Cerberus: The Sheriff, The Gimp, and Queen of The Underworld (Founders Universe) by Chad Miller; Go West Ancient Olympians

Cerberus: The Sheriff, The Gimp, and Queen of The Underworld (Founders Universe) by Chad Miller; Go West Ancient Olympians

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: 

First, I apologize for the derogatory term to describe a person with leg injuries. It is in the title and will only be used in that context. 

What can be more interesting than a retelling of Greek Mythology? How about a retelling of Greek Mythology complete with cowboy hats, six shooters, showdowns, saloons, and lots of gunfights?

That's what you get when you read Cerberus: The Sheriff, The Gimp, and The Queen of The Underworld by Chad Miller. It retells the story of the Ancient Greek pantheon as a Western. It's a unique interpretation that borrows heavily from its original source and is able to turn it around in new and interesting ways.

Ari is a gunslinger who has been disabled and disfigured since birth. He was abandoned as an infant and was raised in isolation by Zeke, a mysterious benefactor. As an adult, Ari has a large killing record and an unquenchable thirst for violence and vengeance against a world that despised and abandoned him since birth. He receives messages from Zeke informing him of the various enemies that he wants Ari to kill. Along the way, he faces opposition from Sheriff Posey and Deputy Leena, the law in the land. Auntie Phyllis controls the brothels, thieves, outlaws, and scallywags in town and has her own vengeance to gain on this mysterious gunslinger/assassin. As Ari’s kill count grows higher, his various enemies are forced to put their heads together to fight their common foe. But once united they may find their common foe is not who they thought.

Cerberus has a lot of fun with the “Olympian Gods and Goddesses Go West” premise. The characters are recognizable not only by their role in a traditional Western but also as members of the Greek Olympian pantheon. For example Herman the gregarious telegraph operator who loves gossip is easily recognizable in his ancient form as Hermes the swift-footed Trickster and messenger god. Who is that beautiful buxom lady emerging from her shell to flirt and spend time with the fellas for a brief time and for money? That’s no lady, that's Annie, the classic hooker with a heart of gold counterpart of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty. Those twins that are consummate warriors, handy with bows and arrows and his dark solitary nature contrasts with her sunny more humanistic personality? They can’t be anyone else but Artemis and Appolonia, outlaws and gender swapped counterparts of Artemis, Goddess of the Moon and Hunt and Apollo God of the Sun and various other attributes including Music, Poetry, and Healing. If you are ill or injured there is no one better to go to than Applius, town doctor since he is the current incarnation of Ascelipus, the God of Healing. 

Because of this connection to Greek mythology, it’s easy to see where the various plot points are going. When Aunt Phyllis, Queen of the Underworld, has her eyes on Phillip, the handsome young son of Demetrius, a prosperous farmer whose crops feed the town, it's not hard to recognize the parallels between them and Hades, Persephone, and Demeter respectively. It’s also a given that Phillip will be pulled into Phyllis’ service, an irate Demetrius will threaten to burn his crops to the ground if he doesn’t get his son back, and the three will work together on an arrangement where Phillip will work for his father’s farm for part of the year then serve Phyllis’ needs for the other half. 

Just because they are based on mythological characters doesn’t mean that they are bound to the original stories. Sometimes they purposely counter them to distance themselves from what had gone on before. One of the most interesting aspects like that is the working relationship between Sheriff Posey and Deputy Leena, this book’s answer to Poseidon, God of the Seas and Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, War and Handicraft. In mythology the two might be uncle and niece, but they are also frequent rivals vying for patronage to Athens or taking opposite sides during the Trojan War. But in Cerberus, the duo are allies and have a surrogate father daughter relationship. Sure Posey spends a lot of time on his boat in the lake and would rather be fishing. Okay Leena has a tendency to put people, including her boss, off with her know-it-all attitude and high standards. Posey’s laid back paternal demeanor counters with Athena’s more high handed approach to law enforcement making them a great team that compliments one another’s strengths and weaknesses.

So where does Ari fit into all this? Well, he is a composite character. His background of being abandoned at birth, disfigured, and isolated from the rest of the society puts him as a counterpart to Hephaestus, God of Fire, Metalwork, and Craftsmanship, and Blacksmith to the Gods. However instead of living in a secluded hut crafting firearms for the townspeople like his forebear, Ari serves the purpose of another character: Ares, God of War. He is the blade of vengeance that strikes at anyone who is his target. Like the savage brutal aspects of war, Ari doesn’t care who his victim is. He will kill anyone regardless of who they are or what they have done. They are just names, targets to be destroyed at the orders of Zeke (whose remoteness, long term schemes, ulterior motives, and penchant for womanizing echo his mythological doppelganger Zeus).

