Wrath Goddess Sing
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Katherine Pucciariello
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By:
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Maya Deane
About this listen
Drawing on ancient texts and modern archeology to reveal the trans woman’s story hidden underneath the well-known myths of The Iliad, Maya Deane’s Wrath Goddess Sing weaves a compelling, pitilessly beautiful vision of Achilles’ vanished world, perfect for fans of Song of Achilles and the Inheritance trilogy.
The gods wanted blood. She fought for love.
Achilles has fled her home and her vicious Myrmidon clan to live as a woman with the kallai, the transgender priestesses of Great Mother Aphrodite. When Odysseus comes to recruit the “prince” Achilles for a war against the Hittites, she prepares to die rather than fight as a man. However, her divine mother, Athena, intervenes, transforming her body into the woman’s body she always longed for, and promises her everything: glory, power, fame, victory in war, and, most importantly, a child born of her own body. Reunited with her beloved cousin, Patroklos, and his brilliant wife, the sorceress Meryapi, Achilles sets out to war with a vengeance.
But the gods—a dysfunctional family of abusive immortals that have glutted on human sacrifices for centuries—have woven ancient schemes more blood-soaked and nightmarish than Achilles can imagine. At the center of it all is the cruel, immortal Helen, who sees Achilles as a worthy enemy after millennia of ennui and emptiness. In love with her newfound nemesis, Helen sets out to destroy everything and everyone Achilles cherishes, seeking a battle to the death.
An innovative spin on a familiar tale, this is the Trojan War unlike anything ever told, and an Achilles whose vulnerability is revealed by the people she chooses to fight…and chooses to trust.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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John O'Ryan is not a god...not exactly. He is an eternal warrior destined to combat the Dark Lord through all time for dominion of the Earth. Follow him, servant of a great race, as he battles his enemy down the halls of time, from the caves of our ancestors to the final confrontation under the hammer of nuclear annihilation.
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Cornucopia of Genre's
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-10-12
By: Ben Bova
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Gardens of the Moon
- The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1
- By: Steven Erikson
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 26 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.
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An engrossing yet demanding high epic
- By Adnan on 11-20-12
By: Steven Erikson
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The Valiant
- By: Lesley Livingston
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king and the younger sister of the legendary fighter Sorcha. When Fallon was just a child, Sorcha was killed by the armies of Julius Caesar. On the eve of her 17th birthday, Fallon is excited to follow in her sister's footsteps and earn her place in her father's war band. She never gets the chance. Fallon is captured and sold to an elite training school for female gladiators - owned by none other than Julius Caesar himself.
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Couldn't keep my attention
- By Kendall on 03-13-17
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The Mortal Tally
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Cier'Djaal, once the crowning glory of the civilized world, has gone from a city to a battlefield and a battlefield to a graveyard. Foreign armies clash relentlessly on streets laden with the bodies of innocents caught in the crossfire. Cultists and thieves wage shadow wars, tribal armies foment outside the city's walls, and haughty aristocrats watch the world burn from on high. As his companions struggle to keep the city from destroying itself, Lenk travels to the Forbidden East in search of the demon who caused it all. But even as he pursues Khoth-Kapira, dark whispers plague his thoughts.
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Great Middle Entry
- By Casey on 04-15-18
By: Sam Sykes
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The Serpent Sword
- The Bernicia Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Matthew Harffy
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Beobrand is compelled by his brother's almost-certain murder to embark on a quest for revenge in the war-ravaged kingdoms of Northumbria. The land is rife with danger, as warlords vie for supremacy and dominion. In the battles for control of the region, new oaths are made and broken, and loyalties are tested to the limits. With no patronage and no experience, Beobrand must form his own allegiances and learn to fight with sword and shield. Relentless in pursuit of his enemies, he faces challenges which transform him from a boy to a man.
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Amazing story, needs a warning in the description.
