cover image Warrior Rising

Warrior Rising

P. C. Cast, . . Berkley Sensation, $14 (340pp) ISBN 978-0-425-22137-2

Hera, Athena and Venus, deciding that they’ve had enough of the Trojan War, summon Kat and Jackie, coeds from the University of Tulsa, to go back in time and make the two great warriors of the Greek army—Achilles and his cousin Patroklos—fall in love with them, cease fighting and end the war. While things go smoothly for Patroklos and Jackie, Kat has a more difficult time with rageful Achilles, destined to die at the walls of Troy after he kills Hector, the prince. Kat must also contend with Greek king Agamemnon, who hates Achilles and wants the glory of the Trojan conquest, no matter what the cost to others. Cast (Goddess of Love ) keeps the loosely divine proceedings frothy, fun (“By Hermes’s flamingly gay buttocks, she is absolutely perfect,” exclaims Venus of Kat) and far outside the usual range of mythology. (May)