his more humane side like when he tells Clytemnestra to be kind to Cassandra since it's not easy being a slave in a foreign Country. I did say glimpses. The fact remained that he took her for his concubine after decimating Troy. I understood Clytemnestra's moments of being discarded and jealousy by watching him and Cassandra. This can absolutely be read as a standalone and I highly, highly recommend this. I loved how this certainly addressed the horrific effects of war was paid tribute to, but I felt this was more about the three different women and I felt the writing was crisp, and vivid and less about the men who were featured in the first two. It absolutely is more interesting in the more challenging choice the author made of choosing three women making this a contrast of each one in her prowess of writing a page turning triumph to this being the best one and ending this series showcasing Pat Barker's talent and gifts as an author.

Publication Date:: December 3, 2024! AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE NOW! THIS IS MY FAVORITE ONE OF THIS TRILOGY! PAT BARKER HAS WRITTEN A STRONG FINISH & PROVES HER WRITING PROWESS!

Thank you to Net Galley, Pat Barker and Doubleday Books for generously providing me with my fantastic ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheVoyageHome #PatBarker #DoubledayBooks #NetGalley

I love all Pat Bakers books about the women of Troy. They are always heart breakingly honest about their lack of autonomy but also the absolute power they can hold. I did avoid this book as a woman in the US a Cassandra retelling was not calling to me. I wish I had read this at a time I was more mentally ready for it and will probably come back to it. I still think it’s a beautiful book with great writing and important messages, and most definitely timely.

Another absolutely wonderful book by Pat Barker, is anyone surprised? I love the Epic Cycle and I especially love what happens to everyone after the war is over, so Barker's take on Agamemnon and Clytemnestra's story line was a delight. My only complaint is that the pacing early on was a bit slow, but it immediately picked up after a few chapters.

Read this book. Don't worry if you haven't read the first two books (although once you've finished this you'll want to go back to them) or if you don't know or only vaguely remember the tale of the Trojan Wars, Cassandra. or Clytemnestra. This is a gripping novel that brings the old story to life through the eyes of those two women but most vividly through Ritsa who has been enslaved and must serve Cassandra. They are on their way not to their home but to that of the incredibly cruel Agememnon, where Clytemnestra is waiting to exact revenge. This is atmospheric, urgent, twisty, and compelling - and so much more than I anticipated. Barker has brought these women to life and will make you feel for them, most especially for what they have lost. And she's brought new insight into others, notably Electra. I admit to looking for more information on some of the players. Thanks to Netgalley for the ArC. I can't recommend this more highly.

🧶 THE SUMMARY:
This continuation of The Iliad retells Agamemnon’s return to Greece, largely through the perspective of his concubine Cassandra’s body slave. Now that victory has been secured, the characters must confront the sins committed in the name of triumph—and plenty of people would love to see the king dead. Cassandra swears she’s seen his death in her visions, but who will act on it first?

💁🏻‍♀️ MY THOUGHTS:
🔸 After loving the first two books in this series, it’s no surprise this one lived up to my expectations. Pat Barker’s take on The Iliad
gives a fresh voice to the women often sidelined in the original epic. The somber tone was fitting for such a tragic part of the story, and I found myself engrossed from start to finish.

🔸 It’s hard to say who is worse off in this book: Clytemnestra, still grieving her daughter and driven by a desire for justice, or Cassandra, who has lost everything and is now bound to the king as a concubine. Barker masterfully layers their complex relationship, showing how jealousy and pain shape their intentions, adding depth to this already tragic tale.

Thank you to Doubleday for the physical and digital ARCs of this book, provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve had quite the tumultuous relationship with the book review service NetGalley over the past six months. In a way, this was not necessarily a bad thing; at the outset of my signing up, most of the books I applied to review were automatically accepted, and most of these I was happy to give positive feedback on. The surplus of material I’ve had access to that I’ve had an obligation to review has created somewhat of a glut on this blog that I would have otherwise preferred to avoid, however; there are a handful of outstanding old novels I’ve written about (as well as promised video game reviews) that I’ve had to put off because of this obligation. Luckily for me, I’ve been saving this release as the best for last: Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls was an early feature on this section of my newsletter before I’d had a real understanding of how I wanted to approach book reviews. When I saw it listed as a possibility for future review, I of course jumped at the opportunity.

