Rating: 
Summary: The worst book I've ever read
Review: This is easily the worst book I have read in a long, long time. What a mess this confusing jumble of pseudo-history, pseudo-feminist, pseudo-dark fantasy novel is - or should I say pseudo-novel? And what a disappointment from Sara Douglass, whose "Wayfarer Redemption" series I actually admired.I honestly don't know where to start. How about with the characters, not a single one of which is likable or admirable in any way. Each one is invariably one or more of the following: cruel, shallow, power-mad, spoiled, self-centered, whining, manipulative, duplicitous, and vindictive. Brutus, the male "protagonist", rapes his 15-year-old wife Cornelia on their wedding night, smacks her around repeatedly (including once while she is in labor with their son), and cheats on her with Genvissa, a blasphemous priestess who has sucked dry her own goddess in her lust for power. Lovely. We're supposed to feel OK about this, because Cornelia forgives him and moons around after him regardless. Oh yeah, she's an inspiring heroine for women everywhere. Then there's the plot, such as it is, a jumbled mish-mash of Greek and pre-Celtic mythological references used to support an utterly transparent and preposterous storyline that involves a disinherited patricidal Trojan (Brutus) and a spoiled and self-centered Greek princess (Cornelia) who travel to what will eventually become Britain to establish a new Troy. They're led there by Genvissa, an evil Llangarlian priestess (Llangarlia must be the silliest fantasy name I've yet to encounter) who wants access to the power Brutus wields over the Troy Game, an all-but-extinct form of labyrinth magic. Intrigued yet? Oh wait, there's more. Fathers rape daughters, sons kill mothers (and those are the *good* guys), and there is quite possibly the most disgusting and graphic miscarriage scene I have ever read. (No one who has ever given birth, or ever intends to, should read this scene. Do the words "ruptured placenta" mean anything to you?) I don't mind characters that are a mix of good and bad; Douglass' previous hero, Axis, did some pretty crappy things while he was saving the world and didn't feel too darn bad about it. But there's a difference between a character who starts flawed and has to redeem themselves, or one who has to do some rotten things for the greater good, and a character who's just a jerk. I literally wanted to wash my hands when I set this book down. Don't waste the money.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow great book
Review: This is one of the most enjoyble reads I've had in a while. Duglass takes readers into a world of lust, deciete, love, and honor. The descriptive use of the body may limit the amount of readers that are intressted in this book. However, I believe that anyone who reads this book will fall in love with the great Sara Duglass. I anxsiosly a wait the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Choppy Plot, evil characters... Save your money
Review: Ummm... Where to begin? I listened to the Audio version of Hades' daughter and admit I found it very disappointing, so much so, that I couldn't finish it. Here's the story: Brutus, an heir to the Trojan empire becomes the unwitting pawn of a power play between an evil sorceress and her deformed incestuous brother. Chaos, mayhem and carnage ensue. If you're like me, this sounds like a typical fantasy/sci-fi plot, and you might enjoy it. Well, I didn't... Here's why: Douglass' writing style is not for everyone. She skips around quite a bit and tells the story from so many different characters perspective at times it becomes tedious, and some plot threads seem to go nowhere. Many of the characters the reader is supposed to sympathize with are so vile it was difficult to for me to care about. An example: Brutus, the main male character brutally rapes the lead female character in one scene and is unrepentantly emotionally and sexually abusive to her throughout the story. (And this is the good guy!) Feh. The lead female character, Cornelia spends half the remainder of the novel trying to 'appease' Brutus, when she should be kicking his sorry you-know-what to the curb. The ongoing rivalry between The sister/brother sorcerers, just had me sighing. (I would hope that if I keep getting re-incarnated that it won't be to duke it out with my sister in the next life). I really had to give up on this book halfway through. I couldn't handle the rape/sex scenes, and the constant degradation of the heroine, who kept trying to 'appease' her sicko hubbie. I really would've liked to have cared about one of these characters but I just couldn't. This novel sets historical fantasy back decades.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, it is from Hades
Review: What a huge disappointment to me. I first discovered Sara Douglass' work when I was in Australia and I loved the Starman trilogy. I was so excited to see another book by her and I bought it immediately. What a mistake....This book is thinly populated with generally despicable characters. I miss the richness of the story and the characters that you actually cared about, evident in her previous books. My advice--skip this book altogether and re-read her other books, unless you like a uni-dimensional story told in a confusing manner by characters you would pray never to meet in person.
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