Muse of Art

God damn.

This is another series that started out great, then puttered out as it went on, which just leaves me heartbroken as someone who can really get sucked up into a series and fall in love with the narrative and characters (i.e. Clan of the Cave Bear, Hunger Games, Divergent, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, etc etc...)

Tis book is supposed to focus on art, and I found the premise intriguing, and like with the rest of the Geodyssey books, I learned about various historical settings, which is my favorite part of the Geodyssey books.

But... this book was less about art, and more about sex. On average, doing the math, the book averaged more than a couple of sex scenes per chapter. I'm not a prude and I don't mind an occasional sex scene show more here and there, but there was more focus on sex than art and creativity, and don't even get me started on watersports. (and this chapter had like... 4 or 5 sex scenes? Maybe more, it became a blur to me at this point)

Yes, peeing. If the author wanted to do an erotica book about watersports, he should have done so in a separate book, aimed at watersports fans. In this book, the watersports (of which there was a lot in one chapter) just left a really vile taste in my mouth. It did NOTHING for the story, it contributed nothing to the artistic value or historical narration of the book, and it was one of the things that made Melee so distasteful to me.

And man, I hated Melee. she was a bitch. I know the author was trying to make Melee out to be a strong, willful woman, but Melee was just too willful, like she was being defiant just for defiance's sake, for her amusement, to fuck around with men, etc. In the chapter with aforesaid waterports, Melee takes delight in making Dillon uncomfortable and constantly stomping on his boundaries and just fucking around with him and being a bitch, including peeing on him.

Ew.

The third book in this series, Hope of Earth, was a bit weak, but was still an overall enjoyable book, with much less sex, and the characters were more enjoyable. I had hoped that Muse of Art would be a step up, but instead, this was a step down, a big one. I was tempted to give it one star, but the various historical settings and stuff that did not include sex were good to read, so I give this book 2 stars. show less

Muse of Art explores the special talents that have inspired and motivated us since the earliest days of our existence: curiosity and creativity, seduction and survival, destruction and healing. We view some of the most explosive eras in human history through the eyes of three remarkable women: Avalanche, the alluring beauty skilled in the arts of love and desire; Melee, the headstrong young noblewoman who learns to mold men to her will; and Talena, the wise and lovely weaver of tales who embodies Eve, the primordial mother of the human race. Through them we take part in the occult mysteries of Egypt, the savage wars of the Olmecs, the violent clashes between the Romans and Celts, the court intrigues of ancient Cambodia, the savagery of show more Attila the Hun, the Napoleonic Wars, and the siege of Stalingrad in the darkest days of World War II. And we look ahead to a harrowing future overshadowed by a devastating plague. And we come to understand the terrifying paradox that confronts us today: that the same gifts that brought us to the pinnacle of civilization now threaten to destroy the human race. show less

VERY disappointing after the first three. By book 4, the premise is no longer enough to carry the book. The characters in this one are annoying, and Anthony's preoccupation with sex and young girls is disturbingly prevalent.