One last caveat: this novel is the third entry in a trilogy that began with The Silence of the Girls. That being said, I still have kept my promise to avoid talking about sequels without reviewing the series in sequence. I cannot say for certain whether the decision to group these together into a series was the author’s idea or a clever marketing ploy, but the novels share thematic and contextual links, rather than existing on the same timeline of a character’s life. In the same sense that Sergio Leone’s Dollars movies are a trilogy or Mary Renault’s novels are a series, this is a trilogy. Readers will be able to enjoy these stories in any order they decide to tackle them. In this case (as well as in the last entry,) the narrator was invented by the author to serve a function of telling a story from a perspective that has been explored, but not at a depth that it could otherwise be. Looking back it seems that Briseis’ existence in the original Iliad was a convenience to Barker, and that she otherwise would have gladly written a story about the period without those scant lines in the poem.

As it tends to go with these feminist retellings, the endings ought not come as a shock to any well-read readers. Fans of Aeschylus know exactly how Agamemnon’s journey back from Troy will end, and Cassandra’s fate is inextricably tied to his as well. Barker’s portrayal of Cassandra here would not work if she were the mad prophetess of legend, which I tend to prefer, but her curse of alienation from Apollo comes through in other avenues of her characterization. Most other authors (not to mention scholars) emphasize her role as a priestess, for instance, over her birthright as a princess. Barker spends a significant portion of the narrative correcting this imbalance; in addition to the standard ostracism from her peers inherent to the curse, Cassandra suffers from a fall in status as well. This is a bit of an anachronism; at the time, victors treated women as spoils of war, i.e. objects. Having a princess would have been treated as a special honor above any other commoner woman in that territory, and the standard hierarchy would have been observed among prisoners under most circumstances. It would have been in the interest of the ruling classes, whether they won or lost their wars, to maintain the perception that some were born with a god-given right to rule, after all.

Of course, if this fact of history were to be upheld, the broader themes of a loss of social status could no longer be explored. Generally speaking, I don’t mind a touch of inaccuracy in novels about the ancient world if there’s enough artistic merit to cover the spread, so to speak. This book’s prose is very good, and surpasses this requirement in my mind, if only just. The modern reader already harbors many misconceptions about the inner workings of the social hierarchy of the ancient world (just look at how the terminally online have butchered the term “plebeian”), and perpetuating a myth of ancient social mobility should generally be frowned upon. Barker’s interest isn’t actually talking about this phenomenon in the ancient world, however; it’s clear that these passages act as a metaphor for modern times.

This book is a solid one star on my scale. Knowing about Pat Barker’s history writing anti-war novels and about the themes of trauma and survival, it was interesting to have read this immediately after Daughters of Bronze by A.D. Rhine. Had I read this novel before that one, I may have chosen to forego finishing it a quarter of the way through. Barker’s condemnation of war is much stronger and a lot more in line with my beliefs, and though it was still interesting to read the prior book to get that perspective, I don’t value it all that highly. I’m almost tempted to bump it up another place because of this comparison in proximity, but if I’m being honest with myself, it remains at One Star.

This third installment somehow almost feels like a standalone, with familiar characters but enough independence that it can be read without The Silence of the Girls (though that book is highly recommended as one of the best ever). I appreciated the shift to new characters after The Women of Troy provided such a satisfying conclusion for the previous ones, but it meant this installment had to work hard to re-engage me. I do think it's wonderful, but my own overly high expectations and love of the previous books might have colored my review on this one. I think if I revisit it in the future I'd rate it a little higher? As it stands I'm giving it 3.75, but rounding up to 4

I actually almost gave up on this book because of how much the first half dragged without enough plot or development to latch onto. Ritsa isn’t as compelling of a narrator as Briseis and very little of particular note happens while Agamemnon’s party is at sea.

However, things pick up very significantly once they make landfall. Revenge plots, political intrigue, haunted palaces! This was the good stuff.

But then after Agamemnon’s death, the story keeps puttering along for too long. The meat of the story is in the 60-85% mark, and honestly the rest of it is quite a slog. I loved book one, but I feel like now that the war is over, things are much less engaging.