It’s never stated how or why these characters line up with Greek mythology whether they are descendents who are destined to follow their predecessors, reincarnated spirits, or it's just a coincidence that their paths line up with those who have gone on before. Barring any in-universe explanation the reasonable answer is Miller likes Greek Mythology and westerns and couldn’t decide which to write about so he decided to split the difference. 

One thing is for sure is that unlike their mythological sources, these characters are all too human. That means there are very few supernatural occurrences that can’t be explained away. Zeke’s messages to Ari seem to come out of thin air or are divinely sent but could just as easily be formed by a guy who has many spies, is great at eavesdropping and obtaining information without getting caught, and has an almost inhuman and potentially sociopathic psychological understanding of human nature at its worst. 

That also means that unlike the residents of Mount Olympus and beyond these characters are all too mortal and can die and die they do. The passages describing Ari’s murders are particularly graphic and individualized. They are gruesome and particularly over the top so that the Reader could think that no matter what they did, they certainly didn’t deserve to be a checkmark on someone’s kill list for arbitrary reasons. 

Perhaps the mortality of the characters and the differences and similarities to mythology is the point. Fate and destiny are common themes in mythology and that’s what is being explored in Cerberus. Zeke,as Zeus, positions the characters, particularly Ari, where he wants them and observes them mostly from afar. He uses and toys with them for his own pleasure, amusement, and self-righteous need to settle scores. He treats the other characters like they don’t have any agency of their own and are incapable of living their own lives and making their own decisions. They are programmed to live according to pre-chosen stories and narratives. The moment comes when they realize that they are being played, break their programming, and change the narrative into something else, becoming somebody else. 

 

Weekly Reader: The Neon God by Ben D'Alessio; Greek God of Chaos and Wine Comes To Wreck Havoc in -Where Else?-New Orleans

 

Weekly Reader: The Neon God by Ben D'Alessio; Greek God of Chaos and Wine Comes To Wreck Havoc in -Where Else?-New Orleans

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: It would be interesting to imagine that if the Ancient Gods and Goddesses walked among us, what they would do. Zeus could be a CEO with a bevy of beautiful mistresses. Hera would be a marriage counselor or one of those right wing authors who wrote books on happy families. Ares would be a military strategist right in the thick of the action. Artemis and Athena would be spokeswomen for Feminist causes. Who knows?

Another fun one to picture is Dionysus, the God of Wine and Chaos. The god who was often around when his female followers, the Maenads, were at their most violent and bloodthirsty. He was the frequent rival of Apollo, the God of Order. He was often on hand to raise more than a little trouble in Ancient Greece.

Let's face it, in a modern world gone chaotic it wouldn't take much to place Ol' Dio right at the center of it.That is exactly what Ben D'Alessio does in this biting dark comedy, The Neon God.

 In this fractured fantasy, Dionysus explores modern day New Orleans and embraces its fun loving reputation. He finds the bars are always open, the people always ready for a good time, and the superstitious atmosphere perfect for him to make his presence known. While Dionysus, called Dio, by the locals struts down the Big Easy, he captures the interest of Zibby, a law student and wannabe writer. At first when Dio introduces himself, Zibby thinks that he's just exaggerating or speaking in metaphor when he tells her that he is a god. Then some unexplained things start happening and it looks like New Orleans is in the midst of an Act of God (or specifically Act of A God).

The Neon God has a strong sense of place in its setting. It's clear that D'Alessio loves New Orleans for all of its weirdness and eccentricity. Every street and building is brilliantly captured so well that the Reader can practically smell the spicy cooking and hear the jazz and blues music playing on the streets. New Orleans is a place that excites the imagination because of its closeness to the supernatural, magic, and the voodoo culture. The atmosphere is just right for something magical,something unexpected, and eventually something horrifying to happen.

