Warrior Rising (Goddess Summoning, Book 6) (Paperback)

by P. C. Cast (Author) "The Iliad?..." (more)
Key Phrases: modern mortals, berserker rage, Trojan War, Goddess of Love, Goddess of War (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
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)
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Review
“A true master of her craft.”
—New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter

“One of the top romantic fantasy mythologists today.”
—Midwest Book Review

Praise for the Goddess Summoning novels:

“Sexy, charming, and fun…The fantasy romance of the year!”
—national bestselling author Susan Grant

“Its poignancy resonates with both whimsy and fantasy...I loved it!”
—New York Times bestselling author Sharon Sala

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425221377
• ISBN-13: 978-0425221372
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,510 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 6 in The Goddess Summoning Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 stars, May 9, 2008

By	Amanda Killgore (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

When the goddesses get utterly fed up with the Trojan War, not to mention with all the inaccurate information that myth, legend, and history have recorded about it, they decide its time to intervene. Since Achilles is the key to stopping it, they decide what he needs is a good woman, and thanks to Venus' time in the modern world among mortals, Kat, a twenty first century woman in the prime of her life, is chosen to go back to the time of the Iliad and tame a berserker warrior. Before she can though, she and her best friend, Jacky, are killed in a car wreck. While that's disconcerting, it's no problem, really. The goddesses simply transplant their souls into the bodies of a Trojan princess and her maid. As the princess, Kat combines a younger, more beautiful body with her intellect and skills to easily win over her "master." Yet, though Achilles loves her and longs for peace, he lives under a curse and fate seems determined to carry out his doom. Only a great sacrifice might have a slim chance of stopping that, if Kat is willing.

**** Most Trojan epics can be summed up in the phrase long and boring. No wonder Venus, Athena, and company got their fill of it. This is the exception to the rule. With snazzy, snappy wit and loads of humor, Ms. Cast has made the epic interesting again. Her spin on things is far different than most, but that is what makes it wonderful. ****

Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not her best..., June 13, 2008

By	R. Wagner - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am sad to say that I was disappointed in this book. I absolutely adore P.C. Cast and her Goddess Summoning Series, but I felt that this book did not live up to my expectations.

The major plot of the book was good. I enjoyed seeing Kat and Achilles build a relationship and try to work around the berserker. I did not enjoy much of the banter between Kat and her BFF Jacky, though. It was amusing at times, but after a short while, it became aggravatingly repetitive.

The side stories with Jacky and Patroklas, and Athena and Odysseus do not add anything to the book. As far as I'm concerned, the first is pointless for the majority of the book, though Jacky and Patroklas do have their roles to play to move the action to the final climax. Otherwise, I found their story distracting and annoying. Athena's story also has a role to play in moving the action forward, but it comes out of nowhere near the end of the book. There is no build up; it just happens.

Then there is the ending. I have come to expect the end of P.C. Cast's books to be tear-jerkers. There is suspense at the end of her other books that lead the reader to wonder if there actually will be a happy ending, and give the characters room to show even more depth and feeling. This is something that I really love about reading P.C.'s novels. In Warrior Rising, though, there is no suspense. There are some abbreviated, almost tear-jerker moments near the end, but they are over quickly and do not have the punch her other books have. And the very end of the book is, well, a train wreck. She should have stopped short of where she did. I won't ruin the ending, but I advise readers to stop at the end of the scene that involves a flaming arrow and Paris. For those of you that have read the book, I just have to say: Kirk, really?! Worst ending ever.

I do look forward to P.C. Cast's next Goddess Summoning book. I hope she is able to recreate the magic of her other books in this series, magic which was lacking in this latest installment.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointed, June 18, 2008

By	L. Hall "avid reader" (anonymous) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love P.C. Cast, she's an author who's finally getting the romantic fantasy genre on the market and making it so much fun. I've enjoyed the ride, from being a mermaid to all the countless goddess switcheroos. Her imagination has been vivid and wonderful and no matter if I hadn't heard what the next story was going to be about I'd go out and buy it anyway, that's how much faith I had in her books.

After this one, I seriously doubt I'll be doing that again. To say I was only disappointed doesn't even begin to cover it. Where to start. First you have two foul mouthed women, the heroine and the secondary player her friend, who's even worse than her. Now I'm not squeamish about swearing, but I prefer that if my books are going to be littered with swearing that at least they add some punch to the story, like maybe they're in a fight sequence and swearing their heads off...Fine, I get that, but to just cuss for the sake of cussing and to do it with constant regularity it's done with did nothing for me. That's just me, maybe someone else won't mind.

Second, before with any type of P.C. Cast novel she'd always have these incredibly tortured heroes, IE: Hades, The Beast, a berserker Achilles should have been right at the top of that list for me, and to be honest I'm not sure what it was that bothered me this time. Achilles was tortured and there were moments when I really felt I could fall in love with this one too, maybe it was the fact that unlike her other novels this one danced that fine line of romance/erotica from the word go. The problem with eroticas for me has always been that I haven't read one yet where the overabundance and frequency of sex doesn't wind up overshadowing the romantic element of it.

There are some really, really great moments in the book, but in the end just not enough for me to rate this book higher than a two.

I guess my problem was I expected different than what I got and that is your feel good amazingly ROMANTIC tale of a human woman and a tortured god. That "le sigh" factor I like to call it.

It wasn't my cup of tea, but if you're a fan of erotica it might just be yours. :)