Ratings3
Average rating4.7
15
Ratings3
Average rating4.7
Pre-order the final book in Stephen Fry's acclaimed internationally bestselling Greek myths series telling the story of The Odyssey - can a hero find his way home?
Follow Odysseus after he leaves the fallen city of Troy and takes ten long dramatic years - battling monsters, the temptations of goddesses and suffering the curse of Poseidon - to voyage home to his wife Penelope on the island of Ithaca.
Praise for Stephen Fry's Greek Myths series:
'Fry is at his story-telling best . . . the gods will be pleased' The Times
'Brilliant . . . all hail Stephen Fry' Daily Mail
'A head-spinning marathon of legends' Guardian
'A rollicking good read' Independent
'An Olympian feat. The gods seem to be smiling on Fry - his myths are definitely a hit' Evening Standard
Featured Series
4 primary booksStephen Fry's Great Mythology is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 2017 with contributions by Stephen Fry.
Reviews with the most likes.
The fourth and final book in Stephen Fry's retelling of Greek myth. The entire series is worth reading, and this one not any different.
I've said before in my reviews of his myth books, and I'll say it again: I view Stephen Fry as the definitive reteller of the wonderful Greek stories. He's incredibly well researched, his footnotes are informative and his ability to weave together the strings of Greek myth in a way that's lovably human is amazing.
The action within the Ithacan palace picks up towards the end of the book. The middle leads us through the journeys and struggles of Odysseus and his crew on the way home. While the beginning is all about tertiary post-Troy stories and experiences.
While some might not like the pacing of this book, I found it gave me just enough time to settle into the story and really feel the humanity of it all. The mythical Greek world wasn't just Odysseus, his wife Penelope, her suitors and her son Telemachus waiting back at home. The mythical Greek world is also made up of its sailors, its backstabbers and its founders of Carthage and Rome.
When it came to the point in the book where Odysseus was telling the tales of his travels and perils, I found it was so well written it felt like they were Odysseus' words, not Stephen Fry's. I have to commend Fry for that in this review.
Overall, an excellent finish to the myth retelling series with a pretty thought provoking epilogue that relates our modern experience with ancient myth. Well done, Stephen Fry.
