Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collections
Publication
Disney-Hyperion (2021), 480 pages
Description
Fantasy. Young Adult Fiction. HTML: From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds comes a sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love, and redemption. Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals. They are hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality. Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory after her family was murdered by a rival line. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man�??now a god�??responsible for their deaths. Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek her out: Castor, a childhood friend Lore believed to be dead, and Athena, one of the last of the original gods, now gravely wounded. The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and a way to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to rejoin the hunt, binding her fate to Athena's, will come at a deadly cost�??and it may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its kn… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member acargile
Netgalley was kind enough to loan me an early release copy of Lore by Alexandra Bracken. I haven't read this author even though I have one series a teacher requested for the Hutch library. I wanted to see what her writing is like so that I know which students would enjoy reading her works. I would
Lore's normal life she's lived for seven years comes to an end. It's the Agon again. Every seven years, nine gods have to walk the earth and battle descendents of the other ancient bloodlines. There's a list in the book to keep up with who is who. Lore lost her family in the last Agon and just wants to pass it by. While participating in a fight for money, she sees Cas, whom she thought had died seven years ago. This event is one catalyst for her to join the Agon. She questions how he could be alive and discovers that he's the new Apollo. When the gods are killed, the person who kills them can ascend to become the new god. The question remains, how? Cas couldn't have killed Apollo. Lore needs to make sure he doesn't die in this Agon. Lore thought she could escape it and leave the losses behind her, but maybe she needs to face those losses and fighting the Agon would bring who she is back instead of hiding in a normal life.
The novel really isn't about the Agon, it's about the main character, Lore. Loss consumes her. She lost her family, Cas and the man who took her in, Gil. Gil left her his home and money. He also provided shelter to Miles, who becomes Lore's best friend. She's found stability in these last seven years and doesn't really want to participate in the violent chaos. Her consuming anger has been relegated to fighting for money. She's never learned to control her anger; this anger and her training from childhood to fight will help Lore ensure Cas survives. She can't lose him again. The other catalyst that pulls Lore into the seven day Agon is the appearance of Athena, who arrives severely injured at Lore's door. They form an alliance--if one dies, the other dies. With Cas comes another person they used to train with, Van, and plans begin to be made. Can they trust the god? Lore believes they can. Lore needs to control her anger, fight smart, survive, and make sure Cas survives. They have seven days.
The novel has flashbacks so that you learn about Lore, her family, and her relationship with Cas as well as what happened that made her run away. Everyone wants the aegis, which had been with Lore's family before another bloodline had it and then it was stolen during the last Agon. Many think Lore knows where it is--only few can wield it. Her family can. Would the power of the aegis end the Agon? Her family is dead, so no one knows if she knows where it is. In the end, everyone wants the Agon to end. The new Ares, Wrath, is determined to end it and be the one god standing. Others want to end it because of the brutality. Supposedly, there is a poem with the aegis that tells how. As the novel advances, they make discoveries about different people and make plans; there are fights and healing and surprises and broken alliances and a tiny bit of romance.
There's a lot going on. I didn't really keep up with the different families because all that matters is what happens to our main people: Lore, Athena, Cas, Van, and Miles (the only "mortal"). I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel and went to bed late each night. I love that this novel is a standalone! I thought the ending was appropriate and supported the character arc. If you liked Percy Jackson and want something much higher level, try this.
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list this novel as fantasy and appealing to later 7th grade graders to high school readers. Of course, if it interests you no matter your age, go for it!Lore's normal life she's lived for seven years comes to an end. It's the Agon again. Every seven years, nine gods have to walk the earth and battle descendents of the other ancient bloodlines. There's a list in the book to keep up with who is who. Lore lost her family in the last Agon and just wants to pass it by. While participating in a fight for money, she sees Cas, whom she thought had died seven years ago. This event is one catalyst for her to join the Agon. She questions how he could be alive and discovers that he's the new Apollo. When the gods are killed, the person who kills them can ascend to become the new god. The question remains, how? Cas couldn't have killed Apollo. Lore needs to make sure he doesn't die in this Agon. Lore thought she could escape it and leave the losses behind her, but maybe she needs to face those losses and fighting the Agon would bring who she is back instead of hiding in a normal life.
The novel really isn't about the Agon, it's about the main character, Lore. Loss consumes her. She lost her family, Cas and the man who took her in, Gil. Gil left her his home and money. He also provided shelter to Miles, who becomes Lore's best friend. She's found stability in these last seven years and doesn't really want to participate in the violent chaos. Her consuming anger has been relegated to fighting for money. She's never learned to control her anger; this anger and her training from childhood to fight will help Lore ensure Cas survives. She can't lose him again. The other catalyst that pulls Lore into the seven day Agon is the appearance of Athena, who arrives severely injured at Lore's door. They form an alliance--if one dies, the other dies. With Cas comes another person they used to train with, Van, and plans begin to be made. Can they trust the god? Lore believes they can. Lore needs to control her anger, fight smart, survive, and make sure Cas survives. They have seven days.
