Update: As of 2013 I took this book off publication. However, you can still get it in Verses of Athine! Why did I take it down? Made my life easier because I went in and edited all the novellas again and added the 4th one to the mix! Plus in Verses they are laid out in the order you need to read them. Book 5 in the series is in progress. If you read this prior to April 2013 with this cover then you are missing out on all the wonderful changes and editing :)
Athine has long been told she was the chosen one. Only problem is she doesn't want to be chosen for anything; she wants her own adventures. She gets her chance when she learns that her new powers allow her to kill other immortals.
Follow Athine from the beginning as she learns about her heritage and being an immortal born. See how she interacts with some notable immortals such as Zeus, Hera, Odin, and Morrigan. Learn about the origins of the vampire and what happened to the dragons!
This edition is one that contains all three "Athine Verses" stories under one title.
USA Today Bestselling Author Shannon McRoberts writes epic fantasy and urban fantasy books while living in the rolling hills of Kentucky. Shannon is a lover of all kinds of fantasy but enjoys watching her collection of favorite shows like Xena, Buffy, Firefly, Game of Thrones, and Farscape. When she's not busy with taking care of her family, binge watching Netflix, or making fantasy art, she is at her computer weaving myths and magic featuring women of grit and steel.
This novel begins with describing strong female deities that have taken on the responsibility to protect their world and the world around them which expands generations of mothers and daughters.
A demented Oracle Kinir connived, manipulated Ares daughter Harmonia into listening to false prophecies and selective breeding to bring about the ultimate weapon that would destroy her world. There is a major battle between two sisters and I have to say Harmonia and Athine are beasts! There’s plenty of action and there is the love of family that conquers all. Loved this story!
This author has offered her readers a unique perspective of going through the story in each character’s POV and I believe it worked very well. Books two and three go on to tell the adventures of Athine and her role as protector of N'Loron with plenty of action.
Updated: As of 4/1/2013 this book is no longer available and has been retired. I had major revisions completed to all three of the books originally under this title plus I added the 4th book in this series to complete the new collection.
In the place of the trilogy is "Verses of Athine", which you will find on my profile or you can go here:
This was a great read. I really enjoyed it. This author is new to me and I do plan to read more. I love her cover art which she did herself. The version I read was the entire trilogy together. It was the perfect length and really flowed well. I had a bit of trouble at the start but it really picked up in Chapter one. She writes characters well. They really stand out and have personality and life of their own. I would recommend this to any fantasy lover. Look forward to reading more from this author. And again love her art.
Offering up a heady mix of mythology, folklore, and prophecy, The Daughter of Ares Chronicles by Shannon McRoberts falls somewhere between classical adventure and epic fantasy. The overall story arc is comprised of three books, each of which offers up a satisfying story on its own, but which are interlinked by the stories of Athine and her sisters.
The Beginning establishes McRobert's world, presenting us with prophecies of doom and visions of hope, all centring around the young women selectively bred by the gods and goddesses to fulfill their anticipated roles. Multiple points of view, exhaustive background detail, intriguing twists and turns, and a careful development of her 'new' mythology carries the tale through to a strong end.
The story picks back up in The Narkurru, building upon the first chapter with a focus on Amazonian mythology. A simpler tale than the first one, it's definitely a bit of an easier read, but the conflicts and friendships already established lend it some added weight. In a nod to more traditional fantasy, McRoberts ventures into the realm of enchanted weapons, weaving them into her story.
With a story that blends the elements of the first two chapters, The Blood Sisters picks up on the legendary promiscuity of Zeus to offer an intriguing new origin and mythology for vampires. Even if it lacks the dire weight of prophecy that seemed to hang over the first volume, this concluding chapter is definitely the most significant of the three in terms of consequences and the potential for change.
McRoberts does an admirable job of building upon the classical legends we're already familiar with, adding additional branches of goddesses and demigoddesses to Zeus' rather convoluted family tree. Rather than try to replant the stories we already know, she uses them to establish roots for her tale, telling new stories that have either grown from or developed alongside those classic branches.
While I wouldn't necessarily call this a feminist fantasy, the three stories are very focused on the idea of feminine power, much the same way Xena: Warrior Princess or even Buffy The Vampire Slayer are. A great story arc, with a nice progression of themes, and some well-developed characters to carry it along, The Daughter of Ares Chronicles is definitely worth a read.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I’d previously read Athine Versus: The Beginning and Athine Versus: The Blood Sisters, but I’d inadvertently skipped Athine Versus: The Narkurru. So when Ms. McRoberts placed her mythology books on sale as a trilogy, I knew I had to read them all, this time in order.
I still love Ms. McRoberts’ artistry with extending Olympic mythology beyond the stories we learned in school. She created worlds for the gods and goddesses to defend and to rule. But, even better, she has written the stories that explain why the gods and goddesses are loving, jealous, protective and vindictive all at once.
In book one, Athine Versus: The Beginning, an Oracle's ancient prophecy foretold that Ares' favorite daughter will break a spell then allowing Ares to rule Olympia. Athine and Harmonia, two of Ares warrior daughters are fated to players in this prophecy. Will they choose to use their powers to save Olympus, Ximira and Draosia? Will they use their powers for personal gain?
In book two, Athine Versus: The Narkurru, Athine must protect the worlds from the Narkurru who are allowed to breach the veil due to an ancient curse.
In book three, Athine Versus: The Blood Sisters, Athine must protect Olympus from Nikeda and Morain’a. Ms. McRoberts yet again, weaves a tale extending mythology into a whole new realm while adding a new spin to the origins of the vampire.
And in a surprise twist, verse four, Worlds Collide, a time warp occurs allowing Olympus to meet inhabitants of Atlantis. This verse sets the stage for book five, and I for one, cannot wait to read it, too.
I would recommend these books to anyone that loves mythology, fantasy, strategy, and strong female warriors. I’d agree with the author’s statement that the age range should be 16+ years old, as the books depict the gods the way they were: both lusty and violent.
I love the artwork on this book and looked forward to writing of the same quality, but I found The Daughter of Ares confusing from early on. Chapters written from different character's point of views shouldn't be a problem, but here, too many were introduced too quickly, and I wasn't clear who the new character was and how she related to the last one. I thought that chapters were labelled with the name of the person whose point of view it showed, but to add to the confusion, some were labelled with the name of an event. We also jumped a generation without any notification, suddenly presented with the grown daughter of the woman we had just been introduced to in the last chapter.
Some of the dialogue seemed trite and some character actions unbelievable eg the witch telling Harmonica how she tricked her - why say anything? Athine is also easily convinced to consider Harmonica the enemy and to act as the witch wishes her to, despite the protestations of others. We are not shown the reasons for her actions. She talks about taking her revenge, but in who and for what? She also says that freeing the witch will be the answer to all her problems, but what problems?
I may have hung in there had the prose been better written, but when I find, not only passive writing, but also bad punctuation, eg full stops instead of commas before many of the dialogue tags, and incorrect of words such as there and their, my confidence is shaken. At 25% I'm looking for a reason to keep reading. When the narrative went off on a tangent in a long exposition of a character's back story that introduced even more characters and races, I gave up.