Panacea: An Ancient Greek-inspired Epic Fantasy

Panacea is a story as braving and action-oriented as its cover promises. Adventurous, steeped in lore and mythic turns, and perfect for fans of Conan and similar stories.

Thank you netgalley for the advanced readers copy! This was a diamond straight diamond! I was not expecting this to be so good! A great Greek mythology story. A fantastic start to a hopefully epic aeries! Read this now!!!

Author Robins reimagines the Greek Pantheon in this fantasy tale. He has created interesting three dimensional characters. There are plot elements that are a bit unwieldy and unnecessary, but the story overall is good.

Three and a half stars. The ending left open the possibility of a sequel and I would read that. My thanks to Bradypus Publishing via NetGalley. All expressed opinions are my own.

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🌠 In collaboration with Netgalley. Thank you for the free arc! 🌠

This is a author who I had never heard of but wish I had sooner, and one I will be following from now on.
The writing is phenomenal in characters, world building and plot, something I do not find often unfortunately.

The story is both a tale of tragedy and hope. One of the pain of losing a child and how far one will go to get them back.

I relate to Elana the most I think, the hopelessness she feels in the face of change and the sorrow of seeing so much pain she can not fix but the stubborn resolve to not give up.

I greve for Dexios, for all he has seen and lost. I understand why he would go to such lengths to get his son back, what parent would not?

What to say of all the other characters? They feel real, not just the pov characters but to me as the reader.

I could say much more but in effort to not spoil the whole book I will say this, this is a book that will stay with me for forever and I highly anticipate the sequel.

Panacea: An Ancient Greek-inspired Epic Fantasy by Alex Robins, a fun title that had elements of recognizable greek influence twisted just enough to be really enjoyable.

For decades, Dexios had served his city state of Thena as a Strategos. A heavy burden, all he wants is to see his son pass his ephebic trials and to retire to his vineyards. But a old enemy is rearing its head and Dexios will soon know no peace.

Panacea is an interesting spin on the ancient Greek myths. The city states and culture are ancient Greek to a tee (to my uncultured eyes) but there is a nice slant with the inclusion of mythical creatures thrown in. Full of treachery and foreboding, it is an action-packed yarn but with an undercurrent of pain caused by grief.

I really enjoyed this novel from Indie author, Alex Robins. Don't like the fact that the author is Indie put you off because this is just as good as many traditionally published novels I have read. And the artwork is stunning!

Ancient Greek gods aplenty, with a massive twist on the old tales, it is refreshingly new in a genre that has seen a glut of ancient Greek retellings. Prophecy, intrigue and treachery are a heavy part of the story; some you see coming, some you don't. It is heavy on the male POV but then again, many of the myths were, herowise at least. I did get slightIy confused with the names but as I said, uncultured! I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys ancient Greek-based epics, especially The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

I received a copy of this book from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a fan of Greek mythology and was pleased with this book. I enjoyed the the dual perspective of a father and son. It was interesting to see how they both viewed and understood things. I also enjoyed the writing style of the author. It was definitely a fun and easy read for me. I will be looking into more books by this author.

This Greek-inspired fantasy sees young fledgling Greek warriors sent straight from the training grounds to a large battle against a herd of minotaurs. Not many survive and those who do are far from safe.
There is a small and well-defined cast of characters in this book, from the young warriors (some noble and heroic, others utter ball-bags), to their trainers and teachers and right up to senior leaders of the city states.
The plot covers the training and conflicts among the trainees, into the battle and beyond. We see battle scenes, detective work (mysterious events in the city following the army rolling out), intrigue and conspiracy, prophecy and double-crossing gods.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and any pacing issues I felt at the time were down to me and not the book itself.
Very much recommended for low fantasy fans (almost like Paternus in ancient times).

Panacea is set in a Greek Mythology inspired world where Hera and her pantheon of goddesses have defeated Zeus and his pantheon of Gods (now known as the ruined) and banished them from Olympus.

Apologies ahead of time for any misspelling below.

Dexios, a Strategos that dreams of retirement) and his son (a newly trained ephebe who has only just been given his spear and apsis) find themselves thrust into a battle against the taurans (minotaurs).

Elena, a Sophestis (teacher), is left behind to put together the pieces of a mystery in the city of Thebes to find out who is murdering people and why..

I absolutely loved this book. It deals heavily with war and conflict, loyalty and betrayal. There is a heavy question of how far would you go for someone you love? Are the gods worthy of loyalty?

Several moments in this book had my heart in my throat and genuinely brought a tear to my eye. It is very viscerally graphic in places, a lot of descriptive gore but I feel that with a book that is heavily portraying battles and war the graphic was a necessity. I look forward to reading book two in the future.

Panacea is the first book in a new epic fantasy series that is inspired by Ancient Greece. There is a lot of focus on the military of Ancient Greece. The main character is Dexios who is a strategos of Thena's phalanx who is leading a defensive charge against a group of tauros.

This story was very well researched and gives a lot of details on workings of Ancient Greece. Luckily, the book includes a list of Greek terms that are used often in the book, because there are a lot of uncommon terms to learn to enjoy the story. The battle scenes were very well written and enjoyable to read. The story opens up and becomes a lot more interesting and unexpected in the second half going beyond the simple Greek military tale it appeared to be at first.

I would recommend checking out this series if you are a fan of epic fantasy and are interested in Ancient Greece.

This book was good, I’m not one for action or books based on ancient times but it was good. The characters were pretty well written seemed easy to follow along.

I love fantasy, I love Greek Mythology. Both in one book, what could go wrong!
The book is as action packed as the blurb would lead you to believe. A fantastic opening to the series, would definitely recommend.