The White Island

Homeric Chronicles #4

by Janell Rhiannon

In this sweeping reimagining of Greek mythology, the Trojan War has ended, but its shadow lingers as the heroes return to homes they no longer recognize. Once the Greek ships sail from Troy, their journeys are anything but smooth sailing.

Odysseus whose heart is set on home must battle the ghosts of war that haunt his visions as well as the wrath of Poseidon. Penelope’s hold on the kingdom is threatened by the cunning suitors and the traitors within her household. As Telemachus looks to his future amidst increasing danger, he grapples with the absence of a father he has never truly known. And when he experiences the tender stirrings of an unexpected and forbidden love, he questions everything he thought he held dear.

Agamemnon arrives home with Cassandra and their child, shocking Clytemnestra who reconsiders her plans for revenge. Could she be as ruthless as her husband? She questions her resolve as she weighs the consequences. Agamemnon quickly realizes his wife has secured substantial power in his absence and turns to Orestes and Elektra to outwit her.

Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, struggles to carve a legacy in the shadow of his father’s greatness. After Troy, he finds himself questioning everything on his path to glory. And his war prize Andromache finds herself torn between grief and accepting a new life with the man who murdered her family. She has no forgiveness to offer until new threats emerge threatening to tear this new world apart.

Helen and Menelaus return to Sparta under a delicate truce held together by an unconventional marriage arrangement. This fragile unity is tested when they must regain their throne and reclaim their lives.

Briseis travels with seven Myrmidons along the Thracian and Macedonian coasts to Phthia. They guard her as their queen and widow of their fallen prince Achilles. She carries a gift from the gods and they vow to protect her with their lives. They are welcomed by Peleus and in this new home, Briseis finds that love does conquer all.

The dead live.Historical fantasy readers who enjoyed Circe, The Song of Achilles, and A Thousand Ships will love this series. The White Island is a deeply human perspective on ancient myths that transcends traditional retellings. A must-read for fans of Greek mythology and epic storytelling. This is an adult fantasy series.

Homeric Chronicles in
Song of Sacrifice (Pre-Trojan War)
Rise of Princes (Trojan War Era)
Rage of Queens (Last Days of the Trojan War)
The White Island (The Fall of Troy and the Return of Kings) June 2025
The White The Final Song (The Aftermath of War) July 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction, Greek Mythology, Mythology

554 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 14, 2025

About the author

I write historical fiction and fantasy. I am fascinated by Greek mythology. In graduate school, I focused on the ancient history of Greece and Rome. Hooked by the “sword and sandal” world, I studied everything I could about mythology and Alexander the Great.

The Homeric Chronicles series is dedicated to merging dozens of Greek myths, including Homer’s epics, with plays, history, and archaeology. My intent is to raise the heroines’ voices equally alongside the heroes, opening up a traditionally male focused genre to a female audience.

I live in CA and enjoy spending time with my children and grandchildren. I have a pack of two big dogs and two cats. I love to hear from readers. My favorite spot to scroll through is Twitter!

Interested in knowing more about the Greek heroes and heroines of Greek myth? Listen to my podcast Greek Mythology Retold. Available at iTunes and all other major podcast platforms.

*Other links available on webpage.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/g...

Homeric Chronicles (Historical Fiction/Mythology):
#1 Song of Sacrifice
#2 Rise of Princes
#3 Rage of Queens
#4 The White Island
#5 Legacy of Kings
#6 Song of Spring

Find me at:
Janell Rhiannon's website: www.janellrhiannon.com
TIK TOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@janellrhiannon
TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/theravenangel
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@JanellRhiannon
FACEBOOK @Janell Rhiannon Author https://www.facebook.com/JanellRhiann...
INSTAGRAM:
@ janell_rhiannon https://www.instagram.com/janell_rhia...
PINTREST: @ Janell Rhiannon

GREEK MYTHOLOGY RETOLD Podcast:
https://www.janellrhiannon.com/greek-...

Reviews

[Jordon Bains]

I do feel bad about giving it 2 stars, the story wasn’t soo bad but it felt completely different to the first 3, quite repetitive and very dragged out.. after such a long wait I just wanted more (but I will of course read the next one)

[Callen Leahy]

Not my favorite of her series unfortunately despite loving the previous books so much I did have to move forward with dming the author on twitter to ask about when this book was going to come out. I think I just expected it to be more about Odysseus and it ended up being less action and more build up. WHICH IS FINE I CLEARLY STILL LIKED IT. I did read she is coming out with two more to finish the series and I will be SAT.

