Excellent book. I'm not an historian but it seems well researched to me. It's full of mysticism, oracles, bull dancing, ancient gods and death. Loved it. ( )

Review: The Year-God’s Daughter by Rebecca Lochlann.

I love to read about Greece. I have never been there but I have read many interesting things about Greece that keeps me intrigued enough about learning more. Even fiction has plenty of history and truth embedded within the stories that has a mystique feeling about the culture, the ancient civilization, the old architecture buildings and the past eras of time. There is plenty to read to keep the reader fascinated to the very end. Rebecca Lochlann did her research and created a story filled with traditional rituals, blood sacrifices, corruption, dancing with the bulls, in the era of “the Bronze Age” in Crete. The story was well written and the characters were fully developed.

This is a story of a Queen who rules Crete and she is getting ready to hand down her power to her eldest daughter, Iphiboe who is destined to become Queen, she is quiet, shy, having no confidence, afraid of men and no leadership within her. She does not want the position of becoming Queen and having no choice in who she marries. There is a ritual competition that suitable men have to do which includes killing the King that has served his year with the Queen of Crete. A man who wins the right to become King for a year only serves that one year and he will also be killed by the next male who wins the title of King for a year. Strange tradition but there is never a lack of men to compete each year.

She has a lovely spirited younger sister, Aridela who is yearning to live and love beyond the restrictions placed on her by their harsh matriarchal society. Minos Themiste, a priestess, has openly stated that Aridela will stay a virgin and live in the caves to be groomed to become the next spiritual person for life. She is admired by all men for her beauty and open behavior of rebelling and breaking all restrictions she can. She even defied her mother the Queen by secretly getting into the bull ring the first time and participated in performing a dance with the a vicious bull and got speared by its horn. At this time she is still a child under fifteen but ready to challenge the rule of the Queen. Aridela recovered and her second attempted with the bull she prevailed.

Aridela defiance doesn’t stop there and her antics will keep the reader following and loving her character to the end. ( )

There was much to like in this book: the research, the politics, some of the characters. This time period fascinates me and I appreciate the amount of research that went into its construction. The setting is fully developed; societal mores/religion well integrated and believable. Most of the main characters grabbed me and I'd like to know what happens next. However, I found the writing a bit overwrought and the story padded--but I prefer more straight forward writing and action. Others who like a more languid pace and lots of description will like the book better. If it had not ended on a cliffhanger, I would have given it four stars. As is, the ending was far too abrupt with nothing--absolutely nothing!--resolved about the plot and character challenges. I understand some books are too long for one volume and, in the past, publishers have broken them up, but more modern epics usually have some resolution within the plot before moving on. ( )

I am acquainted with the author via social networking, which should in no way be construed as an admission that the following review is biased. If I don’t like a book, I won’t finish reading it no matter who wrote it.

The Year God’s Daughter is the first in author Rebecca Lochlann’s Child of the Erinyes series. Even without reading the bio on her website, it’s obvious from the first few pages that this is an author who did her research. She spent fifteen years acquainting herself with ancient Greece, and it shows. Authenticity is steeped into each chapter.

If you are not a fan of historical fiction, don’t let that stop you from reading this excellent book. The finely-honed characterization is such that even with a host of unfamiliar names, you will never lose track of who’s who. The narrative never gets boring – the author has produced a fine balance between description and action.

The story opens with the child Aridela, beloved princess on the island of Crete, recklessly attempting to fulfill her dream of becoming a bull dancer – she believes the goddess Athene has made it her destiny to accomplish the daring and difficult feat. Menoetius is a young foreigner, bastard son of the High King of Mycenae, tasked with finding any weakness in Crete’s defenses. They meet under dire circumstances, and thus begins “Glory, passion, treachery and conspiracy on the grandest scale.”

Divine destiny is a deep-seated theme throughout. Constant regional earthquakes are interpreted by the ruling priestesses as omens, and most everything is imbued with celestial meaning. The reader is immersed in a vivid culture of devoted spirituality. Athene must be appeased with violent sacrifice and every year that sacrifice is the queen’s latest consort – a man who bested all other competitors for the honor of living large for a year and then allowing his blood to consecrate Crete’s soil. Crete is a matrilineal society, but male-dominated kingdoms surround them, and contempt for Athene is spreading on the mainland. If the encroaching changes reach as far as Aridela’s peaceful, prosperous island, a long-prophesied catastrophe will befall them all. From the start, we know this story is headed for a spectacular, world-changing ending. I can’t wait for the rest of the series to see how it all plays out…

Rebecca Lochlann has produced a book of uncommon quality. Highly recommended. ( )

Aridela is meant to be a priestess, to save herself for no man, and to become an oracle, dedicating her life to Athena. Only she doesn't want to.

Iphoebe is a princess, destined to become the next queen, to carry on the royal line, to marry and to sacrifice her husband to the Year-god. Only she doesn't want to.

Aridela's birth herald's a time of change, but those who love her are determined to protect her. In protecting her, are they not defying the Goddess's will? All that they understand and think they know is challenged when the sons of the Mycenean king come to call, with aspirations for the Cretan throne, and for Aridela. Can they have both? And what happens when their year is up? Will they even survive to be the conquerors they are determined to be. And, of course, there can be only one.

It's been a long time since I was so engrossed in a book. From beginning to end it was an absolute page-turner. Ms. Lochlan's research must be extensive, as her representation of ancient Crete was vivid and convincing. Each setting was painted in just enough detail to place me within the scene without ever feeling heavy handed. Her action scenes were written with precision, as though she'd fought in them herself. Her characters are believable and easy to empathise with, even poor Iphoebe, the shrinking violet of a crowned princess. The plot is anything but predictable, and as a series, the question asked above, have not yet been answered. I'm anxious to read the follow-up. I know I won't be disappointed. This was a really great read, absolutely transported me to another time and place. I love it when a book can do that. ( )