This YA (and deeply gory, although totally non-sexual) novel has a subtitle: "The myth of the Minotaur as it has never been told before" and that's most likely true.
Bad stuff first:
The narration switches between two protagonists, Theseus and Ariadne, and you can't tell the difference between them. Your only clue is when a specific reference to places or people is given which allows you to place the reference. For characters which are brought up and appear so very different - there should be a different narrative "voice" for each. This is a really glaring problem, and it dragged me right out of the story each time the narrator switched. No good.
"The Goddess." Oh for fuck's sake, give the damn goddess an actual NAME already! I don't CARE that Kretans don't go in for calling people by names - this is just a bad choice all around, and worse when there's multiple narrators and characters who cycle between names. All of this "The Goddess" and "The Goddess-Who-Was" and "The Goddess-Who-Is" and "The Goddess-Who-Will-Be" dear sweet god - just name them each something allegorical or representative and get over it! Argh! I don't know why that pissed me right off, but it did, and by the end of the book, I practically wept with relief when a bit character said that she worshipped "Selene."
Religion bashing? I personally didn't care for the messages passed on about religion and worship, especially of the "Goddess:" yes, she's evil and bitchy and requires that you sacrifice all that you love, and walk in fear and trembling lest she suddenly get bitchy about something that never bothered her before but might start bothering her now, and she'll totally smite everyone if everything isn't done perfect, and even then she might just smite you anyway just because. But seriously - love her! She's our loving wonderful Mother Goddess! Just a little bit... co-dependent and abusive-relationshippy for me. Maybe that was the point, but it just didn't sit well at all.
Historical context? Anyone? I really was expecting some serious appendage going on at the end, to explain all the crazy-ass priestess things and the multiple cities of the Goddess, and the origins of Theseus, and basically breaking down the things the author made up out of whole cloth, the things the author based on legends and "histories," and things which were actually based on archeological findings and cultural studies. I really really felt the lack there, as I had no idea whether the things I was reading about were in any way based on reality. I would have liked this a lot more if there had been some background available.
Ok, enough with the bad.
Good concepts! Good secondary characters! Poor, dear Minos! I loved dear Asterion. I loved the explanations and depiction of the bull-dancing, and the concept of the Minos and Priestess combination. I even loved the complex succession cycle, and the complicated ties of relationship based on whether certain people were mortal or Goddess when they had their offspring. Really really cool stuff!
I also liked that Theseus happened to be a convenient "spare" and needed to figure out what to do about himself. I think he got gypped in his portrayal and his own character development, but it was a very clever idea. I especially liked Medea: "dear, another one of yours?"
Finally, I enjoyed the naked ambition of Prokris, although I think that might have been a little overdone for the time-period. She was a great scheming character, and I loved her black-hearted ruthlessness.
I even enjoyed the twist on the basic myth, and the "explanation" at the end as to why the mythos is the way it is.
Overall, an interesting take on the Minotaur legend, and not a bad story, just some really bad writing decisions.
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