D'Alessio also captures the modern day lives of the ancient gods with a tongue in cheek fashion. Zeus was last seen in Scandinavia answering to the name of Odin and staying as far away from his jealous wife, Hera as possible. Ares has been hanging out in Syria, Nigeria, all of the violent spots. Athena favors Athens, the city which bears her name and so on. The gods and goddesses divvy up the locations on Earth like spots on a Monopoly board game. They are bickering and as volatile as ever and none are too happy about the potential trouble Dionysus is going to cause in New Orleans.

There are some clever allusions to other mythologies and religions. There are implications that the Hellenistic pantheon change their names and appearances to whoever the local deities are. There is even a clever reference to Jesus Christ which is hilarious but will no doubt offend  any Conservative Christian reading.

D'Alessio has so much fun modernizing the gods and goddesses that I wish that he would do more of them. Besides Dionysus himself, we do see a few other mythological characters pop up, like the handsome Adonis who was an ex lover of Dio's. But it would be fascinating to see how much farther that D'Alessio can stretch this concept perhaps with a sequel or even a series focusing on a separate god or goddess living in modern times.

This is Dionysus' book and D'Alessio captures the dual nature of a god whose sole mission is to create chaos out of order and cause destruction.

At first Dio seems like a harmless party animal. He goes bar hopping, flirts with men and women. He rhapsodizes about wine. Wherever he goes, Dio inspires people to let loose, have fun, get drunk, and ignore responsibilities. He opens up that wild fun loving side that sometimes gets suppressed by jobs, commitments, and pesky adulthood.

However, there is a darker side to Dio's nature that has less to do with good drunken fun and more to do with bloody destruction. Dionysus also encouraged his new followers to embrace a more brutal side. The side practiced by the Maenads. They go into bloody frenzies, attacking and eating people, and drinking their blood. Of course while New Orleans is the city for parties, it is also the city for vampires and other dark creatures. Dionysus' devotees become mass murderers living outside of known laws, ethics, morality. They only live for carnage and chaos. A final parade with Dio at the head and his followers close behind is as terrifying as it gets.

A huge misstep that the book has is in the character of Zibby. She is the usual modern exposition character who is supposed to be the one who has to have the weirdness explained to her. She is our normal eyes and ears but when the action turns to her, she's kind of boring. Her presence especially in the middle of Dionysus' gathering of followers brings things to a near halt. When a god is creating a cult of vampire-like beings right in front  of you, now is not the time to be stressing about your law exams or in despair for getting a rejection letter. 

At first I thought Zibby was going to be a love interest for Dionysus, but when that didn't happen she seemed more unnecessary. While we need the point of view of the average New Orleans resident to respond to all the crazy, it might have been more interesting to have more than one person so we can have many different people either excited to join Dionysus,  skeptical of the happenings, or appalled by his behavior. One character just makes the situation rather flat.

Ben D'Alessio clearly had a lot of fun plunking Dionysus in the middle of modern day New Orleans. It would be a great journey to see what other possibilities that this idea takes him.

Weekly Reader: Mylee in The Mirror by Ellie Collins; Sweet YA Romance Starring The Goddess of Love By Promising Teen Author

 Weekly Reader: Mylee in The Mirror by Ellie Collins; Sweet YA Romance Starring The Goddess of Love By Promising Teen Author

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: I am impressed by the work of young authors. I am even more impressed when authors are barely in and out of their teens.

Take Ellie Collins for example. Her debut novel Daisy, Bold & Beautiful, was written in 2018 when she was 11. Her second book, Mylee in the Mirror, was published later that year before Collins entered 7th grade and turned twelve. Last year, she published her third book, Mad Max and Sarah, at the age of fourteen.

Despite her youth, Collins has a gift for mixing modern characters and conflicts with Greek mythology. Each of her books feature a modern girl having problems with parents, friends, potential love interests, and siblings with the help and sometimes hindrance of a specific Greek goddess that uses their connections and abilities to help the young girl with her problems.

In Daisy Bold & Beautiful, Persephone, Queen of the Underworld and daughter of Demeter, Goddess of Nature and Harvesting, help D.J. who is struggling in her relocation to a new place and using her gardening talents to relate to other kids, who are too fascinated with the latest gadgets. In Mad Max & Sarah, Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, uses her personal struggles with her numerous siblings to help Sarah who is arguing with her troubled older brother, Max.

Now we come to Collins's second book, Mylee in the Mirror. In this one, the Goddess Du Jour is Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love & Beauty. In this sweet YA novel, Aphrodite helps Mylee, a teen who has problems with love both at home and at school.