[Jacinda Horne]

Another brilliant edition to the Homeric Chronicles

This book is everything that the other 3 are i felt like I was an invisible viewer in every scene. The mental
imagery is second to none Janell Jhiannon has long been a hidden gem in the historical fiction genre recommend to anyone who wants the entire trojan war told this is yours series

[Lashanti Jones]

I was pretty excited for this one but unfortunately it was not my favorite. It drug considerably which was surprising. I feel like the author dwelled longer than necessary on certain things. Like there’s so much subject matter but we’re repeating the same sentiments over and over again. Also there’s actual passages repeated over again (verbatim, word for word), I’m pretty sure that was an editing error. I noticed it twice. Plus there were a lot of typos.

I really struggled with the remembering of Achilles and Briseis traveling with the myrmidons. They talked constantly on who Achilles was and tried so hard to make him a sympathize worthy character. It fell significantly short. There was no accountability, everything was the gods fault (like they’re just not a culture that exalt a certain way of living). We know Achilles actions and actions speak to the character. Yet there was so much attempt to interpret him and the life he lived as something other. Personally this was not a depiction of Achilles I like and the same goes for Briseis. It’s just hard to fathom that another woman could tell another woman to basically make her life easier by bedding the man who slaughtered her whole family….. It was that much harder to read because Briseis went through the same exact thing and this is the disposition we chose for her? It was a no more for me. That could have been done another way so much better. Also there was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. We’re constantly told about a person rather than showing us. It takes away from the character you’re trying to build, so to me, the myrmidons didn’t come off as the author intended them to. I think the author tried to bring them down to earth and really show a different side of them that you don’t see in the war. Basically look, these men can be gentle and thoughtful but still deadly. The approach should have been subtler so that the reader could actually appreciate it and come to that conclusion on their own. Instead it felt force down our throats.

I do semi like where we’re going with Penelope. I felt Clytemnestra section was nowhere near as detailed as Briseis sections, which was weird because I felt as though we could’ve done without Briseis sections. Like wrap that up. It was so repetitive. I recognize we’re trying to depict deeper and heavier emotions but the execution was not great.

Overall it was not my favorite, there were a few sections near the end that I liked. But overall it took a while to get through this one. It was very repetitive and maybe should have been 200 pages shorter. In the authors attempt to give “depth” to some of the characters (which I think failed, I don’t mean this is a mean/unkind way), it stagnated the story as a whole. The emotional depth and perception the author tried to give these characters heavily conflicted with what we’d seen already. Also there was no accountability. Everything was blamed on the gods and while they played an important role I think that’s a cop out and you can’t give depth with out addressing said characters role in what they caused. It felt like one big woe is me pity party. But you have to give the reader the chance to feel bad rather, it also has to make sense and add up.

[April]

Helena is stuck learning that actions have consequences. Achilles’ son struggles to fight his inner demons and Agamemnon learns true pain for the first time. We all know Odysseus will struggle to find his way home for awhile yet. I could not put this book down. It was a welcome surprise that the author didn’t completely focus on Odysseus and his trials. Most authors prefer to stick to that particular tale. I really enjoyed reading more about Helena and the others. It was a welcome change from others that wrote about the Greek mythology. I’m excited to see what the next book holds. This one is less about bloodshed and more about lessons learned and I enjoyed it.

[Sarika Kelm]

Ever since I found The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley in a 10c book bin when I was 12, I have been a big Trojan War retelling fangirl. The market has been flooded with Greek mythology retellings lately and, quite frankly, many have been disappointing. I have enjoyed THIS series, however, and have been reading since book one. I appreciate how the author doesn’t hold back and manages to tell absolutely everybody’s point of view without being confusing. It’s chaotic! I Iove it.

Possible spoilers ahead. The White Island is a little slow compared to the previous books. It makes sense given where in the retelling it falls. Everybody is sad and trudging home. The story does pick up by the end and—whew.

I am not one to think overly much about trigger warnings, but I found reading about child deaths in this book very difficult. I had never been made nauseous by a book. I often read with a small child sleeping on me, so that probably exacerbated it!

Thank you to the author for allowing me to read this book early! I was very excited and can’t wait for the next installment.