The Rape Trial of Medusa


Fiction - Fantasy - General
388 Pages
Reviewed on 07/24/2020
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Author Biography

Michael Kasenow is the author of fourteen science books, the award-winning novels, The Last Paradise, View From The Edge and A Wicked Thing. He is also the author of the award-winning collections of poetry: Six Feet Down and Something's Bound to Happen. He was a geology professor at Eastern Michigan University for 27 years. He has traveled extensively and lived in many places among a variety of unique personalities. His lifetime resume includes waiter, cab driver, bartender, lumberman, janitor, butcher, and ranch hand in New Mexico. These experiences add authenticity to his written work. He lives in a Michigan and enjoys the lakes and forests.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Ankita Shukla for Readers' Favorite

The Rape Trial of Medusa by Michael Kasenow is a fascinating fantasy story. For ages, Olympians were worshipped as gods. Medusa Gorgon was a priestess in the Temple of Athena. When Medusa was raped in the same temple, Athena was outraged. Instead of finding the truth behind the crime, she accused Medusa of seducing a man inside the place that was created to honor her. To create an example of her, Athena cursed Medusa and exiled her to an island to live a life of solitude. After centuries, it was revealed that Olympians were not gods; they were just a very powerful and influential family who owned millionaires and billionaires. Soon afterward, Medusa appealed for a rape trial in the international court of New York. What followed was an exhilarating clash between extremists who wanted Medusa's head and people who considered Medusa wrongly accused and severely punished. With a strong feminist lawyer, Maggie Harper, on her side, Medusa had a fair chance at justice; however, Zeus Olympian and his family were hellbent on proving her to be nothing more than a monster and a seductress.

Concealed behind an enthralling page-turner is Michael Kasenow 's abhorrence toward the horrid crimes against women and society's irrational mindset against women. While Medusa represents many women who were punished for their own rape time and again, Maggie Harper comes forward as the image of fortitude in the face of a society that worshipped money and power. Medusa's philosophical banter with one of the side characters, Jack Hardy, was thought-provoking. Zeus as an antagonist provoked hatred and fear with his monstrous and perverse mindset. By including a trial, Michael Kasenow glued readers to the edge of their seats. The Rape Trial of Medusa is an impactful book that forces its readers to look at the ugly side of society. If courtroom drama, social issues, action, and profound conversations intrigue you, then The Rape Trial of Medusa by Michael Kasenow is a perfect book for you.

Shrabastee Chakraborty

In Greek mythology, Medusa’s story is laced with controversy. Allegedly raped by Poseidon and later cursed by Athena for defiling the latter’s temple, was she a villain or a victim? Did she even deserve the cruel fate of a monster with a murderous gaze? In The Rape Trial of Medusa, Michael Kasenow takes this age-old story and spins a tale with a modern twist around it. After millennia, Medusa is finally retrieved from her isolation. Her trial begins in New York, spearheaded by Maggie Harper. Crystal and Jack, members of Harper’s legal team, befriend Medusa. As the case starts to lean in Medusa’s favor, the all-powerful Olympian family is clearly on the back foot. The plot thickens when prominent Olympian members like Poseidon, Hades, and Ares succumb to mysterious deaths. Will Medusa receive her long-awaited justice? Will the reign of the Olympians finally come to a staggering halt?

The Rape Trial of Medusa is nothing short of a mirror that reflects the follies and absurdities of our socio-political system. Kasenow’s powerful voice condemns the horrific crimes against women - sexual assaults, rape, objectification of women, child marriage, bride burning, and honor killing. The Olympians in this book stand for the supremacists controlling the world with money and power. The other side represents the oppressed, fighting for their rights in a world deeply skewed against them. Through his characters, Michael Kasenow underscores the importance of taking a stand. Maggie’s indomitable spirit, Crystal and Medusa’s self-acceptance, and Jack’s search for inner beauty demonstrate that there is much more to life than materialistic pleasures. This is a story that might make you uneasy with its grisly details. However, this thought-provoking book will certainly open your eyes to the real horrors lurking close to us.

K.C. Finn

The Rape Trial of Medusa is a work of fiction in the fantasy, magical realism, and contemporary courtroom drama sub-genres, and was penned by author Michael Kasenow. As the title suggests, the novel does feature sensitive topics that some readers may find distressing and discusses violent sexual crimes and all their intricacies. Taking the original tragic story of the formation of the monstrous Medusa, the author extrapolates the trial into the real world and into modern-day New York City. As Medusa undergoes a second trial for the rape that she suffered and was blamed for all those years ago, poignant questions are asked about how much has really changed between then and now.

Author Michael Kasenow has crafted an interesting drama that will be sure to intrigue and provoke those who are interested in socio-political themes in modern society, feminism, and women’s rights. I enjoyed the character of Maggie Harper very much, who represents Medusa and speaks from a modern viewpoint on the historical nature of her case, and how it was handled then versus now. The drama itself contains some great dialogue and thought-provoking discussions as the case unfolds, and I felt like all the characters in the story were challenged in some way and learned something new. The themes of the book are difficult and sensitive, but they are explored with a keen mind and given plenty of room for readers to judge too. Overall, The Rape Trial of Medusa is a unique story for those brave enough to take it on.