Rage of Queens

Homeric Chronicles #3

by Janell Rhiannon

After years of fighting, the fate of Troy hangs precariously in the balance. Rage and revenge rule the final days, as the heroines and heroes come face to face with their fates. Some will be victorious. Some will die.

“Achilles’ life is forfeit for the pains he has brought to our household. The gods will not protect a defiler. The son of Thetis will not escape the wrath of Apollo’s silver bow. Or my vengeance.” — Hecuba, Queen of Troy
_____________________________
Hecuba bargains with Apollo of revenge against Achilles.
Clytemnestra rules Mycenae as her own without Agamemnon.
Helen struggles against Aphrodite’s curse.
Briseis suffers as Agamemnon’s new slave.
Hektor fights to save Troy against all the odds.
Achilles fumes under the weight of dishonor.
Paris realizes his existence might cost the city he’s come to love...everything.

Genres: Mythology, Greek Mythology, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Retellings, Classics, Feminism

491 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2021

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 (WIP)
#4 Return of Kings (WIP)

Find me at:
Janell Rhiannon's website: www.janellrhiannon.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/theravenangel
YouTube @ Janell Rhiannon https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-cj...
Facebook @Janell Rhiannon Author https://www.facebook.com/JanellRhiann...
Instagram @ janell_rhiannon https://www.instagram.com/janell_rhia...
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Reviews

[robert johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hire a proofreader already

After reading all three books in this series, I can only give it two stars. First and foremost are the glaring grammar and spelling errors; it's unacceptable in finished and published work, and it really does ruin the experience more than people realize. Second, the glaring errors regarding the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. We endured the familial term "cousin" enough during the movie; this of us willing to dedicate our time to reading about it would prefer truth.

If you're looking for a slightly more mature than Disney version of the Trojan War that you can read while day drinking and romanticzing, enjoy. However, if you want to read well written and researched work, I suggest reading Madeline Miller's book, Song of Achilles. Or anything else.

[Helena Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was so good. This series is a rich, dramatic retelling of the Iliad. Rage of Queens focuses deeply on the women of the Iliad. Janell Rhiannon has given the women full voice and we see them in their joy, their glory, their maliciousness, and their pain and anguish. When I really enjoy a tale I see and hear the characters in full color and surround sound. This entry had me fully immersed in the story, the grit of sand under my feet all the way to the cool, polished marble halls of Troy. Several times I was holding my breath as I read. Now the wait for the next entry in the series.

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rage of Queens is the third book in the Homeric Chronicles by Janell Rhiannon and my least favourite so far.

Maybe because it's been a while since I've read the first two books and so I forgot some storylines, but I struggled to get invested in the characters and the story. I also missed Clytemnestra, who was one of my favourite in the first two books, while here she was barely present.

That being said, it was still a solid read overall, and I really appreciated how all the characters, both Trojans and Greeks, were multi-layered and not entirely good or evil. The Greek gods were also very present in the story, which I enjoyed.

[Manuel Gómez-Ortigoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and offers a new angle to the siege of Troy. I disagree with some of the literary licenses the author took in disregard of what we know of the myths. Yet, she is a good story teller.

[Demi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, the last 100 pages or so brought me great sadness. My heart simply breaks for Achilles and Briseis so much just as much as it does for Hektor and Andromache.
Really plays with your feelings as you want to root for the Trojans or the Greeks.

I'm truly looking forward to the fourth book!

[Janna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Homeric retelling

As a big Greek mythology fan, I can't praise this series enough. So detailed and intricate, I feel as though I know these characters in ways I never have before. Looking forward to the next installment!

[Jam Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love these books. They are written so well and really make you feel part of the story. The detail, the characters, I was so engrossed. I also love that the gods are actively involved, like the original myths. Not too keen when writers try to make myths realistic. Like Mary Renault etc.
I would have given this 5 stars if it wasn't for the grammatical errors now and then, and the sex scenes that I found almost smutty. Maybe I'm a prude, but I felt some of the scenes went a bit unnecessarily far and kind of cheapened the rest of the beautiful writing.
Still, hoping for a 4th 🤞

[JOSIE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Sumit · Rating 5 out of 5]

🅱🅾🅾🅺 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆: 𝓡𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓠𝓾𝓮𝓮𝓷𝓼 by @janell_rhiannon



🩸1238 BCE. After years of fighting, the fate of Troy hangs precariously in the balance. When Apollo's wrath plagued the Trojan camp, Briseis, Achilles slave was taken away by Agamemnon to teach show him his place. In Troy, Queen Hecuba languishes the death of his children and deals with Apollo to seek revenge against Achilles, while her daughter-in-law, Andromache is living with the fear of losing everyone dear to her life. Helen, the person for whom this war was fought struggles against Aphrodite's curse and causes more grief in Paris's life, who finally realizes his existence might cost the city he’s come to love...everything. As Rage and revenge rule the final days, the heroines and heroes come face to face with their fates. Some will be victorious. Some will die.

“𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙚? 𝙒𝙝𝙮? 𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚. 𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚. 𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙚. 𝙉𝙤𝙬, 𝙄’𝙢 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙, 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙚.” — 𝘼𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙨

🩸The book - 3rd in Homeric Chronicles - is a retelling of the famous story of the Trojan War which is narrated from the multiple POVs of men and gods alike and where the women played a major role. It basically chronologizes the events of the last years of the Trojan war, where Achilles, the Myrmidon commander of Greek face-off Hektor, the Defender of Troy, and how it affects the person closes to them. It also provides a timeline of the last 2 books for a quick reminder of the story, which I think really quite helpful.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙩. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙥𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙖𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙨. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙚. 𝙏𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩.” — 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙣, 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙖

🩸The author's writing is refined, elegant, and captivating. Her vast knowledge of the ancient Greek world and myths is displayed on every page. Once you began reading, the short chapters, fast pacing scenes, and constant switching of POVs make the book hard to put down. And the grand battle scenes not only between men but also between gods are written so beautifully that it reminds me of action sequences of the Netflix show Fall of the Tory and the movie Gods of Egypt and enhances my reading experience.

“𝘼𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙨’ 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙧. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤’𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙬. 𝙊𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚.” — 𝙃𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙗𝙖, 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙮

🩸The book had a huge cast and I appreciated that it provides a list of characters for the readers. All of them a well flashed out and their inner turmoil is shown perfectly which helps to connect with them. Strong female characters - Hacuba, Clytemnestra, Andromache, Helen, Briseis, Penelope, Thetis - move the story, but Archilles, Patrokles, Paris, Hektor just stole the limelight in this book. Beside them, the entire Olympian pantheons played a major role in the battle by showering favors to their chosen warriors/ leading them inside the battle.

“𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙮. 𝘽𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮. 𝙃𝙚𝙠𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨.𝙉𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚. 𝙊𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚. 𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙙. 𝙈𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙙. 𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬. 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩.” - 𝙋𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙢, 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙮

🩸If you know the Trojan war story then you might have already know how it's gonna end. The author had added her own touch to make it unique which I like very much, but I feel the final face-off sence between Hektor and Achilles is written hastily. Judging by the stature of these two heroes I was expecting a long protracted face-off.

“𝙕𝙚𝙪𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨? 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙨. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙣.”

Overall, Rage of Queens is a wonderful read and I'm eagerly waiting for the next book which is going to be released at the end of this year. If you love Greek mythology and the strong female characters, with an extra touch of divinity then it is a perfect read for you. Highly recommended.

𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨(4.5/5)

[Lashanti Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m giving it 4 stars because the story was undoubtedly captivating . I wasn’t a fan of some of the “takes” and “emotions” I guess you could say. But the vividness and the imagery just really brings the story to life.

I feel like no one was angry, or angry enough. Clytemnestra and Hecuba don’t count and even if we are considering them, their anger in my opinion was very weak and stale. The women in general weren’t angry enough. I would like to see Helen as a villain or as someone aware and unabashed, not this complicated “woe is me” mess we keep getting.

The death of Patrokles and leading up to is as told by this author wasn’t my favorite. It just wasn’t super gripping and impactful to me(lackluster and unimaginative). The “love” thing between all 3 of them was super played out. Like I’ll admit that Achilles loved Patrokles and Patrokles him but after that it all turns into lust when we’re talking about Briseis. She lusted for them and they lusted for her. That’s about it. Maybe she had deeper feeling for Patrokles only because she was able to describe what she “loved” so much about him. But you have to keep in mind the whole captivity part and the huge power imbalance. So is that love or are you a victim of your circumstances?? Now as far as her and Achilles, it was straight lust. By the end of the novel the love thing was super played out and exhausting.