These storylines are ones that I have read before and many different but similar ways. The stories of the women that revolve around the Trojan War is always fascinating. I love getting their POVs rather than the men in these storylines. Clytemnestra is by far one of my favorite characters in multiple writings of this story, and i do still enjoy her in this one too. I also found Cassandra and Ritsa to be particularly fascinating in this retelling. Cassandra's curse is bound to have her misunderstood no matter what story you read but i enjoyed the relationship between her and her servant Ritsa too. As this is a story i am familiar and fond of, I found Pat Barker's writing to give it a tone and edge that made it memorable.

When Homer and Aeschylus wrote their epics, they gave us heroes and villains. But what if the real story of the House of Atreus lies in the whispered conversations between its women? Pat Barker's "The Voyage Home," the final installment of her 'Women of Troy' trilogy, weaves together these overlooked voices into a powerful tapestry of survival, prophecy, and revenge. Through the intertwining perspectives of Clytemnestra, the grieving queen bent on vengeance; Cassandra, the unheeded prophetess grappling with her fate; and Ritsa, the clear-eyed Trojan slave who bears witness to it all, Barker creates a complex meditation on power, trauma, and female agency in the aftermath of the Trojan War. While the novel subverts Clytemnestra's traditional portrayal as Aeschylus's archetypal villain, it goes further, examining how women at every level of society—from queens to slaves—navigate and resist the constraints of a patriarchal world that seeks to silence them.

Before the story settles into the halls of Mycenae's palace, Barker charts the psychological terrain of Cassandra and Ritsa’s captivity during the long voyage home aboard the cargo ship Medusa. The boundaries between captor and captive blur in the cramped confines below deck. Through this journey, Barker establishes the complex dynamics that will play out in the palace: Cassandra is consumed by prophetic frenzy in the ship's hold, her predictions of doom dismissed even as they echo with terrible clarity; Agamemnon struggles with guilt-induced visions of his sacrificed daughter; and Ritsa observes it all with the pragmatism of one who must navigate between worlds. The dilapidated Medusa becomes a powerful metaphor for the precarious nature of victory and the weight of homecoming, its slow progress toward Mycenae carrying each character inexorably toward their fate.

Set against the backdrop of Mycenae's palace, the story then unfolds through multiple perspectives, most notably through Ritsa, whose keen observations create a narrative distance that humanizes rather than demonizes Clytemnestra. Her sharp, often biting commentary breathes life into the characters and setting and provides crucial insights into the power dynamics at play. Through her practical focus on survival and daily life, Ritsa humanizes the epic narrative by highlighting the importance of human connection amid the brutality of war and its aftermath.

As both prophetess and prisoner of war, Cassandra embodies the complex intersection of divine power and human vulnerability. Her presence is a constant disruption to the victors' narrative, refusing to play the submissive role expected of a war trophy. Even in captivity, she maintains her spiritual authority, notably through her insistence on carrying her priest's staff of office during Agamemnon's triumphant return procession. This defiance, coupled with her prophetic visions, challenges the Greek narrative of a just and glorious victory, exposing the hypocrisy inherent in their claims of righteousness.

While classical texts often position Cassandra and Clytemnestra as mere antagonists, Barker illuminates their shared experience of patriarchal violence. The "unspoken understanding" between them hints at a mutual recognition of common trauma, even as fate and circumstance divide them. Ritsa's observations of their interactions add depth to this dynamic as she challenges Cassandra's assumptions about Clytemnestra and offers a more nuanced view of the queen's capabilities and motivations.

Barker reconstructs Clytemnestra as a figure of strength and unrelenting grief. Unlike classical versions prioritizing political ambition over maternal sorrow, Barker positions Iphigenia's sacrifice at the hands of her father, Agamemnon, as the psychological cornerstone of Clytemnestra's motivations. Her simmering desire for retribution against Agamemnon, oblivious to the depth of her resentment, propels the narrative toward its inevitable and brutal climax. Significantly, Ritsa becomes one of the few witnesses to Clytemnestra's act of vengeance, her presence underscoring the weight of this pivotal moment and its lasting impact on all involved.

