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samble's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kellyquinn13's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
deegee24's review against another edition
5.0
Mary Renault's Theseus duology (this is the second volume, following The King Must Die) has been one of the best reading experiences in recent memory. Renault took various myths previously told in epic form and reconstructed them in the form of the modern novel. The major characters such as Theseus, Phaedra and Hippolyta are given rich inner lives for the first time. Yet Renault was a good enough student of Greek history and archaeology that she is able to give the characters plausible thoughts, feelings, and beliefs for people living in the 8th century BCE. Also, because variants of each myth (Phaedra's death, Theseus' defeat of the minotaur and battle with the Amazons, etc.) have been passed down to us from Homer, Socrates, Euripides etc., we don't really know exactly will happen--the story remains suspenseful and Renault deftly offers up her own, very satisfying versions of these myths. Also, Renault has a beautiful prose style and offers evocative descriptions of landscapes and ancient civilizations. These books are not designed as costume romance allegories for post-WWII Britain or historiographic metafiction. I believe they will live on for many more generations.
picaresquity's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
fred312's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cryo_guy's review against another edition
2.0
This one was a little disappointing and not as good as the first of these two Theseus books, which had its own problems.
The main issue I had was staying committed to her mythical Greece. It's half interesting and half too faithful to the idea of reconstructing this "pre-historical" period in Greece. Sometimes it really works where Theseus is working out the details of kingship or going pirating, other times it's just bland tropes.
The worst of the book was her take on the Hippolytus story. As I always say, if the reboot's story is worse than the original story, then they should have just used the original. While Renault is well-read, I don't agree with her sensibilities for this story. She writes in the afterword: "Euripides makes Phaedra hang herself, leaving a written charge against Hippolytos; a gesture persuasive enough, but rather large for so mean a purpose." This seems silly to me, because it is the very grandeur of the purpose that Euripides has Phaedra commit the deed-to say nothing of the symmetry of having the accuser silenced (in death) and the defendant silent (by oath), but I digress...In Renault's version, she has Phaedra live, fine enough, only for Theseus to return later after having killed his son and learned the truth and strangle her for her part-he recognizes her malicious intent-fabricating a suicide note that confesses. Well despite all that, my real issue is how the novel works with only Theseus' perspective. At the end of the day, he seems like an idiot saying no why on earth are my wife and son acting in such strange ways over the course of a year. Truly, one of the more difficult to engage elements was her faithfulness to the misogyny of her reconstructed mythical Greek world. But alongside all that were still some cool things that I won't go into.
Other notables: Pirithoos was fun. Chiron shows up and young Achilles. Much of the story concerns the Amazons, Hippolyta, and then later the horde of Amazon-led barbarians from Scythia. Menestheus (king of Athens in the Iliad) shows up to be a pageboy to Theseus who serves as a dark foil of the old blood-aristocratic kingship with only a feel for surface and reputation. And I suppose I will say Hippolytus the character was fashioned rather interestingly, up until the situation with Phaedra.
I think I woulda skipped this book if I knew what it was like. The 1st was really enough for me. But I decided to be a completionist about Renault since I liked her Socrates, Plato/that actor Nicomedes, and Simonides books. And now, having finished these two books, I can proceed to the Alexander the Great trilogy. Woo.
The main issue I had was staying committed to her mythical Greece. It's half interesting and half too faithful to the idea of reconstructing this "pre-historical" period in Greece. Sometimes it really works where Theseus is working out the details of kingship or going pirating, other times it's just bland tropes.
The worst of the book was her take on the Hippolytus story. As I always say, if the reboot's story is worse than the original story, then they should have just used the original. While Renault is well-read, I don't agree with her sensibilities for this story. She writes in the afterword: "Euripides makes Phaedra hang herself, leaving a written charge against Hippolytos; a gesture persuasive enough, but rather large for so mean a purpose." This seems silly to me, because it is the very grandeur of the purpose that Euripides has Phaedra commit the deed-to say nothing of the symmetry of having the accuser silenced (in death) and the defendant silent (by oath), but I digress...In Renault's version, she has Phaedra live, fine enough, only for Theseus to return later after having killed his son and learned the truth and strangle her for her part-he recognizes her malicious intent-fabricating a suicide note that confesses. Well despite all that, my real issue is how the novel works with only Theseus' perspective. At the end of the day, he seems like an idiot saying no why on earth are my wife and son acting in such strange ways over the course of a year. Truly, one of the more difficult to engage elements was her faithfulness to the misogyny of her reconstructed mythical Greek world. But alongside all that were still some cool things that I won't go into.
Other notables: Pirithoos was fun. Chiron shows up and young Achilles. Much of the story concerns the Amazons, Hippolyta, and then later the horde of Amazon-led barbarians from Scythia. Menestheus (king of Athens in the Iliad) shows up to be a pageboy to Theseus who serves as a dark foil of the old blood-aristocratic kingship with only a feel for surface and reputation. And I suppose I will say Hippolytus the character was fashioned rather interestingly, up until the situation with Phaedra.
I think I woulda skipped this book if I knew what it was like. The 1st was really enough for me. But I decided to be a completionist about Renault since I liked her Socrates, Plato/that actor Nicomedes, and Simonides books. And now, having finished these two books, I can proceed to the Alexander the Great trilogy. Woo.
beannoneya's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic historical fiction! Very queer - normative. Very relatable. It's hard to believe it was written nearly 60 years ago. This goes to show how human we are, and how human we continue to be.
adrianacheerios's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0