Beyond the Words, Past
A Science Fiction / Fantasy Column
By Jo Rogers

Hades’ Daughter
The Troy Game, No. 1
Sara Douglass
Tor Books — January 2003
0-765-30540-2 — Hardcover
Fantasy - Violence, sexual situations

Reviewed by Jo Rogers, MyShelf.com
Buy a Copy

   Theseus sailed from Crete with Ariadne and her sister Phaedra, but he did not take Ariadne, now pregnant with Theseus’ child and within days of delivery, all the way to Athens. Instead, he left her on an island in the Aegean Sea. There, he said, she could give birth comfortably on land, for she could not give birth at sea. He said he would come back for her when he could return from Athens.

   Ariadne, however, knew better. She knew he would never return. As a Mistress of the Labyrinth, she could never bear him a son, and he wanted a son. Phaedra, her beautiful younger sister, could bear a child of either sex. Ariadne knew then that Theseus would never marry her, never acknowledge their daughter. He would, instead, make Phaedra his wife. She vowed to wreak her revenge on both of them, swearing she would destroy Theseus’ entire world.

    Soon, Ariadne went into labor, but hard as she tried, she could not bring her daughter forth. When she saw the midwives of the island begin to debate over which knife to sharpen to cut the child from her and she saw the Death Crone beside her, Ariadne decided it was time to make a deal. The Death Crone complied, giving Ariadne her life, her daughter’s life and a visit with her brother’s shade. Then, she began to wreak her vengeance.

   A labyrinth was concealed somewhere beneath each ancient city. All the evil that would beset or destroy the city was trapped within the heart of this labyrinth. Using the magic Asterion taught her, Ariadne unraveled the magic of each labyrinth, one city at a time. She saved only one.

    The story then moves forward a hundred years. Ariadne is long in her grave. But she has passed her powers down to her youngest daughter, and to the youngest daughter of each succeeding generation. Her great-great-granddaughter now holds the power. She is the one who will bring the revenge to fruition.

    Brutus, the man that holds the kingship bands of Troy is the one Genvissa sought. But he complicated her plans when he kidnapped and married the daughter of the king of Mesopotama, the city Ariadne spared. Genvissa can’t just get rid of young Cornelia, for she carries Brutus’ son and heir. She continued her plans, though, because she is sure Brutus will leave Cornelia for her. Cornelia can give him a son, but only Genvissa can give him what he wants most — a city of his own to rule.

     The story goes back and forth between ancient Albion — Great Britain to us — and London on the eve of World War II. This is where Brutus and the reborn Asterion will have their final battle for the kingship bands. The fate of the world will rest on the outcome.

     Hades’ Daughter is the magnificent beginning to what seems to be another Sara Douglass masterpiece fantasy series. Though I have given you a few tidbits of the plot, there is much more than I have told. You must read the book to get the whole story. And this is just the beginning! I anxiously await the next installment!

     Here, I usually include an interview with the author. However, I have been too ill and too swamped with household duties to be able to do the interview. This column is long overdue, as I intended to have it done with an interview last February. Also, as you have probably noticed, my columns in the last year have become somewhat sporadic.

   Thus, it is with great sorrow that I must bid you farewell. This is my last column here. The next journey you take between the words will have another guide. I hope you have enjoyed our trips as much as I have.

© MyShelf.Com. All Rights Reserved.