Epic of Helinthia

A big thanks to NetGalley, the publishers, and MJ Pankey for allowing me to get my hands on this epic read a little early!

As someone who’s writing this review right after getting home from seeing Hadestown with my Orpheus/Eurydice tattoo, you could say im a big Greek mythology fan. This novel did not disappoint. A fresh story with familiar mythology and shocking plot twists! The characters were well fleshed out and I grew to love (most of) them (not you kelric…).

This story will definitely become a staple in the Greek mythology novel world and I can’t wait for the next book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5

Thank you to NetGalley and MJ Pankey for providing an ARC of “Epic Of Helinthia” for review.

For the people who read and enjoyed Circe - Madeline Miller, “Epic of Helinthia” is for you.

I like MJ Pankey’s writing. I need to get that out there. It is descriptive and creates pictures in your head that are so vivid you think back and wonder if you were reading a book or watching a movie! It captures you and makes you feel warm. I especially like how she wrote her characters, they are not one-dimensional who only exist for one purpose, they are actually interesting.

I would like to start off by saying that I was thrilled at the opportunity to read “Epic of Helinthia”, as I absolutely adore greek mythology and all the myths contained within it. I would however like to state that most of the story is centred around Helinthia, a fictional land with a fictional goddess. But there are other gods/goddesses who play major parts!

“Epic of Helinthia” has multiple POV’s and is based in the fictional world of Helinthia. We, the reader, follow multiple characters, some of which listed below.
Dargon, the basileus of his polis (city), is the elder brother to Gonivien, a girl who has been raised the same as Dargon except one thing, she spends all her time focusing on Kelric, the eldest son of a basileus, and in return refusing to accept her responsibilities as sister to a basileus.
Kelric, son of a basileus, is in fact a bully. Kelric is known to constantly tease and make fun of his younger brother, Gadnor, the runt of his family, one that many people do not believe exist due to him being ‘hid away’…

“Epic of Helinthia” is a perfect combination of Greek mythology, suspense, romance, chaos, and rebellion, with plot-twists crazy enough to make you rethink yourself!

Thank you, MJ Pankey, one of my complaints about this book is the fact I need to wait so long for book 2!

This book consumed me. From the prologue I was gripped. All details of the world around me were reduced to nil. I had fallen into a new world, a world that was familiar but also, so new.
When Annassa Iptys falls and a usurper takes her thrown, the lands of Helinthia are punished by the gods. And only one can save the mere mortals, and only one knows how to find him.
A magnificent tale of love, war, and family.
Pankey really does a fantastic job of bringing a whole civilisation back to life again, of humanising mythology. Pankey paints a picture with her words. She whispers into mosaics and the characters start moving.
There were moments I gasped, cried and laughed.
Anyone can write, but there are a rare few that can write as Pankey does.
A 5 star book and hopefully, a 5 star series. I cannot wait to read the rest!

Dear Aurhor & Muse and Quill Press, I have just one question. When will the sequel be published? I need it like yesterday! No pressure, of course but…please hurry?🙏🥺

I haven’t been this excited about a completed read in a long, LONG time. This novel is excellent, simply amazing! 10⭐️/5 (yes, TEN)

If you enjoy reading epics (like Honer’s Iliad), fantasy (like LOTR), mythology retelling (Circe etc.), beautifully written, complex stories with well thought out characters, you MUST read this book.

This is 100% spoiler free, which means I will not be speaking about aspects of the story or the characters. I do not want to spoil anything.

I found ZERO faults in this epic tale, which doesn’t often happens.

Great writing style, layered, flows beautifully.

Great pacing. The story is complex, structured, and does not run nor is sluggish.

Extensive world building, inspired by (and set in a somewhat fictitious) Ancient Greece, the Mediterranean Basin and mythology.

Believable fantasy and mythological elements.

Interesting and complex characters easily distinguishable from one another, none without faults.

Politics, religion, adventure, drama, mystery, family, danger, war, vengeful gods, death, love…there is everything and it is blended seamlessly.

Thank you for allowing me to read this amazing novel through NetGalley. Now onto waiting for the next installment….🕰️

Thank you to NetGalley, MJ Pankey, and Muse and Quill Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Epic of Helinthia lives up to its name! The political intrigue between the mortals (which, of course, also involves the gods) had me on the edge of my seat, but the characters are really what makes it special for me.

The world felt flushed out and whole, I was thrown into a living breathing place with a plot in motion enough to get me interested, and get me asking questions (but still early enough that I didn't feel like I was 'missing' anything). As the story progressed the plot kept me guessing in the best way possible. I kept thinking I had figured out where the story was going only for the next chapter to reveal a secret that changed everything. This is achieved so masterfully through the multiple viewpoints used to tell the story. Each character had different interpretations and knowledge. Their viewpoints helped to color my own which made the twists feel organic as the characters started sharing their knowledge, secrets, and experiences with one another (and internally). This also did a really great job of building tension, as quite often I (the reader) knew the characters were racing towards traps before they did.

When first reading I only skimmed the glossary and hierarchy at the beginning of the book, but because of that I found myself having to interrupt my reading to go back and reference the glossary when coming across a term or character in the beginning of the book. This, for me, impacted the pacing so I strongly suggest taking a few moments to review the terms in those sections. However, after the first few chapters, this was no longer an issue for me.

My favorite part of this book, though, was the characters. In addition to really helping the plot, the multiple viewpoints really helped flesh out each of the characters. I especially loved that each character had a different 'voice'. When reading a chapter, after the first or second chapter with their viewpoint, I always knew which character's head I was in. They each looked at the world very differently from one another and the different viewpoints all felt unique to them. I especially loved when a character whose viewpoint I was currently in would react to, or interact with a character whose viewpoint I just left. For example, Dargon and Kelric's interactions, and interpretations (either correct or not) of the other's actions always gave me insight into both of them.

I also loved watching characters grow into who they were at the end of the story, I watched Gonivein and Gadnor both grow and change so much in the course of the book and it felt so natural to me because I was there with them when their view of the world was challenged, and changed. Sometimes these changes were small, and felt almost subconscious, sometimes there were big life events that altered them-but even though they are both incredibly different characters from who they were at the beginning, neither of them ever felt unrecognizable or out of character to me.

The conclusion of this book was satisfying, but also did a good job of setting the stage for the rest of the series.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and would strongly suggest giving it a try if you like other books that take inspiration from the classic epics.

I loved this story! Im so so so excited to read more (i hope there is more coming).

I had my suspicions at the start about what the conclusion would be at the end and I was in fact right, but there was so much happening in this story besides the search for the heir. I could not put this down, and I was continuously on the edge of my seat: what would happen, would they make it, etc.

M.J. Pankey made this so enjoyable and fun to read, and I really connected to the characters. Absolutely recommend to mythology lovers!

Thanks to netgalley and the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

my instagram post (@lunarbookshelves) will be shared some time in august, and I will share the link with you by then as well!