Lore Review

TWs: sexual assault, infanticide, torture, discrimination, psychological and physical abuse

In "Lore" by Alexandra Bracken, nine Greek gods are condemned to walk the Earth while hunted by the descendants of past heroes looking to seize their power, once every seven years. Lore who was once able to escape that world, suddenly finds herself allied to two gods: Athena, one of the last of the original gods, and Castor, her former friend who was thought to be dead.

General Impressions

I received this book in my first Fairyloot subscription box so other than recognizing the name of the author and having seen a lot of online buzz around it I went into this story without any expectations. Two things immediately grabbed my attention in an iron grip: the beautiful writing and Lore in all her glorious rage.

More than academic research or general curiosity, this was a world informed by the authors' own culture and you could truly feel it in the way Alexandra built the world and created her characters. More than legends or god versus mankind, this was a book about a hidden community ruled by archaic rules that affect every aspect of their lives and personality and I really enjoyed how the author explored that cult mentality, how you were indoctrinated from an early age to not only obey blindly but police everyone else as well to make sure there was nothing other than unquestionable loyalty to the cause.

I was a big fan of how diverse this book was, not only when it came to different races inside the hunter's world but especially when it came to the (almost complete) absence of the "blue-eyed, blond-haired" stereotype Hollywood has been telling us for years is what ancient greek people looked like. I also adored to see queer characters in this story and only wish queerness inside the hunter community had been further explored. The fact that this

was a book about greek culture unsullied by western (let's be honest mostly Anglo-Saxon) ideals of what ancient Greece ought to look like was enough to make me happy.

This was one of the most unpredictable books I have ever read: it was plot twists after plot twists. I never knew what would happen on the next page much less the next chapter. Every character had satisfying and complex arcs and brought something to the plot and I loved the way that the way they interacted betrayed years of companionship or hate.

Characters

Lore completely won over my heart in the very first chapter. Her self-assurance and attitude set her apart from the crowd at every turn. More than brave or snarky, Lore came across as real: she had a past that influenced her, a vision of the future she was prepared to fight for with teeth and nails, passions, dreams, blind spots and weaknesses. I particularly liked the way Lore dealt with her failings as she became aware of them: her pride, her guilt, her rashness were as important as her skills and strengths to the plot. Rather than giving us a sob story and then making that her entire personality until she was healed by the love of a man, Alexandra Bracken gave us a heroine that lived and learnt from her actions and consequences without ever making her pain feel forced or exploitative.

Athena was an interesting character because she was not human and the author never tried to write her as one. She is always a godly being thousands of years old, the rules that bind her being completely different from a human. She doesn't grow as humans do, her evolution coming not from inside but from the way her worshipers see her. If you are a fan of Percy Jackson, you'll definitely recognize the greek gods and their entitlement.

Castor and the two other boys, Evander and Miles are absolutely lovely. The more I think about them (and I think about Evander a lot because he is awesome) the more they contrast with the rest of the male characters in the rest of the book in how their self-assurance and confidence doesn't come from knocking others down. We see all these boys being insecure, loving and afraid and never be ashamed of it, in spite of having been taught and living in a word that teaches them that they should only strive for being strong and threatening.

Castor in particular spends a lot of the book struggling with the fact that for most of his life he was never seen as good enough and he still makes a conscient effort to be his best, instead of taking revenge on those that mistreated him. He was kind, patient and forgiving and I loved every scene with him. The only thing I didn't like about Castor was that he was a smidge too objectified and at times that made me uncomfortable.

Gender

Part of what made me love the depiction of greek and warrior tradition in Lore was how gender inside this society was broadly discussed across all kinds of aspects of these characters lives, particularly when it came to women.

Instead of giving us a magical equalitarian society, Alexandra created a world that like our own, was slow to change and often punishing of those that strived for it. This book is great at showing how hard it is to be something you have never seen before and the blowback to the possibility of change, both by those that benefit from the status quo and those that have been indoctrinated. Alexandra shows both opposition and complacency as choices and judges all her characters for them

The biggest question this book asked me was, should you ensure survival through quiet compliance or risk everything, no matter the consequences?

Lore was all the more interesting because she is not an irrealistic exception to her upbringing and culture: she goes from not only believing but fiercely and proudly protecting tradition to completely refuse it and how she deals with that sudden absence in her life. Athena and Lore are very much parallels of each other and the chapter in which they seat down and

confront each other on the ways their actions or lack of ripple across the world was so meaningful for me.

Conclusions

Alexandra Bracken delivered a wonderfully complex world that felt both original and faithful to its source material. If you want to read a standalone with a great story, look no further.

My only complaint is that Medusa never showed up :(

Rating: 4.5/5