Ariadne's Web

Book of the Gods #2

by Fred Saberhagen

Theseus is a young man sentenced to be sacrificed to the gods. Ariadne is deeply in love with him. She conspires to save him from his grisly fate, but doesn't count on Dionysus stepping in to complicate matters. With mythical beasts and whimsical gods confronting them at every turn, Ariadne and Theseus must find their way through a maze of events that are as twisted as they are dangerous.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Mythology, Greek Mythology, Retellings, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Fred Saberhagen was an American science fiction and fantasy author most famous for his ''Beserker'' and Dracula stories.

Saberhagen also wrote a series of a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular ''Empire of the East'' and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Saberhagen was born in and grew up in the area of Chicago, Illinois. Saberhagen served in the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the Korean War while he was in his early twenties. Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an It was while he was working for Motorola (after his military service) that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30. "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, ''The Golden People''.

From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as well as writing its article on science fiction. He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the first book of the series, this book fell flat for me. I really struggled getting through it. It had a few interesting moments but most of it just dragged. It also left the Greek mythology feel too much for me. I mean, WHY was Shiva in this?! A mix of too many mythologies while focusing on one country as the many focus. Some parts of changing the myths I liked. Bringing the Minotaur to light is one thing I though was quite creative. Yet not enough to garner enough interest for me. I liked the style of the first book, following mainly one character. This had too many characters and not enough insight to get into a single one of them. I will not be continuing the series at this point.

[Gypsy Madden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Greek myths! And I especially love the myths that have a strong heroine in them. And I loved the idea of a book centering on one of the strongest heroines in Greek mythology. But though this book has her name in the title, Ariadne wasn’t the starring character. That honor went to her brother, the narrative voice, and to Theseus, and even to Alex the Half-Nameless palace guard. Usually I avoid Fred Saberhagen books because a lot of the time (okay, of the two books I picked up in the past) they come off as being a bit sexist. And, sadly, this one is no exception. While Ariadne is strong in her convictions and not breaking under troubling times, most of the time she was doing her duty as damsel-in-distress and waiting around for someone to rescue her, and falling in love with practically everyone good-looking who so much as smiled in her direction. In fact, I really can’t put a finger to any of the women standing toe to toe with any of the male characters. And point of fact, there was absolutely no mention of any of the female gods who we know full well would have joined in the fight (like Athena and Artemis). I did love how the gods were portrayed in this with the unique perspective as a face that they put on and turn themselves into an avatar, sharing one body with the consciousness of a god. I loved that Dionysus, even though a god, had limitations and faults, making him all the more relatable and real, rather than just a mythical idea. And I did love the entourage of Dionysus. And I especially loved seeing Apollo and all the originality of his character being brought to life. I had picked this book up at a book sale, and it has made me very interested in getting my hands on the first book in the series with the introduction of Apollo’s avatar. I’m also dying to see where this story continues and if the Face of Zeus is ever found, and if there might be a continuation of the characters in this book. I’d also love to see the female goddesses brought to life with Faces. I thought it was imaginative that there was an idea that the sex of the avatar didn’t really matter and that the face of say Zeus could be picked up by a woman, though I have my doubts on the author being quite that progressive since the blurbs on the further books all looked like they focused on male gods and male demi-gods. As far as the book itself went, it did feel slow and long, which is why I’m not granting this a full 5. And I felt like I should start a drinking game each time the paragraph started with “I, Asterion, …” each time it started a paragraph from the minotaur’s point of view (it got to be laughable after awhile). But if you like Greek myths, it is a decent read and an interesting perspective on the Theseus and the Minotaur myth.

[Abbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book took all the bad parts out of the Theseus/Ariadne/Minotaur story and gave everyone happy endings. The Minotaur isn't the threatening presence we know from the myth, and from so much great art throughout the ages (Picasso & William Blake come to mind). Instead, we learn from the chapters told from his perspective, he is a sensitive, emo, Ferdinand the Bull on a wuss's body. Also, Shiva is in this book, zapping people with his third eye (which apparently fires lazer beams). It is never explained why Shiva is hanging out in Crete. Maybe the first book in this series explains it, but this one is so bad that I have zero curiosity to research the first one & see if an explanation is presented for it or any of the book's other many bafflements.

[Larry James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saberhagen's usual interesting 'Gods' with the current device that they are all humans that have found and put on a 'Face'. "Face of Apollo", "Face of Shiva", etc. This grants them powers associated with whichever God as well as memories, history, and personality of whichever God the 'Face' belongs to. Missed out on the first book, may or may not try to pick it up eventually, but the parts are pretty much stand-alone. This one explores the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, named Asterion here. For the first half of the novel anyway. Unsure if/when we may get back to him as the next book features Jason and the Golden Fleece. Worth reading, but overall I enjoyed the Books of Swords run better. (Just judging from one book of the new series so far.

[Joshua King · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was pretty good for the most part