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House of Odysseus

House of Odysseus

Epic FantasyMythology
Pages
464
Published
2023
Language
English

Synopsis

Narrated by Aphrodite, this is the second of Claire North's retellings of the Odyssey from the women's side. Odysseus is still absent and Penelope holds Ithaca together by a thread. That balance breaks when Orestes, King of Mycenae, arrives on the island — unravelling under the guilt of killing his mother — with his sister Elektra, and his uncle Menelaus follows, ready to take the throne from him by force. Penelope, Elektra and Helen of Troy each guard a secret, and each must work in the shadows while the men fight in the open.

Prose complexity
6/10

Vibe

AdventurousDark
Multiple POVsBetrayalMorally Grey

Genres

Epic Fantasy Mythology Fantasy Literary Fiction

About the author

C
Claire North

Claire North is a pen name of British author Catherine Webb, who also writes as Kate Griffin and published her first novel at fourteen. As Claire North she has written speculative fiction including The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, which won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and The Sudden Appearance of Hope, which won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. Her later books include Touch, 84K, Notes from the Burning Age and the Songs of Penelope series (Ithaca, House of Odysseus), whic...

Characters

AphroditeProtagonist

The goddess of love and beauty, who narrates the story as she pursues a plot to bring Odysseus home while navigating her own desires and schemes.

Princess PenelopeSupporting

Odysseus's wife in Ithaca, whose cunning and resolve are central to the novel's reimagining of the Odyssey myth.

All characters in House of Odysseus