The novel has flashbacks so that you learn about Lore, her family, and her relationship with Cas as well as what happened that made her run away. Everyone wants the aegis, which had been with Lore's family before another bloodline had it and then it was stolen during the last Agon. Many think Lore knows where it is--only few can wield it. Her family can. Would the power of the aegis end the Agon? Her family is dead, so no one knows if she knows where it is. In the end, everyone wants the Agon to end. The new Ares, Wrath, is determined to end it and be the one god standing. Others want to end it because of the brutality. Supposedly, there is a poem with the aegis that tells how. As the novel advances, they make discoveries about different people and make plans; there are fights and healing and surprises and broken alliances and a tiny bit of romance.
There's a lot going on. I didn't really keep up with the different families because all that matters is what happens to our main people: Lore, Athena, Cas, Van, and Miles (the only "mortal"). I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel and went to bed late each night. I love that this novel is a standalone! I thought the ending was appropriate and supported the character arc. If you liked Percy Jackson and want something much higher level, try this.
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LibraryThing member melaniehope
So I guess I am too "old school" to have fully enjoyed this book. I was so intrigued by the cover. I love reading books on mythology. (One of my favorites is Circe by Madeline Miller). I thought this would be a retelling of an ancient myth, but it was not. The author took the names of Greek gods
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but then created a story of the Agon, a punishment set forth for the gods rebelling and threw in a bunch of twenty-something year olds. Every 7 years the gods are made to walk the earth as mortals and are hunted by descendants (mortals) of the ancients bloodlines. It was a lot of fighting and really had no back story of the ancient gods. I actually found it a bit confusing about the gods being gods, and then mortals and then other people killing them and then they become gods, but not "real" gods. It was more about a group of young kids who were trying not to die. Not what I thought it would be and it was just ok for me. I received a complimentary e-book. Show Less
LibraryThing member CharlieBaer
At first, I was really enthralled by the cover, which resembles a marble-looking Medusa. As I started reading, I soon became frustrated with the book. There was such an information dump in the beginning and so much going on, it was more of a chore to read than something I enjoyed. If you do not
The flashbacks were a nice addition and I appreciated them greatly as they somewhat expanded on each character a little more each time. Overall, the ending wasn't as bad as I anticipated it to be, but left me somewhat unsatisfied. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys Greek mythology and is around the age of 12-15. =)
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have any previous knowledge of Greek mythology, good luck understanding. This book has taken me an entire month to read rather than days with others. I liked the idea because I thought it was re-telling, but was disappointed with the results. I never did keep up with the other families that didn't have much of an impact on the characters, and only focused on the main ones (Miles, Cas, Lore, Van, and Athena). The flashbacks were a nice addition and I appreciated them greatly as they somewhat expanded on each character a little more each time. Overall, the ending wasn't as bad as I anticipated it to be, but left me somewhat unsatisfied. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys Greek mythology and is around the age of 12-15. =)
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LibraryThing member krau0098
Series Info/Source: I got this as an audiobook from Audible. This is a stand alone book.
Audiobook Quality (3/5): The audiobook quality here was not the best. The narrator reads very clearly and has good tone and inflection but does a poor job with distinct character voices. Lore, Miles, and Castor
Story (4/5): Bracken has been a bit hit and miss for me. I enjoyed "Brightly Woven" and thought "The Darkest Minds" first book was okay but didn't enjoy (or continue with) the rest of the series. I never tried reading "Passenger". "Lore" is definitely one of Bracken's better books.
I liked the twists and turns to the plot, the book was hard to predict and engaging but never felt contrived. This feels very YA but also had a bit of an adult urban fantasy edge to it as well. I like that there was a point to the story rather than just having gods and mortals fight each other for power. This story is about the establishment behind that godly power and does address things such as women's rights too. I really enjoyed that this was a stand alone book and I liked how the story wrapped up.
Characters (4/5): There is a lot of action here and all of the characters are very complex and have good depth to them. Even the side characters are very well done. I didn’t really like these characters but they were intriguing to read about.
Setting (4/5): The world-building here is well done and I love the idea of the Agon and gods taking on mortal forms for a limited time. The story is set in modern day New York City and that was a fun place to have this set.
Writing Style (4/5): This jumps between Lore’s past and present, although we spend most of the time in Lore’s present. That format worked really well for this book (I feel like I am reading a lot of books with that sort of format lately). There is a good balance of world-building, complex plot, interesting characters, and action here. The story moved along at a good pace and was easy to read. As I mentioned above this is one of Bracken’s better books.
My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a good book and I enjoyed it. I love how the Greek mythology was woven into our modern day world. I also love how complex the characters were and all the action. This has a well done plot with some good twists and turns. I would recommend it if you enjoy books about Greek gods in a modern day urban setting.
Audiobook Quality (3/5): The audiobook quality here was not the best. The narrator reads very clearly and has good tone and inflection but does a poor job with distinct character voices. Lore, Miles, and Castor
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all sound the same and I struggled to figure out who was talking more than once. The voices of the different gods are over characterized and sound almost silly.Story (4/5): Bracken has been a bit hit and miss for me. I enjoyed "Brightly Woven" and thought "The Darkest Minds" first book was okay but didn't enjoy (or continue with) the rest of the series. I never tried reading "Passenger". "Lore" is definitely one of Bracken's better books.
