Author's retelling of both the Ariadne/Theseus/Labyrinth/Minotaur myth together with Daedalus/Icarus myth set against the background of ca. 1500 BC Crete. Very enthralling narrative and fascinating how the author interwove the two myths. The Minotaur here is a young man named Asterios who has the gift of Second Sight. The religion on the island is that of the Great Mother, the female principle of fertility. She has priestesses, but Asterios is made the first male priest, first undergoing an initiation into consecration involving bull leaping, something called the Crane Dance, then navigating the Labyrinth, the last symbolizing one's passing from death to life. He becomes involved with the royal family at the "Palace of the Blue Dolphins", so-named after a fresco there, which has since been found by archaeologists. Asterios and a princess, Ariadne, fall in love. Then arrives from Athens hostages along with the son of that king, Theseus, who I found to be most unpleasant: impulsive, selfish, stubborn. Then Theseus seduces Ariadne; he doesn't return her tender feeling toward him. Asterios has predicted a volcanic eruption, which will destroy the island if people don't escape but he is not believed. Asterios will live in the Labyrinth, wearing a bull mask, as protector of the goddess. Theseus, with Ariadne's help--the thread, which Daedalus creates for her--enters and wounds Asterios nearly to death, stealing the bull mask. Daedalus and son attempt to fly in a contraption they have built--a balloon? Daedalus leaves the island, although his son is killed. Ariadne and another princess, along with the hostages flee towards Athens but Ariadne is abandoned on Naxos. The volcano does erupt, and the Palace of the Blue Dolphins with all inhabitants is destroyed.

This novel kept me riveted all through. I did know the basic myths but I was struck by the originality of the author and how she connected them, along with their outcomes. It took awhile for the story to build and sometimes was slow but the last few chapters astounded me. With the volcanic eruption, I kept thinking that the island the author meant was the present-day Santorini and she confirmed this in her Epilogue. I thought also the story was a fictional depiction of matriarchy being replaced by patriarchy.

Highly recommended. ( )