Atlanta by Jennifer Saint

Book Blub
When a daughter is born to the King of Arcadia, she brings only disappointment.

Left exposed on a mountainside, the defenceless infant Atalanta is left to the mercy of a passing mother bear and raised alongside the cubs under the protective eye of the goddess Artemis.

Swearing that she will prove her worth alongside the famed heroes of Greece, Atalanta leaves her forest to join Jason’s band of Argonauts. But can she carve out her own place in the legends in a world made for men?

My Review
After the success of her previous books, Ariadne and Elektra Jennifer Saint has written her third book based on another female from Greek Mythology, Atlanta. I knew the stories of her previous characters quite well but Atlanta I knew only by name. Jennifer Saint brings to light Atlanta’s story, the only woman to have sailed on the Argo with Jason and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece. This is a pretty fast paced read, that takes the reader on the journey to Colchis with a ship full of hero’s and one mighty heroine.

As mentioned above I have heard of Atlanta but not much her story. Like many Greenk Heroines, she is a strong and powerful woman but unlike many she is not the daughter of a god or goddess. Atlanta was the daughter of the King of Arcadia, but because she was a girl she was left on a hill to die of exposure. Raised by bears under the watch of the goddess Artemis, who teaches Atlanta to run and hunt and be self reliant. To sail on the Argo under the goddess Atlanta shows her confidence as she moves from her secluded life in Arcadia to that on the Argo where she is part of a group, and a male group. Atlanta is a worthy heroine, showing her contemporaries, that she deserves to part of the crew with her strength and agility. I found her story to be fascinating and inspirational, her strength of character, her courage, her self belief in a man’s world. As well as Atlanta there are some wonderful and well known characters in Jason and his crew, Medea, and Callisto to name just a few.

As with her previous novels the attention to detail and knowledge of Greek Mythology shines through. I lost myself completely in this book, the voyage of the Argonauts and the dangers they faced was exciting, and Atlanta’s personal story was inspiring. The writing itself was lyrical, the plot flowed seamlessly and the prose captured the exhilaration of the voyage and the low of coming home. Like many myths there is a darkness to the the story, with murder, betrayal, strange creatures, but there is also some light with a touch of romance and some fun on the voyage. As well as Atlanta’s story, Jennifer Saint includes the stories of other famous mythological characters; Callisto, Persephone, Prometheus to name a few. I thought the most powerful words were the one that closed the book ‘I am wild, I am free. I am Atlanta’.

I have loved Jennifer Saint’s pervious novels ,Ariadne and Elektra but I think Atlanta is my favourite read. I liked that Jennifer Saint has focused her book on a lesser known character this time and brought her skill, heroism and ambition to light. Beautifully written, this is a powerful and intoxicating read that shines a new light on the story of Jason and the Argonauts, and introduces us to an inspiring woman. I’m really looking forward to see who is the subject of Jennifer Saint’s next book in her Greek Mythology series.

I’d like to thank Anne Cater from Random Things Tours and Headline Books for iviting me to be part of this blog tour.