Barker's prose is beautiful, creating an atmosphere thick with tension and haunted by the spectral presence of ghostly children who roam the palace halls. These supernatural elements serve as haunting manifestations of guilt and memory, blurring the line between the mythic and the psychological. The dynamic exchanges between Cassandra and Clytemnestra build tension while Ritsa's grounded perspective keeps the narrative anchored in human reality.

While the pacing of the novel's first half feels uneven, the slow, deliberate opening chapters allow space for character development. The escalating tension mirrors Clytemnestra's calculated plans for revenge, with the structure underscoring self-determination over divine fate—a significant departure from traditional narratives.

Barker's work aligns with the current wave of feminist retellings by authors like Madeline Miller and Costanza Casati, who seek to recover and reimagine female voices from classical mythology. However, Barker's distinct contribution lies in her commitment to realism even when dealing with legendary material. Through Ritsa's practical observations and Cassandra's prophetic insights, she creates a layered narrative that transcends simple categorizations of hero and villain, offering instead a complex exploration of how women navigate and resist patriarchal power structures.

Through this multilayered portrayal, Barker not only retells a classical story but challenges readers to reconsider how we judge female agency and violence in both ancient and modern contexts. 'The Voyage Home' shifts from the epic scale of the earlier volumes to a more contained but no less devastating conclusion to Barker's trilogy, proving that the aftermath of war can be as dramatic as the battles themselves. The novel's strength lies in showing how vengeance, justice, and trauma intersect in a world that denies women legitimate paths to redress. In the intertwined voices of Ritsa, Cassandra, and Clytemnestra—witness, prophet, and avenger—Barker reveals how women's struggles against patriarchal power remain startlingly constant, their ancient fury speaking directly to our time.

This review is of an advance reader copy provided by Doubleday Books and NetGalley. The USA publication date is December 3, 2024.

Cassandra has entered the chat and she is here to make ripples! She was "blessed" with true prophecy powers but cursed with liability issues, she found a believer in Clytemnestra. They both hate the same man for different reasons and Clytemnestra loved to hear that Cassandra saw demise of that man in her vision

Mycenae was welcoming its king back after his victory over Troy. Though not everyone appreciated that he sacrificed his own daughter to get little bit of wind. Clytemnestra got used to running a kingdom and seething with anger and hate, she wished Agamemnon was one of the "fallen heros" in Troy. Something needed to be done to avenge her daughter. Something needed to be done to avenge Trojan women

Two sides put away their differences to avenge all the women who were hurt during this meaningless piss fight between men. It might one man to pay for this, but one was better than none.

I'm mad about how much I didn't like this story. I gave five stars to the first book in this series and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I read it six years ago. However, the quality of the sequel novels has gone down dramatically. I can't even begin to understand how one of the most dynamic stories in mythology was made boring. Each character had nearly the same voice, and it honestly felt like Barker didn't even really like any of the characters to the point where I almost began to wonder if there was internalized misogyny showing up. I also couldn't understand why we shifted our first person narration, the first two books in the series were told by another character. It makes sense that she isn't in this book, but then each book should have had a different first person narration. If you want to explore this story with more nuance and that is more interesting read Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati.

The depth I found in Silence of the Girls tapers off in the third (final?) installment of the Women of Troy series. Maybe because this shifts the focus from Briseis, who I was attached to, or because it is repetitive to a reader who already has the insights from the previous two novels. This novel centers on Cassandra, the seer who is cursed to never be believed through her servant, Ritsa's view. This is the primary engaging part of the book (weirdly, I can't figure out why Clytemnestra's portion was so lackluster for me).

I mean, I still have over a dozen highlights, and I would still have read this because I like Pat Barker's writing very much, but the core message of this series is muddled in this book. I would still recommend this to readers of the series, especially to those who are newer to Greek mythology and interested in unique perspectives. 2.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This wasn’t quite what I was expecting, since the previous works involved so many more characters and little storylines off the main one. However, it would have been extremely hard to focus on everyone’s voyage home so it makes sense. I’m happy that a couple characters managed to get a happy ending. I want to know what happened to the creepy night watch guy though! He was a good character who seemed to have underlying motivations and history that were never explained.

An amazing author. The characters are well-written with depth to their emotions. I love the different perspective of the characters. An excellent mythology about the women of Troy.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the ARC.