Mylee encounters Aphrodite as her grandmother gets sent to a retirement community, a move which Mylee is against but can do little about. She's also tired of her pushy mother forcing things, like cheerleading, on her when she would rather be on the trampoline and tumbling team. Her mother tries to set Mylee up with Sam, football captain and the most popular boy in school. Mylee is confused and uncertain about her feelings towards Sam, especially when her friend Lilith also likes him and her male friend, Ty, is starting to imply that he wants to be more than friends with Mylee. On top of this love confusion at school, Mylee has more trouble at home when her mother announces that she and her father are getting separated.

This time of anguish over love is the perfect environment for a certain Greek Goddess to make an appearance and appears she does. Aphrodite is seen inside one of the mirrors in Grammy's antique hand mirror collection. Grammy accidentally ended up with Aphrodite's mirror after it was stolen by the Trickster Messenger God, Hermes. Aphrodite wants her mirror back and she wants Mylee's help. In the meantime, she will listen to Mylee's problems. 

This is one of those fantasies where a modern person seeks advice from a unique spiritual advisor, like a ghost, a fairy, or in this case a Greek Goddess. Aphrodite is written the way that she usually is in most stories, vain, aware of her looks, sometimes superficial, and practically gushing over the thought of love and romance. She has a more formal elevated way of speaking that sets her apart from the modern characters. ("You've also weeded out an imposter friend because she would have said hurtful things about you...On top of that, you managed to make your mother happy.") Then suddenly, Aphrodite throws out a sudden slang term, revealing a childlike nature and an adaptability to keep up with a world around her that no longer reveres her. ("Umm...win, win, and win!")

Aphrodite helps Mylee by telling her details of her own life. Even though she, like Mylee's mother, wants Mylee to date "the handsome" Sam, the Goddess tells the mortal teen of her own love life, such as her unhappy marriage to Hephaestus, the Blacksmith God, and her affair with Ares, God of War. Mylee uses these examples from Aphrodite's experiences to solve her own problems. Perhaps Aphrodite is subtly telling Mylee what not to do.

Usually these type of books share the same problem, the spiritual advisor is such a large presence to the book that the Reader wants to see more of them. The chapters without them seem like filler. That is true to some degree in Mylee in the Mirror. It would be nice to see more conversations between Mylee and Aphrodite. Maybe the Goddess could play a more prominent active role than sharing details of her marriage and affairs so Mylee can learn from them.

Usually, the desire to see more of the spiritual advisor is because the modern characters are lacking in comparison. Thankfully, Collins pulled a surprising trick by making both leads interesting.

Mylee is a confused emotional young girl navigating her way through her first love while dealing with the end of her parents' love for each other. The plot falls sometimes to the typical teen angst of crushes, gossip, and what happens when suddenly you see that your close friend is actually very attractive. Some of it causes Mylee to be overwhelmed with angst and sarcasm (She refers to her and Sam's date as "The Date Heard Round The World", because of her mother's endless chattering about it).

There are some sweet cute moments, particularly that concern Ty's crush on her and Mylee trying to process her friends growing affection for her. The subplot concerning Mylee's parents's separation keeps the book from being too overtly sweet, fluffy, and teenagerish There are genuine moments of heartbreak and sadness that are the results of their separation. In one chapter, Mylee is left stranded in the rain waiting for her father who forgets to come and get her.

 Mylee doesn't always handle her problems in a mature manner and no one expects her to. She is processing all of these emotions, just at the time when her body is going through various changes. On top of that is the added stress of the decline of her parents' marriage and her mother's overbearing nature. Mylee doesn't always know how to deal with her problems and exhibits sadness, rage, irritation, embarrassment, and nervousness, sometimes all at once. It's easy for Collins to capture those feelings when she is no doubt going through them herself. 

In some ways, Mylee and Aphrodite fill a need for each other. Mylee needs an adult figure that understands her, listens to her, and accepts her as she is including her interests, friendships, and potential for love. Aphrodite also wants acceptance and understanding, maybe a daughter figure who looks beyond her glamorous facade and sees a figure who had been hurt, had flaws, and needed to learn a few lessons. Together, they fill that need and change for the better. Mylee finds ways to improve her relationships with her friends and parents. Aphrodite finds someone who still believes in and appreciates her.

In only her second book, Ellie Collins, has shown a true understanding of character development, literary allusion, plot, and theme. At 14, she can write as well as authors twice her age. It would be amazing to see how her writing talent will evolve and adapt as she grows.

 

Weekly Reader: Circe by Madeleine Miller; Homer's Odyssey Femme Fatale Gets Modern Makeover

Weekly Reader: Circe by Madeleine Miller; Homer's Odyssey Femme Fatale Gets Modern Makeover

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews


Spoilers: There are many colorful female characters in Greek Mythology: Athena Goddess of Wisdom, Aphrodite Goddess of Love and Beauty, Artemis Goddess of Moon and the Hunt, Hera Goddess of Marriage and Zeus’s eternally jealous wife, The Muses Goddesses of the Arts, Atalanta the fastest mortal woman and the lone female of Jason and the Argonauts, Medea the beguiling witch that helped Jason get the golden fleece, Helen the “face that launched a thousand ships” and inspired the Trojan War, Cassandra who was given the gift of prophecy but was never to be believed, and many many others.

One of the most interesting is Circe, one of the fascinating female characters found in Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey. During his twenty year voyage home, Odysseus and his men become stranded on Aeaea the island of Circe, the beautiful beguiling witch. With a wave of her wand, Circe turns Odysseus's men into pigs but Odysseus remains pig free and forces her to change them back. She restores his men with the proviso that Odysseus remain and become her lover. After one year, Odysseus and his crew leave Aeaea and head to the sea for more adventures.

Madeleine Miller's novel, Circe tells the story of the seductive sorceress making her more than a byword for glamorous treachery. In Miller's capable hands, Circe becomes a fully formed three-dimensional woman of deep thought and feeling.

One way that Miller develops Circe's character is to insert her into myths in which she was absent. Since the Greek deities family ties are large, that is an easy thing to do. In fact, Circe's book becomes a veritable Who's Who Among The Greek Pantheon.

Circe is the fourth child of Helios, the Titan God of the Sun and Perse, the Naiad guardian of streams and fountains. Because of her yellow eyes and thin screechy voice, Circe is often bullied by her family particularly her older siblings, Pasiphae and Perses. She states that there wasn't a name for what she is, so everyone derides her as strange, ugly, and stupid. Circe is the outsider in her family.


Of course her families are marginalized as well. As Titans, they were the gods that Zeus defeated to win his position as the king of the Olympians. With the Titans considered outcasts, it's unfortunately natural that Circe's family would take their frustrations out on the family member who is stranger than the rest: Circe.

Because of Circe's outsider status within her family, she feels an affinity for others who are equally marginalized. She delivers nectar to an imprisoned Prometheus and bonds with Aeetes, her younger brother who is even more derided than she is.

When she falls in love with Glaucos, a sailor, Circe discovers her hidden power. The ill and injured Glaucos longs to be a god so despite family objection, Circe is able to use flowers created from the spilled blood of Kronos, the defeated Titan, to transform the man of her dreams into the god of his.

Unfortunately, Glaucos’s godification gives him a swelled head and he dumps Circe for Scylla, a doting nymph/fan girl. Using her brand new abilities, a jealous Circe transforms Scylla into a hideous sea monster. Scylla retreats to a strait across from the Charybdis whirlpool which both are traps for unwary sea travelers. (There is a reason why the Greek version of getting caught between a rock and a hard place is called “getting caught between Scylla and Charybdis.”)


After this incident, Circe reveals her abilities to her family and is exiled to Aeaea. It is apparent that Helios exiled her not because of concern for what she did to Glaucos and Scylla. He could care less about them. He is intimidated by his daughter having a power that he doesn't understand or know about. Once she is exiled, Circe learns for the first time that there is a name for what she is: pharmakis, witch.


Circe is a character of great emotion and intellect. Her emotions such as her jealousy towards Scylla causes her to do things that she later regrets. However, she has the intelligence to study sorcery and herbalism and use her abilities to turn others into their true selves. While getting exiled may seem like torture, for her it gives her a chance to be independent and explore her personal power. The exile actually makes her more powerful than if she stayed with the Titans.


While on the island, Circe has a very active love life. First, she gets involved with Hermes, the Trickster/Messenger God. When their relationship ends badly, they become sworn enemies.

