The Philosopher Kings
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- € 3,99
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Twenty years have passed since the goddess Athene founded the Just City.
The god Apollo is still living there, albeit in human form. Now married and the father of several children, the man/god struggles to cope when tragedy befalls his family. On the surface he handles his feelings in his stride; but it's evident that deep down he is unhinged with raw, human grief.
Fuelled by a bloodthirsty desire for revenge, Pythias sets sail for the mysterious Eastern Mediterranean to find the man he believes may have caused him such great pain.
What his expedition actually discovers, however, will change everything.
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The artificially constructed Republic, populated with people whom the goddess Athene stole from their native time lines, has splintered into warring factions after the events of The Just City. Apollo, living as a human, grieves for his wife, who died in a battle, and his subsequent meandering journey slowly reveals truths that will transform the small society. Walton succeeds well in her mission of showing that the utopia envisioned by Plato is impossible, but her use of god-level powers, including a book-ending deus ex machina, strips the book of tension. The rape of Apollo's wife is noted in a toss-off journal entry, and her entire existence is reduced to her violation and death, which Walton uses to motivate Apollo to take his children on a lengthy quest for brutal revenge. Later, a second rapist is forgiven and ends up being an acolyte of virginal Athene. The philosophical questions just aren't enough to push past the troubling use of sexual assault in this unsatisfying sequel.
