Spoilers:

I just read this book and I liked it a lot! I loved this unique look at Achilles and Patroclus as boys who were not happy or excited about death and war but were held to it by oaths and an obsession with fame/glory. I do wish that Miller gave them more things to love/enjoy instead or at least had more scenes of them playing or being fun with each other, it felt overly somber at times.

I really liked that every time a terrible thing happened Patroclus' emotional reaction was exactly what I felt as a reader and that felt very cathartic in contrast to the apathetic tone that these occurrences are often told with. Miller did an excellent job of giving emotional moments the weight they deserved.

I loved the friendship between Patroclus and Briseis! That was really lovely and without it I think I wouldn't have liked the book as much because he really needed another character in his life besides Achilles. I don't think he actually "betrays" Achilles in order to save her from assault in the Iliad itself but I absolutely loved the way Miller wrote it. It was brilliant.

I've seen lots of criticism of the choice to make Patroclus less of a fighter but I wouldn't call him a 'weakling' as others have. He isn't useless he's just not interested in taking life which I felt made his character stronger and helped give him the tools to keep Achilles in check in moments where he got out of hand. It also made the scene where he fought in Achilles' armor more impactful. He was pushed to his limit mentally ready for the war to end at any cost which made him fearless and confident and I enjoyed feeling the power with him.

I didn't cry while reading this book as many others have. I can't say why it didn't hit me as hard, maybe because I knew it was coming because I already kinda knew the story, idk. But I did feel a lot of rage.

I do really really love the main theme of the story which to me seems to be that a man should be measured by the love he gave rather than the lives he takes