A Spartan Peace by Karin Robinson

Word Count: 3434 words | Critique type preference: In Person

Content warnings:

Death/Dying, Disregard for personal autonomy (kidnapping / enslavement / abduction), Rape / Sexual Assault (or attempted), Sexism / Misogyny

Author Notes:

This story was originally written for a Flame Tree anthology request for Helen of Troy stories. I haven’t heard back from them about it yet but I’ve been debating whether the story works well enough to submit it to other publications. Would love your thoughts on the voice/tone/style, whether the basic story idea is interesting enough on its own outside of the Helen-specific call, and whether it makes sense to those who don’t know the mythology particularly well (e.g., I try to give Helen’s back story in little asides throughout, but does it read too expositiony, or is it still confusing?).

Submitted: 5 March 2026

Last updated: 10 June 2026 at 23:44

Author Email: ka************@***il.com