To Lie with Ursa in the Grey Cave

by Ashton Thayne, Cassady Bindrup (Illustrator)

To Lie with Ursa in the Grey Cave is a modern-day retelling of the legend of Artemis, Greek goddess of wild animals and the hunt, told across four epic poems-wherein Artemis embarks upon a quest to find and kill Callisto, the malevolent Kodiak bear and goddess of nature, and earn her place among the gods and goddesses of Olympus.

But the road to that objective is a long and arduous one. Along the way, Artemis is raised by a pack of wolves, and as a teenager forms her own pack, which roams the city streets and back alleys of our human world. Eventually, as an adult, Artemis discovers the otherworldly realm of Callisto, and it is here in the royal woods of the goddess bear that Artemis must face one undeniable and unavoidable truth: that her path to ascension will require a sacrifice and loss more great than she can imagine.

To Lie with Ursa in the Grey Cave is Ashton Thayne's reinterpretation of Greek mythology, a bold and daring work of poetry that transports legendary characters into our contemporary world and reimagines age-old tales of lore through a distinctly 21st-century lens.

111 pages, Paperback

Published November 10, 2021

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

It’s been a while since a book captivated me so completely. This book is beautiful. It is haunting. It is wonderful. It will stick with you. It is the kind of book where everything else I read and listen to reminds me of the masterpiece I just finished reading.

I was listening to a podcast and they were discussing the idea that we contain multitudes. That all of us are different people throughout our lives and we grow and change and move on. But everything that came before is still part of us and it can be difficult to reconcile all our multitudes. This idea hit me while I was reading “to lie with ursa in the grey cave”. Artemis is an abandoned little girl, she is a wolf, she is a woman doing what it takes to survive, she is a bear that finds peace only to steal it away from herself in search of her place among the gods.

Artemis is driven and haunted by this deal, this demand from the gods, to kill the great bear and become one of them. At what cost though? She finally finds some peace, a bond with a mother and after she kills the great bear realizes that’s all she ever needed. How many times do we chase after a dream, get pushed to pursue a goal and end up sabotaging or abandoning the things we really need, the things that actually bring us peace?

This book has thoroughly captured my imagination. Like all great literature it has forced me to think. About Artemis and about my own life. It has sparked a desire to read other stories about Artemis and the Greek gods and compare them to this story.

My usual criteria for rating books are did I enjoy it?(I devoured this book and it’s been a while since I was so captivated by a book) Did it make a powerful impact? (Absolutely!) Did it make me think? (I can’t seem to stop thinking about it) And do I want to read it again and again? (Yes yes yes!!)

This is the hundredth book I’ve read this year and was an amazing way to complete my goal.

[Bb]

Greek Mythology, Poetic prose, the relevant story of how hard life is, how it sometimes seems like help from a higher power isn't there or may even be against us. Shows the power of pushing through hard things, the choices we make, and ultimately the life we live. Can't wait for Ashton's next book.

[Amanda Jenkins]

Poignant poetry. I can feel the emotions of these characters. I wish I knew more of the original story so I could understand more of the symbols. Even without that though, it was a beautiful read.