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rlaurene's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.25
A disappointed journey - or, when I realised just how much of my perception of Troy have been dictated by a 2004 film
I kid, I kid. But I was a bit disappointed in this book. Fry writes in as much the same tone as he does for his other two mythological books but, I'm not entirely sure it works here. Perhaps it is because it has, comparatively, fewer fantastical elements than the other two. Perhaps it is because it's an extended story rather than a compilation, and so suffers from the light touch treatment (particularly given how many good retellings/reimaginings of the Trojan war we've had in recent years).
In fact, my favourite sections of the book were the appendices - it is here he digs into issues such as chronology, Homer, and archaeology, all genuinely fascinating stuff explained quite concisely for what is a field of scholarly debate to this day.
As always for Fry's works, I did purchase the audiobook, and his reading is as joyous as ever.
I kid, I kid. But I was a bit disappointed in this book. Fry writes in as much the same tone as he does for his other two mythological books but, I'm not entirely sure it works here. Perhaps it is because it has, comparatively, fewer fantastical elements than the other two. Perhaps it is because it's an extended story rather than a compilation, and so suffers from the light touch treatment (particularly given how many good retellings/reimaginings of the Trojan war we've had in recent years).
In fact, my favourite sections of the book were the appendices - it is here he digs into issues such as chronology, Homer, and archaeology, all genuinely fascinating stuff explained quite concisely for what is a field of scholarly debate to this day.
As always for Fry's works, I did purchase the audiobook, and his reading is as joyous as ever.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Rape
lanipolo's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape and Slavery
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