What a brilliant book! I had never read any of Natasha Pulley’s earlier books and am only vaguely interested in Ancient Greece, but WOW - this story is exquisite. Set in a time when gods lived amongst humans and daily life depended on their good humour, the author leads us on a story of honour, duty, love and madness. The language is modern and appealing, the relationship between the main characters, Phaidros and Dionysus, is tender and the politics of Ancient Greece are intriguing, I’m delighted to have found a new author and am off to read all of her earlier works.

A lyrical and well-sketched remaining of Greek myth, The Hymn to Dionysus is the latest offering from Natasha Pulley, she of historical Achillean romances with a high-concept plot enshrouding it. This time it's the turn of a God and a mortal, and Pulley deploys her usual charm and bittersweet whimsy, providing the reader with an epic romance and a delightful piece of Grecian historical fiction to boot.

I'm not very knowledgeable about things Greek, a few books, and a recent trip to see Hadestown leaves me with enough information to be sure I knew something, but never enough.
There were times I was confused in this book, so many characters, so many ideas!!!
However, I do like a bit of Pulley, and the wit and humour shone through a lot.
It's an enjoyable read, and I felt it justified every page.
There's magic, mayhem, madness, honour and duty aplenty in this book, and more besides.
Cracking.

The Hymn to Dionysus follows Phaidros who was raised in a Greek legion and has to fight. One day he rescues a baby at Thebes’s palace but is forced to abandon him. Years later Phaidros is drawn into the crown prince of Thebes’s issues as he wants to escape his upcoming marriage. Phaidros ends up searching for the crown prince and meets Dionysus who is a witch with rumours following him.

This was enjoyable. Phaidros was an easy character to follow and connect with. I can see fans of this author enjoying this work. I was a little bit confused by this though because at first I thought the Greek Gods were in this as the commander was called Helios but looking at other reviews it seems the author has used these names for mortals. Other than that the story was fine although it’s not a new favourite for me.

““He sounded like the ash glow looked; like the funeral pyre of kingdoms.””

“He's like wine. If you describe what he does, he seems awful, but if it's happening to you, it's lovely.”
"There speaks an intoxicated man."

Thank you to Orion and Gollancz for the early access to this book!

I have to start my review with the fact that Natasha Pulley is one of my favourite authors. I would have picked up anything she wrote next and devoured it, so when this was announced I could not wait to read it. Immediately upon starting, Pulley’s voice is evident. Her fantastic narrative and character crafting is unique and once you have read one of her books, it is like greeting an old friend - despite being in a wildly different setting to her previous science fiction world of ‘The Mars House’. or her debut “The Watchmaker of Filligree Street”. There is something fundamental and essential to her work that carries through and I cannot get enough of it.

In terms of setting, readers should be mindful that this is a ‘reimagining’ of Greek myth and story, not a retelling. Although marketed for fans of ‘The Song of Achilles’ and ‘Elektra’, and they certainly will enjoy, any readers looking for a classic, close to original myth story will not be finding this here. Instead, Pulley’s Greece is unique and surreal, with fragments of recognisable figures but perhaps not where we expect them to be. Later in the novel, our narrator comments that records have been lost and the present doesn’t remember these events the same way. I loved that - the idea that this is a different, alternate Greece we don’t know.

Pulley’s strength is character. Her protagonist and first person narrator, Phaidros is an excellent. Warped by his experiences, there is a tight tension to her prose that mirrors the emotional turmoil and repression that Phaidros experienced, revealed through his PTSD and reactions to events. This tight, tense narrative only relents when we encounter Dionysus who is the strange, surreal witch who may or may not be a figure from Phaidros’s past and may or may not be a god. Dionysus as a character is wonderfully characterised and I found myself, like Phaidros, straining for the next moment he would appear.

The plot was well paced, and events are unexpected without feeling bizarre. Things are strange - the god of Madness may be in Thebes after all! I loved the descriptions of the ivy growing and the plague like singing that bleeds into the city. My favourite Greek reimaginings and retellings have the gods as primal, inexplicable things. There were some points, however, where I had to reread sections to check I was following but once I was used to the surreal and lyrical magic of moments, I was sold. The mystical is well balanced with Phaidros’s blunt approach to the world, which I really enjoyed.

Overall, this is a great read and although I would not say that it was Pulley’s best work, it is a refreshing new world to have been given. I’m excited to see what Pulley does next!

In The Hymn to Dionysus, Natasha Pulley offers a spellbinding reimagining of the myth of Dionysus, the Greek God of ecstasy, madness, and ruin. This book, aimed at readers who loved The Song of Achilles and Elektra, is a richly woven narrative that captures the timeless allure of Greek mythology while exploring the deeply human struggles of its characters.

The story follows Phaidros, a soldier raised in a Greek legion with a fierce loyalty to a homeland he has never seen. His life takes a fateful turn when he rescues a baby from a fire at the palace of Thebes. After this act of heroism, he is forced to abandon the blue-eyed boy at a temple and keep the child’s existence a secret. The trauma of this event lingers in Phaidros’s mind, and years later, after the death of his battalion in a mysterious incident, he has become a training master for young soldiers. He is tormented by panic attacks and flashbacks, and he is not alone—his fellow veterans are similarly losing their grip on reality.

Phaidros’s struggles, however, are compounded by his entanglement with Thebes’s young crown prince, who wishes to escape an arranged marriage. When the prince vanishes, Phaidros is drawn into the search for him, a quest that leads him to a blue-eyed witch named Dionysus. As Phaidros spends time with this enigmatic figure, he begins to witness strange events—riots, unrest, and rumours of a new god, one sired by Zeus but lost in a fire. Dionysus’s guidance becomes crucial, as Phaidros is confronted with the unraveling of both his own sanity and the world around him.

Pulley’s storytelling is masterful, and she does an excellent job of developing both the plot and characters. The pacing of the book keeps you on the edge of your seat, as Phaidros’s journey takes him down unexpected and thrilling paths. The author immerses the reader in a world where the lines between madness, divinity, and humanity blur, and the twists are as unpredictable as the god at the heart of the story.

While the romance that develops between Phaidros and Dionysus adds depth to the emotional arc of the book, I would have liked to see more focus on this relationship, as it could have further enriched the dynamic between the characters. That said, the overall story is so compelling and well-crafted that this minor quibble doesn’t detract from the book’s greatness.

The Hymn to Dionysus is a truly captivating read. Natasha Pulley has created a world where myth and reality collide, offering a powerful exploration of grief, identity, and the search for meaning. It is a story that lingers long after the final page, and for anyone drawn to mythology and complex, unforgettable characters, it is not to be missed.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

A burned out soldier in Thebes tries to save the city and himself from the god of madness, only to realise the god might save him instead. An absolutely stunning novel - subtle, witty, full of heart and humour. I could have read another 500 pages; without a doubt this will be one of my top books of 2025.