Everyone was nauseatingly emotionally unintelligent but Achilles really took the cake. The man was insufferable and exhausting. There was a general lack of accountability, true accountability. The blame was continuously shifted in a circular direction. The gods and goddesses were used as a cop out and as an excuse to why everyone behaved the way they behaved and no one ever acknowledged how they were actually given a choice. They were just too mentally weak to act on it. Also we could’ve given the gods and goddesses a little bit more personality, emotions and character. The whole “they feared Zeus” things was over used and contradictory when they constantly schemed and disobeyed him at every turn. Like that’s not fear, that’s just what we’re saying it is so we don’t have to break it down and explain deeper and more complicated dynamics.

But yeah, definitely not my favorite of the 3 but it still captivates you and holds your attention despite the jarring behavior and depictions. Like I said the descriptive detail was really good and brought the novel to life (you can really visualize it, easily I might add). The author does a good just at capturing the speech patterns of the time period. It makes it easier to immerse yourself into the novel. Also the “intimacy” was fine and kind of like whatever in the other novels but in this one it was really tired. Like can we get some genuine fear, dread, anxiety and depression?? Doing “the deed” is the last thing of people’s mind when faced with some of the challenges these characters faced in this novel.

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only embarked upon this third volume because of the title: at last we were going to be treated to the denouement of Clytemnestra's revenge upon Agamemnon for the sacrifice of their daughter Iphigenia. But no - the story doesn't even finish on the sack of Troy, and Clytemnestra hardly features. I'm not sure whose rage is referenced unless it is that of Hecuba which is more of a 'revenge is a dish best served cold' type since she does little other than endlessly talk about how she's counting on Apollo to do the deed against Achilles.

One interesting aspect was the exploration of the Paris/Helen relationship as one in which they came to hate each other but were literally turned on by each other's physical presence due to the spell cast on them by the goddess Aphrodite.

As with volume 2, the only saving grace was Briseis who does come across as a real person. Unfortunately, not only were the excruciatingly badly written sex scenes in full force, but the fight scenes became even more over the top gore. And the level of four letter swearing was racked up until almost every character was saying f*** and even c*** just about every sentence. The author obviously is capable of writing touching scenes, and in occasionally using restraint - the most effective bedroom scene, that was a real love scene, was an encounter between Hektor and Andromache which didn't resort to the 'sacred cross', 'bud' and other terminology employed so liberally elsewhere.

It's a pity that no editor or proof-reader was engaged because there were so many mistakes including words missed out of sentences and even in one place the wrong name being used: Themis instead of Thetis. Word usage also suffers: for example, 'passed' is used in several places where 'past' would be the correct word, and a 'dissension' was turned into 'distention'. Worse than that were the continuity problems. The ages of various left-at-home sons veered between sixteen and twenty four as if the author was suggesting the siege of Troy went on for a lot longer than ten years, but then there were two references to it being in the ninth year of the siege. So I was left completely confused as to how old these boys were meant to be.

To conclude, I suppose the story will be dragged out in yet more volumes but I'm giving up with this one in search of a series that better depicts the Trojan War.

[Davy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hopefully if you're about to read book 3, you've read the previous 2 books in the Homeric Chronicles. Its an original re-telling of The Illiad/ Trojan War turned upside-down in a ADULT, fantastical way that your grandad or grade school could NEVER do justice.
Book 3 continues our journey with everyone you could possibly love more, despise more, hate more & lust for..
The sex, violence, magic, desception & betrayal is amped up in a Shakespearean Bow that only the author could deliver. The only needed or wanted is... BOOK4.

[Bill Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange read.

As with the other 2 books, I am not a fan of the blending of the “real” and the supernatural….personal feeling.
Some parts of the story were quite gripping but other parts tended to drag on for too long.
It seems odd that in the middle of a war and a siege, the main characters are never short of time for sex. It became a bit wearisome.
If there is a final book, I would be tempted to buy it, but these are not amongst my favourite reads.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can I cry so much over an ending that I already know? Loved the book and lived this series - honestly a fantastic retelling of the Iliad. I love the depth given to the characters. Can’t wait for the 4th book to come out……even as my heart breaks over the ending of this one.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Janell Rhiannon killed it again! one of the best authors i’ve read from within the greek mythology/history retelling!

I read “Rise of Princes” (#2) and this book on my cruise and it was the perfect book for some R&R!

I cannot wait for the #4 book “The White Island” to come out!!!!

[sha · Rating 3 out of 5]

the whole trilogy was entertaining if not wildly dramatic, taking lots of liberties with mythology and its cast of characters.

[Lyds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs an editor and felt like it dragged on, even I got tired of the Trojan war and I wasn’t even there.