- By Lisa Schilling on 04-12-17
By: Matthew Harffy
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Requiem's Song
- Dawn of Dragons, Book 1
- By: Daniel Arenson
- Narrated by: Paul J. McSorley
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Weredragons, men call them. Monsters. Cursed ones. People who can turn into beastly reptiles. In an ancient world just rising from darkness, they are everywhere. Everywhere their curse is the same and everywhere, they are hunted. They hide in forests and caves, dispersed. Many are alone, unaware that others exist. They are shunned, afraid, dying...until a group of these lost souls binds together and stands tall. Together they will forge a new tribe, a home for their kind. A dawn of dragon rises. The nation of Requiem is born.
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Requiem’s Song by Daniel Anderson. Narrated by Paul J. McSorley
- By Vampyra5 on 04-09-18
By: Daniel Arenson
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The Companions
- Forgotten Realms: The Sundering, Book 1
- By: R.A. Salvatore
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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This latest installment in New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore's beloved fantasy saga, The Companions moves Salvatore's signature hero Drizzt into a new era of the Forgotten Realms. As Drizzt's fate hangs in the balance, he reflects on the lives of the trusted allies who stood by his side throughout his early life - the friends now known as the Companions of the Hall. Meanwhile, the first stirrings of the Sundering begin.
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BWAHAHA! R.A. Salvatore does it again!
- By Roger on 08-14-13
By: R.A. Salvatore
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Shadowmarch
- Shadowmarch, Volume I
- By: Tad Williams
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 29 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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For generations the misty Shadowline has marked the boundary between the lands of men and the lost northern lands that are the lair of their inhuman enemies, the ageless Qar. But now that boundary line is moving outward, threatening to engulf the northernmost land in which humans still live - the kingdom of Southmarch.
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It's the characters that matter...
- By JC on 11-09-10
By: Tad Williams
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The Grim Company
- By: Luke Scull
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The Gods are dead. The Magelord Salazar and his magically enhanced troops, the Augmentors, crush any dissent they find in the minds of the populace. On the other side of the Broken Sea, the White Lady plots the liberation of Dorminia, with her spymistresses, the Pale Women. Demons and abominations plague the Highlands. The world is desperately in need of heroes. But what they get instead are a ragtag band of old warriors, a crippled Halfmage, two orphans and an oddly capable manservant: the Grim Company.
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Pretty bad, but not actively terrible
- By Travis Lamkin on 09-13-15
By: Luke Scull
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Stonehenge
- 2000 B.C.
- By: Bernard Cornwell
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Four thousand years ago, three brothers grow up in a land that is now Britain. One becomes a warrior, ruthless in his pursuit of gold and power. One is a mystic who sees visions of the future and hears the gods speak to him. Between them stands Sagan, the gentle brother who will dedicate his life to building a temple he hopes will bring health and peace to the land.
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A Total Diappointment.
- By JOANNE on 05-18-15
By: Bernard Cornwell
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God's Last Breath
- By: Sam Sykes
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 25 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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The great demon Khoth-Kapira has broken free of his prison and taken his first step upon the mortal world. And he owes it all to Lenk. Believing that the demon will heal a broken world that the gods have abandoned, Lenk serves as reluctant champion to Khoth-Kapira's cause. But as the desperate and fearful flock to Khoth-Kapira's banner, begging for salvation, Lenk begins to doubt his patron's great designs.
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Fantastic Finish
- By Casey on 07-18-18
By: Sam Sykes
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Rhapsody
- Child of Blood
- By: Elizabeth Haydon
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 30 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Rhapsody is a woman, a singer of some talent who is swept up into events of world-shattering import. On the run from an old romantic interest who won't take no for an answer, Rhapsody literally bumps into a couple of shady characters: half breeds who come to her rescue in the nick of time. Only the rescue turns into an abduction, and Rhapsody soon finds herself dragged along on an epic voyage--one that spans centuries and ranges across a wonder-filled fantasy world.
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Good story! Terrible narration.
- By CharmY2K on 04-30-15
By: Elizabeth Haydon
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Songs on Bronze
- The Greek Myths Made Real
- By: Nigel Spivey
- Narrated by: Yuri Rasovsky
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Songs on Bronze is the first major retelling of Greek mythology in half a century; a set of lively, racy, dramatic versions of the great myths, which, in a multicultural society, are recognized more than ever as stories without equal.
