My Thoughts on “Lore” by Alexandra Bracken

Good afternoon everyone,

I hope you are having a lovely start to the weekend!

I recently finished reading “Lore” by Alexandra Bracken and I’ve got to say that I absolutely loved it. We’re going to be taking a look at my thoughts surrounding the book in today’s blog!

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If I had to explain the plot of Lore, I would have to say that it is a mixture of the Hunger Games and Greek Mythology, with a sprinkling of family trauma that is used to create such a moving story.

The book was recommended to me by my cousin Emily, who also loves mythology-based books, so I already knew that it was going to be a fantastic read. After reading the blurb, I was instantly hooked on the story and couldn’t wait to get into it. Here is the blurb, if you’re interested in a short summary of the book:

“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, 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.

But Lore’s decision to bind her fate to Athena’s and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost–and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.”

I mean, if that summary doesn’t leave you desperate to find out more, I don’t really know what will!

I’ll be honest, as soon as I started reading Lore, I couldn’t put it down, I blasted through the book so slowly. I became immersed in the world that Bracken was building, and the character development and plot progression just keeps you wanting to find out more and more. As soon as I finished reading the book, I joined one of the author’s live Q&A sessions on her Instagram, to find out if there was going to be a sequel or some sort of spinoff, so we couldn’t continue to experience the magic of Lore’s world.

Unfortunately, Bracken noted that she was not currently planning any additional books, however, she did say that she absolutely loved writing the book and that she couldn’t be more proud of it. At first, I was a little sad about this, but after taking some time to think about it, although I would love to read more about each character’s adventures, I think that the book did a fantastic job of providing each character and subplot with a solid ending.

One of the main criticisms that I have seen from reviews about Lore is that it endorses/highlights sexism and other prejudicial views in society. In my opinion, this could not be further from the truth, while I appreciate that everybody is entitled to their own opinion, I feel like they have completely misunderstood the whole point of the plot.

Lore tackles topics such as trauma, betrayal and sexism openly, discussing how they impacted on people and society in the past, and then using the character development of each of the story’s characters, it showcases how they are prime examples of how far society has come. The book doesn’t say that society is in any way perfect as it currently is, as that will never be the case, but it shines a spotlight on the positive differences being made in modern life.

One of my personal favourite things about the book was how it showcased how each of the characters, gods and humans alike, could make mistakes and have misunderstandings, but also how they could grow and learn from these experiences going forward. Lore’s internal struggle with both her past and future really helped to drive the story forward and added a unique feminist perspective to the story.

Lore was such a refreshing take on mythology, propelling it forward into modern-day life, fusing the magic and mystery of mythology with the technology and business of the new world. I feel like the agon was a really unique idea with how it was portrayed and the impact that it had on each of the characters was written very well. Bracken really stuck true to how devious and sneaky some of the gods could be, while also showcasing that they were capable of learning from their actions.

Lore is easily one of my personal favourite reads over the last couple of years and I couldn’t recommend it more! If you are looking for a book that covers mythology, betrayal, family, power and so much more, look no further – Lore is the book for you 🙂

That’s all for today’s blog though, what do you think? Have you read Lore before? Are you a fan of reading mythology-based books? Would you like to see me write more blogs about books here on the page?

Be sure to let me know your thoughts and answers to the above questions, either in the comments below or through our Facebook page!

Thanks for reading & I hope you have a lovely day!