Wrath Goddess Sing

A very loose retelling of The Iliad where Achilles is transgender & the world is populated with transmen & trans women (including gods). Achilles had fled to Skyros, a trans sanctuary, to escape the bigotry of the mainland. They hunt her down to join the war on Troy and, upon discovery, the gods transform her to have the body of a cis woman. Her lover on Skyros, seeing Achillies as no longer one of them, spurns her and Achillies agrees to join the war.

There the mythos ties into transmasc Amazonians, Egyptian gods and, somehow, talking horny dolphins. As it goes on, it deviates more and more from the letter of The Iliad but keeps Achilles’ rebellious nature as she takes on the gods themselves for their bullshittery (true to form, the gods are assholes). Normally I'd be critical of straying too far from the text, but to be honest …

(Thank you to Netgalley for an advance digital copy of this book in return for a fair review.)

An author's first novel is always a little clunky, but I've never read one that shone with such promise as Wrath Goddess Sing. While the phrasing and pacing need a little polish, the story, characters, ideas, and raw emotions of the work shine through.

I think the most impressive thing about the story is how well Achilles works as a protagonist. Her perspective-- flawed and obviously biased-- somehow also makes the world feel more full. Nailing an unreliable narrator's point of view is a hard thing to do at the best of times, much less for an author's first go.

The blend of mythology, archaeology, classical paganism, and science weave a gripping story in a fully-realized world. Upping the stakes of the Trojan war is fantastic. The view of history this novel …