Oppression is out today (Feb. 28, 2012), and for those of you not familiar with Jessica Therrien's debut novel, here is the synopsis:
Oppression (Children of the Gods #1)--Jessica Therrien
Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than the average person, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's closer to eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Among so many of her kind, she should not be very remarkable--except for the prophecy. Some believe she will put an end to traditions, safeguarded by violence, which have oppressed her people for centuries. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning--and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.
That sounds pretty cool, right? Since I'm a mythology junkie and all (especially if it's Greek), this book totally caught my attention! Greek mythology is just the best!
By what we read in the blurb above, we know that Elyse's destiny is deeply intertwined with the fate of the future, right? That means that her fate/destiny is already laid out before her. Some people believe that the future is set in stone, while others think that your future can change by the simple choices you make in your everyday life. I am not exactly sure which of these is or isn't true. However, I find that the ancient Greeks had a very cool and interesting interpretation of fate.
What I love about ancient Greece, is that they had a god or goddess for (literally) everything! They had gods of water, sky, earth, love, justice, healing, music, archery, marriage, childbirth, day, night, sleep, dreams...I could just go on and on and on, but I wont. However, one of the more important deities in Greek mythology were the three Fates (also known as the Moirai), goddesses of fate and destiny.
These goddesses determined when life began, ended, and they decided what happened in between. They wove the good and the evil into the (metaphorical) thread of life for everyone and decided how long they lived. They were so powerful that not even the gods could escape them.
- Clotho spun the thread of life on her spindle and was the decider of major decisions, such as when a person was to be born.
- Lachesis measured the thread of life and determined the persons destiny. She decided how much time of life was to be allowed to each person and she also chose the persons destiny after the thread was measured out. She appeared with her sisters within 3 days of a child's birth to decide their fate.
- Atropos was the one who cut the thread of life. She had the ability to choose the time and the manner of a person's death. And it makes sense that her name means "inflexible" or "inevitable," since death is afterall, inevitable.
I bought the E-book yesterday for only .99 cents, and you can too! Just visit any of the following links...and make it soon because the book wont always be .99 cents!
- For Amazon Kindle:
- Barnes and Noble Nook (US)
- Tweet about the release of Oppression using the hashtag #Book1Oppression
- Facebook (tag @Jessica Therrien, Author) about the release of Oppression
- and/or Visit any of the participating Virtual Launch Party Host blogs (mine included!) and comment on their post about Oppression.
So, what are your thoughts about fate and destiny??
YAY! Thanks for participating in my virtual launch party for Oppression :) So much fun!
ReplyDeleteEven though I'm usually a free will kind of gal, I've always been fascinated by the three Greek Fates. So excited for Jessica and can't wait for my copy to arrive.
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