Troy by Stephen Fry

The story of Troy speaks to all of us - the kidnapping of Helen, a queen celebrated for her beauty, sees the Greeks launch a thousand ships against the city of Troy, to which they will lay siege for ten whole years. It is a terrible war with casualties on all sides as well as strained relations between allies, whose consequences become tragedies. In Troy you will find heroism and hatred, love and loss, revenge and regret, desire and despair. It is these human passions, written bloodily in the sands of a distant shore, that still speak to us today.

While I'm a fan of mythology and retellings of them in general, I don't usually pick up Greek mythology stuff because there are too many names and I have such trouble keeping track of them. While I did enjoy listening to the audios of Mythos and Heroes, it was more for the experience rather than actually trying to grasp and memorize the stories. But the story of the fall of Troy seems to be the only one I know a bit, virtue of some movies and shows I've seen as well as loving The Song of Achilles.

So this was actually fun to listen coz not everything was unfamiliar. It was also interesting to get to know the backstories of some of the major players of the Trojan War and how they came to be. But after deeply connecting with Achilles and Patroclus as a couple in TSoA, it was hard to see them not have a similar relationship in here. But overall, Stephen Fry's narration brings so much life to the story. He also seemed to be less sarcastic in this one compared to the previous two, but it seems to have suited this particular story, making it an enjoyable listen for someone like me, who is not well versed in the Iliad.

Very enjoyable and entertaining as always. Pleasantly written and performed. It is part of a series of other Stephen Fry books on mythology, all of which I would recommend as well.

A masterful retelling of this epic tale. I recommend the audiobook in particular—Fry’s narration brings it to life in spectacular fashion.

It makes me want to read and appreciate The Iliad, which is a great achievement.

Not as strong as the previous two. Mythos and Heroes, with their wide variety of stories, suited the relaxed light informative tone of Fry's writing, whereas with Troy there was a noticeable lack of the passion and fire the material definitely deserves.

Still a great time though.