Another lover is Daedalus, the architect and inventor. The two's mixture of art and invention, science and sorcery compliment each other. She is moved by the widowed Daedalus's devotion to his son, Icarus and is left desolate when the boy dies after flying too close to the sun and his remorseful father succumbs to grief shortly thereafter.

These relationships show Circe as someone who is receptive to the idea of love but is not ready to surrender the independence that she has fought for. In her exile, she has grown to love her studies of magic and how it provides with her own strength, power, and significance.


Circe also gets involved in the affairs of her siblings and watches as her sister, Pasiphae and brother, Aeetes become drunk with power. They use everyone even their children to get and remain on top. Circe watches as Pasiphae, Queen of Crete and wife of King Minos, gives birth to the Minotaur and explains the circumstances to the creature's conception. (“I f$#@-d a bull!”, Pasiphae declares plainly.)

The Minotaur is sentenced to the Labyrinth where he is neglected by everyone except his half-sister, Ariadne who later also rejects him to side with her lover, Theseus. Pasiphae uses the Minotaur as a killing machine. He is her means to gain control over gods and mortals, including her husband.

Aeetes also uses his daughter, Medea in a ruthless power grab. As King of Colchis, he is the holder of the Golden Fleece and is as cruel and neglectful of his daughter, Medea, as their father, Helios was to him and Circe. It's not a surprise that Medea would leave that toxic environment to join her lover, Jason. However, the younger witch, Medea is blind to her paramour’s flaws as they hide out on Aunt Circe's island (figuring fellow witch Circe would understand.). However, Circe recognizes Jason's vanity and how he dismissed Medea and realizes that he does not truly love the girl. Circe sees Medea will be miserable with him. Of course the myths of Jason and the Argonauts and the play, Medea prove her right when Jason dumps her to marry a princess leaving her to kill their children rather than letting them be exiled or sold to slavery.


Circe contrasts with her siblings because her power is internal. She doesn't seek out the trappings of wealth and privilege that Aeetes and Pasiphae have. She has her powers and her island and she is pleased with that. Unlike them, she is not in fear of an avenging enemy, a thieving hero, or a disloyal spouse. Circe is her own person.

Of course the emotional crux is provided during Circe's fatal meeting with Odysseus. Right before he arrives, Circe practices on a fleet of sailors, some which intend to rape her, by turning them into pigs. As for what happened to them, let's just say that Circe develops a fondness for ham of the sea.


Odysseus and Circe go through their typical meeting and dalliance, but Odysseus is hardly the hero of Homer's epic story. This is Circe's tale and Odysseus is much more sinister than is usually portrayed. When he tells of his adventures, it's clear that he loves the sound of his own voice. There is also a ruthlessness and deception in his manner which suggests instability and that he enjoyed killing and mind games far more than he admitted.

The book offers the theory that Odysseus isn't exactly in a hurry to go home and his 20 year exile might be more by choice than by the ruling of the gods.


This potential instability in Odysseus's character is confirmed when he returns to his home of Ithaca. When Odysseus's wife, Penelope and son, Telemachus visit Aeaea after Odysseus's death, they reveal how rocky his return was.

Since he spent so much time away, Odysseus was often restless and neglectful of his kingdom. He had PTSD from his voyages and often attacked his family in a frenzied state. He spent more time looking out at the sea in longing.

Instead of hero, Miller's writing subverts Odysseus's character and turns him into maladjusted sociopath.


Telemachus and Penelope aren't the only ones that Odysseus screws over. Before he leaves Aeaea, Odysseus gets Circe pregnant. She gives birth to a son, Telegonus and strives to protect him from the wrath of the gods particularly an irate Athena who was Odysseus's protector.

Circe builds a magical barrier around Aeaea to keep anyone from coming in but it also keeps anyone from going out.

Circe's protection does not sit well with Telegonus. His and Circe's relationship is strained because he longs for adventure and travel, things that his mother denies. While Circe is worried about her son, there is also an underlying desperation as if Circe wants to hold onto Telegonus because she feels the need for someone to love and respect her.

However, the more Circe tries to keep Telegonus near her, the more he pushes away. Circe then has to confront Telegonus, Odysseus's family, and her own past sins in some heady magical confrontations that require all of her abilities and strength.

Madeleine Miller wrote Circe as a very complex character, one of great feeling, longing, regret, and passion. She saw more femme than fatale, more soul than seductress, and more of an independent woman of great strength and power than the beautiful deadly witch of Homer.