I liked the twists and turns to the plot, the book was hard to predict and engaging but never felt contrived. This feels very YA but also had a bit of an adult urban fantasy edge to it as well. I like that there was a point to the story rather than just having gods and mortals fight each other for power. This story is about the establishment behind that godly power and does address things such as women's rights too. I really enjoyed that this was a stand alone book and I liked how the story wrapped up.
Characters (4/5): There is a lot of action here and all of the characters are very complex and have good depth to them. Even the side characters are very well done. I didn’t really like these characters but they were intriguing to read about.
Setting (4/5): The world-building here is well done and I love the idea of the Agon and gods taking on mortal forms for a limited time. The story is set in modern day New York City and that was a fun place to have this set.
Writing Style (4/5): This jumps between Lore’s past and present, although we spend most of the time in Lore’s present. That format worked really well for this book (I feel like I am reading a lot of books with that sort of format lately). There is a good balance of world-building, complex plot, interesting characters, and action here. The story moved along at a good pace and was easy to read. As I mentioned above this is one of Bracken’s better books.
My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a good book and I enjoyed it. I love how the Greek mythology was woven into our modern day world. I also love how complex the characters were and all the action. This has a well done plot with some good twists and turns. I would recommend it if you enjoy books about Greek gods in a modern day urban setting.
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LibraryThing member holdenkillfield
This book never disappointed. The author created a fully thought out world that they deftly guided thoroughly with the substantial, plot-moving dialogue and three-dimensional characters. The story kept me intrigued and fully invested in this world where immortal descendants from Greek heroes
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slaughter Greek gods. I believed 100% in this world's rules and reality defying feats and never was bored. The pace was just right, making me want to continue reading. I did have to refer back to the appendix to sort out characters and their relationships a few times to keep up. Still, after getting a third in, the reader begins to understand the mechanics, language, and relationships. I truly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. Show Less
LibraryThing member OmayraV
Predictable. Where were the adults in this book? Not my type of book.
LibraryThing member thinktink93
"It's not always the truth that survives, but the stories we wish to believe. The legends lie."
My Percy Jackson loving heart loved this book: The mythology, the conflict, the plot-twists, just everything about it.
My only complaint (as with most things I read) is that I want more.
At this point I
My Percy Jackson loving heart loved this book: The mythology, the conflict, the plot-twists, just everything about it.
My only complaint (as with most things I read) is that I want more.
At this point I
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think it's safe to say: If Alexandra Bracken writes it, I will read it. Show Less
LibraryThing member sublunarie
I did love this book in that when I wasn't reading, I was thinking about it constantly and truly wanting to know what was going to happen next. However, I am a character-motivated reader, not plot-motivated, and even after 450 pages I was not interested in any of the induvidual characters. Save,
I wanted to love Lore herself, but her unwillingness to be open and vulnerable with anyone, even the reader, made it nearly impossible to connect with her. Even by the end of the book I felt like she was keeping us at arms length despite the direness of her journey.
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perhaps, Athena, but we don't truly get to KNOW her in the way I would have liked.I wanted to love Lore herself, but her unwillingness to be open and vulnerable with anyone, even the reader, made it nearly impossible to connect with her. Even by the end of the book I felt like she was keeping us at arms length despite the direness of her journey.
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LibraryThing member RandyMorgan
What if you could kill a god to obtain divinity and immortality? The 9 gods who betrayed Zeus become mortal for 7 days every 7 years. During this time, 9 noble ancient bloodlines hunt the mortal gods in an event called the Agon.
After Lore’s family was executed, she decided to withdraw from the
Lore is a complication between Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games. This young adult novel is a quick read filled with action, friendship, and lore. Connecting with the main character can be hard because a lot of major conflicts are often met with indifference. Alexandra Bracken has written Lore as a standalone novel making it a great quick read.
After Lore’s family was executed, she decided to withdraw from the
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Agon. Well… that was the plan, until Lore found an old god with fatal wounds on her doorstep. Now she is out for vengeance. Lore is a complication between Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games. This young adult novel is a quick read filled with action, friendship, and lore. Connecting with the main character can be hard because a lot of major conflicts are often met with indifference. Alexandra Bracken has written Lore as a standalone novel making it a great quick read.
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LibraryThing member Danielle.Desrochers
I really, really liked this book!
It was a bit hurry up and wait and I feel like the ending was a bit rushed, but it was really good!
It was a bit hurry up and wait and I feel like the ending was a bit rushed, but it was really good!
Awards
Buckeye Children's & Teen Book Award (Nominee — Teen — 2023)
Gateway Readers Award (Nominee — 2024)
South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards (Nominee — 2023)
Grand Canyon Reader Award (Recommended — 2025)
Virginia Readers' Choice (Nominee — High School — 2024)
Flicker Tale Award (Nominee — Older Readers — 2022)
Read Aloud Indiana Book Award (High School — 2022)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2021
ISBN
1484778200 / 9781484778203
Local notes
Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality. Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths. Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods. The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever.