Reviews

Troy: Our Greatest Story Retold by Stephen Fry

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cbt00004's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A

4.0

daja57's review against another edition

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4.0

This retelling of the story of the Trojan War is a sequel to Fry's Mythos and Heroes, both of which I adored. It preserves Fry's inimitable style of making his characters thoroughly modern yet telling the story traditionally. There are some delicious moments of humour.

But the first third of the book, in which Fry attempts to make sense of a hugely complex back story, is very difficult. Only occasionally does a character come to life. As soon as we reach the final year of the war, and the Homeric story and beyond, the story becomes vivid and absorbing. Homer, of course, could assume that his listeners understood the back story; Fry can't. But I did wonder whether the origins of Paris, cast away on the hillside, and the birth of Helen from an egg hatched by her mother who had coupled with Zeus in the form of a swan, and the origins of the House of Atreides would have been better done as footnotes as the action was progressing. Either that, or do it like George Martin and turn the story into a whole series of books.

Nevertheless, Fry's erudition is displayed as is his enormous wit.

erakkorapu's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

pawales's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sohva's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book is certainly an entertaining retelling of the myth of Troy. While doing that it manages to make surprisingly insightful observations of human nature. The plot is rather all over the place though, so the book took some time to get into.