Book · 2011
The Song of Achilles
by Madeline Miller
Patroclus, exiled and overlooked, grows up shadowing Achilles and follows him to Troy already knowing how the war ends for them.
What does Reddit think of The Song of Achilles?
r/suggestmeabook doesn't just recommend The Song of Achilles, it recommends it attached to Circe, over and over: three of the sample's top quotes (↑765, ↑354, ↑354) pair the two books as a matched set, Madeline Miller's myth retellings functioning as one unit rather than separate titles. One commenter (↑411) goes further, calling it a book that "pulls you all the way in and destroys you." r/Fantasy's own top excerpt (↑786) files it under a joke subtitle, "I Guess If My Boyfriend's Going to the Trojan War then So Am I!", affectionate but also a little dismissive of the central romance. That undercurrent shows up straighter in another r/Fantasy comment (↑313), which spends the whole book wishing Patroclus would leave Achilles for someone who actually cares about him. r/YAlit carries real volume here despite the book living as adult fiction elsewhere. Nobody in this sample argues it's badly written. Some argue the central relationship is the weak point.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Patroclus and Achilles' relationship as the emotional center of an Iliad retelling
- · Positioned alongside Circe as a matched pair of Madeline Miller myth retellings
- · Crosses genre lines: shows up in r/Fantasy, r/YAlit, and r/RomanceBooks alike
- · A doomed romance where the reader knows the ending going in
Common praise
- + Gets singled out for destroying people emotionally (↑411), the kind of reaction recommendation threads are actually built on.
- + r/suggestmeabook keeps handing it out alongside Circe as a two-book starter pack for the myth-retelling genre.
- + Holds an audience across four different subs, fantasy, YA, romance, and general suggestions, without needing a separate pitch for each.
Common criticism
- − One r/Fantasy commenter (↑313) spends the whole book wanting Patroclus to leave Achilles for someone better, a complaint about the central relationship, not the prose.
- − r/Fantasy's own top listicle entry frames it with a joke subtitle rather than a straight recommendation, more meme than manifesto.
- − r/RomanceBooks carries meaningful volume but no scored sentiment in this sample, so its actual verdict isn't visible here.
Who it's for
Pair it with Circe if you're doing the Miller two-book set, which is how r/suggestmeabook keeps recommending it anyway. Want the tragic version of the Achilles myth centered on the relationship instead of the war? This is the entry point three different subreddits agree on, even when they disagree about whether Achilles deserves Patroclus. If you want a clean genre lane, know going in that it doesn't stay in one: fantasy circles, YA lists, and romance threads all claim it without much resistance from each other.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
- r/suggestmeabook 6,289
- r/booksuggestions 2,820
- r/YAlit 783
- r/Fantasy 691
- r/RomanceBooks 531
- r/TrueLit 23
- r/printSF 12
- r/horrorlit 6
Which Reddit comments matter for The Song of Achilles?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“I recommend it a lot but I can't stop... The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Its pulls you all the way in and destroys you. It is utterly brilliant writing.
“Song of Achilles is really good, by Madeline Miller
“In a very quiet whispery voice: *the song of achilles.* I spent the whole book wishing for Patroclus to ditch Achilles and find someone that actually cares about him.
“I'd put off reading The Song of Achilles for ages because it didn't seem like my thing. Then I absently picked it up to read in the bath when I was at my friend's place and seven hours later I was still sitting in the bath when I finished it.
“{{The Song of Achilles}} is a perfect fit!
“Try *The Song of Achilles* by Madeline Miller! I finished it a couple of days ago and I think it definitely matches what you're looking for (aka I cried after reading it). It's a historical romance depicting the battle of troy and is written in the first-person point of view. Patroclus (the narrato…
“Circe by Madeline Miller is wonderful. I’ve also heard really good things about The Song of Achilles, which she also writes - I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet though.
“Song of Achilles. While I appreciated what the author was going for, I wish she had not done so by robbing Patroclus of his essential character (A bad-ass Achean warrior) in order to create the trope of a masculine-feminine couple between he and Achilles. Their romance would have been just as va…
“This is how I felt after Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
“The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller! I think I finished it in a matter of days. Very fun and interesting take on the Greek heroic age and it’s a beautiful story.
“My S-Tier: - The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien - The First Law series, by Joe Abercrombie, but especially the Standalones. - Blacktongue Thief, by Christopher Buehlman - Between Two Fires, by Christopher Buehlman - Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller - Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawk…
“I can’t recommend Circe enough. Imo even better than Song of Achilles.
“Surprised no one has mentioned them but {{The Book Thief}} is pretty damn sad. {{The Song of Achilles}} also had me crying at the end
“The song of Achilles, queer boys, beautiful imagery. This book gave me a book hangover.
“Most of BookTok, but honestly (And I'm going to get brutalized here - but I stand by this): **Song of Achilles.** That book does Patroclus - who per Homer, was a whirlwind killing machine- dirty. I have real issues with a straight woman as author who essentially turns the Achilles and Patroclu…
Convinced? Pick up The Song of Achilles
Readers also mention
All books like The Song of Achilles →Books that share discussion threads with The Song of Achilles — counted from the comments, not curated.
The Song of Achilles — frequently asked
Is The Song of Achilles a fantasy novel or a romance?+
Depends which sub you ask. r/Fantasy files it in a listicle, r/RomanceBooks carries real volume on it, and r/YAlit treats it as YA-adjacent despite its adult-fiction shelving. r/suggestmeabook, the biggest source here, mostly recommends it as a myth retelling paired with Circe rather than sorting it into either camp.
Should I read The Song of Achilles or Circe first?+
The data doesn't rank them. r/suggestmeabook's top excerpts (↑765, ↑354, ↑354) recommend both together as a Madeline Miller starter set rather than in sequence. One commenter treats Circe as the one they'd read next after finishing The Song of Achilles, but nothing here argues for a strict order.
Is the Achilles and Patroclus relationship in The Song of Achilles as one-sided as people say?+
At least one reader thinks so. A r/Fantasy comment (↑313) says they spent the whole book wishing Patroclus would leave Achilles for someone who actually cares about him. That's the only displayed dissent in the sample, but it's a specific, repeated-sounding complaint rather than a one-off.
Why does r/YAlit talk about The Song of Achilles so much if it's shelved as adult fiction?+
The data doesn't explain the shelving mismatch, it just shows the volume: 783 mentions in r/YAlit, a real presence for a sub that isn't its official home. The likely draw is the doomed-romance structure, which reads as YA-adjacent regardless of where publishers put it.