Jenny Blackford's Web Site

Jenny Blackford - Reviews and Interviews

Cover art (c) Rachael Mayo

Reviews

The reviews of The Priestess and the Slave on amazon are a good start.

The amazing Kate Forsyth wrote about The Priestess and the Slave, "Completely fascinating - a vivid and evocative glimpse into the life of the past, with its terrors and joys so strange and yet so familiar," and the astonishing Alison Goodman said, "A compelling blend of vivid storytelling and meticulous research. Fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable."

Legendary sf feminist Pamela Sargent wrote on Goodreads, "This elegant short novel…tells the interwoven stories of Thrasulla, a Pythia who is one of the oracles of Apollo, and Harmonia, a slave in an Athenian household. The author, with degrees in Classics, brings authority and detail to this story of those so often neglected by history, those without power. Women in classical Greece led especially limited lives, but Jenny Blackford brings both suspense and compassion to Harmonia's tale, which is restricted entirely to her master's house, and to Thrasulla's, when she must confront the madness in a Spartan king and the greed of a sister priestess."

Macquarie University's scholarly journal Ancient History: Resources for Teachers: "historically accurate to the finest detail… It is extraordinarily moving… This is a rewarding book on both levels. A true ancient historical novel."

On the ReadPlus site, Alison Woodward recommends The Priestess and the Slave for readers 14+, and says, "These two emotionally moving tales give a glimpse at what life was like during ancient times, from the perspective of two quietly courageous women. It is written with such detail and accuracy that it is easy to see history through the eyes of those who lived it. Whilst being a short book, the themes are mature in nature and discerning readers will ponder the themes of survival, corruption and human nature. This is a highly recommended book for those who are interested in or studying Ancient Greece and gives a touching view of life in ancient times."

Greg Benford called The Priestess and the Slave "wonderful", and said, "It has the arc of a novel, brevity of a short story - quite a job of compaction."

The June 2009 issue of inCite magazine - the news magazine of the Australian Library and Information Association - has a lovely review by Jill Enks of The Priestess and the Slave. Ms Enks writes, among other nice things, "If you have even a little interest in or knowledge of Ancient Greece, Jenny Blackford’s first book The priestess and the slave is well worth reading... Jenny has an extraordinary knowledge of Ancient Greece, both of the politics and the ordinary lives of the citizens. She writes with authority, providing fascinating details of life at that time. She also develops two characters with whom we can truly empathise. Both stories are suspenseful and fast moving. I hope that Jenny will continue writing historical books of such high quality."

Dr Fiona Hobden, Lecturer in Greek Culture in the School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology at the University of Liverpool, wrote in a review in HerStoria, "The Priestess and the Slave is a rich and enjoyable read. As is to be expected from a writer of science fiction and fantasy, Blackford’s world is detailed and convincing. Her women are intriguing and sharply defined, and they have the merit of humanity. In the modern (masculine) imagination, the Pythian priestess is often a mystical, exotic figure. ... Blackford’s Thrasulla, by contrast, is a fully-rounded woman of over fifty with a personal history, a clarity of perspective and an ethical code. By bringing women of fifth-century Greece to life, our author rescues them from the obscurity imposed by contemporary historians (who largely ignored them) and from sexualised male fantasies that continue to inform their representation... [Blackford's] attempt to reveal the historical reality of women’s lives takes us much closer to seeing ancient women as real people. For this reason, as well as for being an intelligently-executed novel, The Priestess and the Slave is thoroughly recommended."

Alison Spicer-Wensley, in a review in the WA Department of Education and Training's magazine Fiction Focus: New Titles for Teenagers, writes, "Each of the two stories reveals a great deal of thoroughly researched historical detail woven seamlessly into the narrative of these two very different women." She recommends The Priestess and the Slave for 15+ readers with an interest in ancient Greece, and ends, "It would be valuable enrichment material for upper secondary students studying Ancient History".

Rich Horton reviews The Priestess and the Slave in the August Locus. He calls it "a worthwhile read", and says, "This isn't really fantasy, but the characters act as if the Greek gods are real, which gives the story a fantastical feel."

ReadPlus called my troll story "Trolls' Night Out" in Dreaming Again "an unexpected gem", and several reviewers, including Aurealis editor Stuart Mayne (in aurealisXpress) and Niki Bruce (in The Cairns Post), listed it as one of the standouts of the collection.

Paul di Filippo's review of Dreaming Again on the Barnes & Noble website included my story, and Russell Blackford's "Manannan's Children", in his list of "exemplary instances of all the major subgenres" (mine of urban fantasy, Russell's of retold fairy tale); and Gardner Dozois gave both stories Honorable Mentions in his Year's Best Science Fiction 26!

Interviews

The delightful Sonia Helbig interviews me, mostly about The Priestess and the Slave, in the March-April 2009 Specusphere.

My multi-talented fellow Hadley Rille Books author, Amy Herring, interviewed me for the Dragon*Con Daily Dragon. Here's a link to the excellent interview: http://dailydragon.dragoncon.org/2009/jenny-blackford.

Tehani Wessely interviewed me as part of the massive 2010 Snapshot of Australian Speculative Fiction. The interview is here. Tehani is clearly a woman of exquisite taste; she's included a nasty slimy story of mine called "Slugs and Snails" in her excellent Worlds Next Door anthology for lucky kids.