HORSES OF FIRE A Novel of Troy

Four intrepid narrators perform this creative retelling of the Trojan War from three Trojan women's perspectives plus a bird's-eye view from "the Hawk" and Cassandra. Narrator Saskia Maarleveld voices Prince Hector's wife, strong-willed Amazonian Andromache. Vainglorious Helen of Sparta, whose capture by Paris launched this ten-year war, is portrayed by Hillary Huber. The enslaved Phrygian horse whisperer, Rhea, is performed by Vaneh Assadourian, using a Slavic accent. And the ever-mysterious, truth-telling Cassandra is portrayed by Eva Kaminsky, who also narrates the Hawk poems. Maarleveld, Huber, and Kaminsky give their characters unaccented voices, while Assadourian's accent for Rhea shifts in and out. Listeners familiar with classical Greek may find the nonstandard pronunciation of names and places unsettling. Additionally, inconsistent sound levels among narrators are distracting. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2023]