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Wonderful
- By Ceectee on 07-13-07
By: Nigel Spivey
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London, 1799. Dora Blake, an aspiring jewelry artist, lives with her odious uncle atop her late parents’ once-famed shop of antiquities. After a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, her uncle begins to act suspiciously, keeping the vase locked in the store’s basement, away from prying eyes—including Dora’s. Intrigued by her uncle’s peculiar behavior, Dora turns to young, ambitious antiquarian scholar Edward Lawrence who eagerly agrees to help. Edward believes the ancient vase is the key that will unlock his academic future; Dora sees it as a chance to establish her own name.
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What listeners say about Wrath Goddess Sing
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Madeline Sarasio Meyer
- 03-03-23
If this book was about original content or even a less told story it could be great
Great concept!! If this book was about original content or even a less told story it could be great (if not a little fan ficy/YA) there is world building and exploration of lots of mythologies, it falls short where it tries to shoe horn in bits from the base mythologies without really using them (characters at times take actions that just don’t make any sense (I mourned the loss of one relationship especially when it was replaced with a sickening couple)). I have studied Greek (and Egyptian) myth in US english, UK English, Greek, and Latin. It took me an hour to get used to the - creative way most names were read (the Egyptian+ names that were added didn’t help as they 1) have so many and 2) were also pronounced in a way I hadn’t heard). The last hour makes this book worth the listen. Like I said, this would be great if it was painted onto an original backdrop instead of onto the Trojan war but worth the listen.
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- Jessika Keckler
- 07-23-22
Beautiful, powerful, and well narrated
Wonderfully written and highly recommended to every trans person in the universe and anyone else who likes a good story
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- Mr.
- 07-29-23
masterclass in storytelling
a retelling of The Iliad that concerns itself with the Affairs and conflicts of the Gods as well as Mortals. the book is about the transformative qualities of magic and how the constructs of gender power and relationships change. I was genuinely riveted I'm honest 10 out of 10.
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- Jennifer C.
- 01-20-23
A beautiful retelling
Though not included in Homer's Iliad, the story which sets up the heroism of Achilles in the Trojan War, there is a story that takes place before Achilles joins the war. Achilles' mother Thetis, in an attempt to save his life, sends him to live on Skyros as a woman among the other women there. In the original tale, Achilles develops feelings for Deidamia, one of King Lycomedes' daughters, and the two end up having two children. Depending upon the source, when Odysseus exposes Achilles as a male and takes him off to fight Troy, Deidamia either takes up a spear and follows him or stays behind and pleads for him to return to her.
Using that story as the source material, Deane makes a single change and goes from there. Instead of Achilles dressing as a woman hiding on the island of Skyros as a man, Deane posits that Achilles is a trans woman, and is living on Skyros as a woman to be true to herself. From this small change comes the rest of this story, though it may be better to think of this as a story entirely on its own, instead of a simple retelling of the myth - especially as this story continues on through the Trojan War. In that sense, it evolves into a retelling of The Iliad, even though the myth of Achilles on Skyros is not included in the original Iliad. I also think it's important, at this point, to mention that Deane is a trans woman. Her own experience informs this story in a way that is very powerful. And while there are some critics who will say that there's no way Achilles was trans, revisiting the myth with an open mind shows that it's not a big stretch and makes sense in many ways.
For those of you who are very familiar with The Iliad and the events of the Trojan War, it should be acknowledged that Deane uses the name Wilusa for Troy in this novel. If that is confusing to you, there is a historical and archeological basis for the change. Wilusa was a late Bronze Age city and has been identified/connected with the archeological site of Troy. Additionally, if you listen to the audiobook, the pronunciation of many of the names is slightly different from how many people say them today. The most noticeable is Achilles' name. Rather than her name being pronounced as "ah-KILL-eez" as most people do, it is pronounced as "AH-kill-eez," with the stress on the first syllable instead of the third. While slightly disorienting the first few times I heard it, I got used to it very quickly, and after the first hour or so, I no longer noticed it; it was just the way Achilles' name was pronounced. The same was true of the other names whose names are pronounced slightly differently.
