Feminist Greek Myth in Wings of Fury | Book Review

【 WINGS OF FURY 】

A twisty-turny retelling of Greek myth with women taking the lead.

Genre: Mythology (retelling)
Author: Emily R. King
Published: March 2021
Publisher: 47North
Pages: 302 (paperback)

I’ve been really excited to read this book and so glad that I finally have. Before reading this, I thought premise sounded really cool and there were solid hints that this would be a feminist retelling (which is always a great thing in mythology).

I found one of the most satisfying parts of this book to be the way that the author retold the mythology. Going into this and being familiar with Greek myth made it so much fun. Zeus was hilarious and everything I expect him to be – powerful but a total (slightly loveable) ass.

Althea was a feisty main character who was your classic mortal taking on the burden of the gods somewhat unwillingly, but not really having much choice about it. Her devotion to her sisters and her cunning to find the best solution made the plot exciting – she’s a big picture thinker, rather than a blind-sided hero.

The feminism in this was also epic. There were so many great moments where Althea doesn’t take bullshit and calls it as it is. She’s not afraid to shy away from the truth of just how unfairly and badly women have it. And I really enjoyed that she wasn’t meek and that no one (man, woman or other) got away with any form of misogyny without a dressing down. This is always fun to throw into myth/historical fiction to shake up the POV.

My only other comment is that the ending was ferociously rushed. The crux of the story happens within the last three chapters, which was a whirlwind to get my head around and in my frantic attempts to keep up with the plot twists, I wasn’t able to totally enjoy the ending. There were also some things left unresolved (perhaps book 2 will answer?)

This book has been flagged as a love triangle in several reviews, but Althea makes it pretty clear throughout the entire book, repeatedly, that she’s not romantically interested in men at any point. She’s a sexually empowered woman who challenges the status quo that women can’t just have sex because they want to, rather than because they’re in love.

So in sum, this is a great, fun YA read for fans of mythology. It’s not just a YA romance set in a mythologically inspired setting, it’s a crafty reimagining of myth – so if you’ve read Stephen Fry’s Greek Myths Retold, for example, this is definitely your thing.