Lore by Alexandra Bracken – Review

 

Published: January 5, 2021

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Series: Standalone

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pages: 480 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 4.5.5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds comes a sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love and redemption.

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.
Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family’s sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory. For years she’s pushed away any thought of revenge against the man–now a god–responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore’s decision to bind her fate to Athena’s and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost–and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

---

Look at me, starting off the new year with an on-time review! Lore is Alexandra Bracken’s latest fantasy novel and it’s a standalone – total, satisfying completion in one easy book. I must admit, I was drawn in by the striking cover featuring Medusa. This is based on Greek mythology so that and the title are quite appropriate!

Lore is actually the shortened name of our main character Melora Perseous, last of the line of Perseus. She was formerly part of a society of hunters descended from the famous ‘heroes’ of legend (Herakles, Perseus, etc.) and it is their mission to hunt down the nine Greek gods during a period called the Agon. The Agon occurs for seven days every seven years and during this time the gods become mortal and can be killed. Their killer will take up their mantle, usually enriching their own house in the process. It is a vicious cycle, with the houses hunting down the mortal gods, but also killing one another. House Kadmou is the strongest and their former leader and current Ares incarnation is the one that murdered Lore’s parents and baby sisters during the last Agon. Lore stepped away from that life and has been hiding ever since, but the Agon is in New York again and when Athena shows up on her doorstep wounded, she makes a deal to hunt down Aristos Kadmou and get her revenge. 

This was an edge of your seat adventure throughout and I actually had to put it down a couple times when I just knew something terrible was about to happen. Alex Bracken is not afraid to hurt the characters you love or have them hurt others so be prepared! Lore’s desire for revenge and the rage she holds inside really propel this story forwards, but it’s certainly not all about vengeance. She is reunited with a childhood friend she thought dead since the previous Agon and there’s some happiness, a lovely found family arc, and plenty of heart-pounding action. The story is further rounded out with a series of flashback chapters from seven years (or more) prior, when Lore was first meeting Castor and Van, her first encounter with Aristos Kadmous, and the revelation as to why Aristos would want her dead. 

This is for real one of the best young adult fantasy books I’ve read in FOREVER. This would easily appeal to those who primarily read adult fantasy, though the characters are teenagers. The writing is mature and the characters aren’t a bunch of childish idiots and none of them suffer from being overly powerful or the Chosen One. Lore was an excellent change of pace from what I’ve been reading, as it is set in present day New York and I was surprised to find that I do in fact still dig stories about Greek gods in modern times. Overall, I’d highly recommend this for any YA fans, adult fantasy readers looking for an excellent mythology story, and most definitely for fans of Alexandra Bracken’s previous works!