While listening to the story, I was impressed multiple times at the sheer amount of research that Deane must have done prior to and during the writing. Though the story is centered around Achilles, and thus the Greek pantheon of gods, the other cultures and countries in the area are not ignored. Included are the various factions present in the Mediterranean, including the Hittites, the Achaians, the Amazons (Can I just say, one of my favorite parts is when an Amazon woman threatens Achilles, as she has killed several members of the woman's family, with killing her and dragging her (Achilles) body behind her (the Amazon) horse. I loved the ferocity of the interchange in the scene.), and even Egypt. Not only did Deane use the Greek pantheon of gods, which do figure prominently in the story and are shown to be predatory and bloodthirsty, and who view mortals as little better than playthings to amuse themselves with, but she did not ignore their counterparts that were worshipped in the other countries/kingdoms of the Mediterranean. Again, so much research. I am in awe.
I do want to take a moment here to discuss one of the critiques that Deane has received, and that is the accusation of racism because Achilles, who is white, takes Brisewos, who is black, as a slave. The problem with this accusation is that Brisewos isn't black in the way those making the accusations think of a black man. Brisewos is a Hittite and Anatolian. It is worth pointing out that he is a trans man, and that is one of the reasons he chose to seek out Achilles; he is like her, though he didn't have the benefit of a goddess changing his body the way Achilles did, and instead cut himself (i.e., he performed his own top surgery) to gain the physical body that matched his gender. As for his slavery, he is a slave, yes. But it is important to remember that slavery was a part of life during this time in history. Deane doesn't try to portray slavery in a positive light, but simply as a fact of society at the time. To call that racist is to try and whitewash history, and that isn't fair to history. You are more than welcome to disagree with slavery and to condemn it (and I fully agree with that), but one cannot call an author racist for using a practice in a historical novel that was socially acceptable in that time period.
Okay, stepping back down off the soap box, I will finish by talking about the audiobook. It was narrated by Katherine Pucciariello, and she did an absolutely fantastic job. This is the first book or hers that I have listened to, and I loved it. Due to the length, I had to break up my listening over a few days because of work (how dare my job get in the way of me listening to an amazing story!), and I found myself struggling to stop listening each time I needed to. (Please, can't I just listen to one more chapter? Well, not if I'm going to get enough sleep to go to work in the morning...grr...). I have already added her to my list of narrators that I will listen to, no questions asked, and I definitely encourage you - if you enjoy listening to audiobooks - to listen to this audiobook. It. Is. Marvelous.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-15-24
fantastic
This book is tranfeminine rage incarnate. I highly recommend it to any other trans woman.
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- BT
- 09-15-22
A radically new telling of an old story
This is a new telling of an old story that will open up your mind and your heart.
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- Kindle Customer
- 11-30-22
the names
the pronunciation of the names was tedious. the story itself was great. I loved how she interacted with the horses
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- Ash
- 10-20-22
Wonderful, terrible excellence
Maya Deane's epic telling of kallai Achilles, warrior and daughter of a goddess, is an incredible read. Katherine Pucciariello's performance makes the story impossibly more brilliant. I appreciate the depth Pucciariello's talent adds with nuanced accents distict character voices. I'm looking forward to listening again while reading along.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-17-23
I wanted to love this book
I’m a fan of well written fiction that reimagines well known stories. I was fascinated with the concept of reframing Achilles as a trans woman. Some of the characters are utterly engaging. Somehow, taken all together, it just doesn’t quite work for me. It was bastante bien.
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- Tamara Thompson
- 06-26-22
Pronunciation of Greek names is hard, but not this hard
The story is captivating, but the reader’s mispronunciations are hard to get past. I understand that many Greek names are super difficult to get phonetically correct, but the main character’s name, Achilles, is not. This person is butchering Achilles’s name and many others. I just don’t understand how the author okayed this narration. Why didn’t anyone double check the pronunciation—there are so many audio resources online that they could have referenced.
Guess I’ll just have to go buy the book and read it myself, because I certainly can’t listen to this.
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