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shirah's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
owen_cummings's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
sleepyboi2988's review against another edition
4.0
Really impressed by this title, Wolfe excellently blends Historical Fiction with Mythology. I enjoyed how the Gods/Goddesses were handled here, perhaps almost like the ancients perceived them. Mainly in the periphery, mysterious, and always with their own machinations and desires.
The story itself beyond that is well done with the characters being interesting and developed nicely.
The story itself beyond that is well done with the characters being interesting and developed nicely.
danielmbensen's review against another edition
4.0
Adrian Tchaikovsky calls Wolfe "the master of the first person." He's right.
Latro is a book supposedly translated by Wolfe from a diary kept by a 5th-century-BC Roman mercenary in Greece who received a wound to the head and can't remember much earlier than twelve hours ago. It's a delightful conceit, as the main point of view from the book (some chapters are written by other people) doesn't speak Greek perfectly, doesn't have the context to understand most of what's going on, and is prone to hallucinations.
There are quite a lot of gods popping up in the story, lots of magic and ghosts, characters disappear, reappear, change sex, and swirl around the main character, who, because he can't remember anything anyway, just tries to respond to whatever's happening at the moment. There's a very charming sense of trying to do the right thing in impossible situations.
It's also nice that there are no villains. Certainly there are people whose actions run counter to Latro's quest, or who behave badly. Very badly in some cases. But we're never left in doubt that everyone Latro meets is a person, with their own internal story -- usually one that doesn't make any more sense than his. The book has moments of piercing compassion, even for tiny bit-characters. There's the foreigner who tried to speak Greek once, was made fun of, and now only communicates with hand signs. The general who has mastered his emotions so thoroughly that he isn't aware of it when he's angry. The god who hopes his wife will teach him mercy.
The book does drag on a bit. Like other Wolfe stories I've read, it has a tendency to wander across the map, searching for itself. And there's the weird way characters speak, although with Latro, it's easier to interpret that as awkward translation from Greek to Latin to English. You (or at least I) also have to read this book with wikipedia on your other tab (who the heck is "the King of Nyssa"? Oh, okay. And where is Nyssa? Uh huh. And who were his parents? And so on.) But that's part of the fun, isn't it?
Latro is a book supposedly translated by Wolfe from a diary kept by a 5th-century-BC Roman mercenary in Greece who received a wound to the head and can't remember much earlier than twelve hours ago. It's a delightful conceit, as the main point of view from the book (some chapters are written by other people) doesn't speak Greek perfectly, doesn't have the context to understand most of what's going on, and is prone to hallucinations.
There are quite a lot of gods popping up in the story, lots of magic and ghosts, characters disappear, reappear, change sex, and swirl around the main character, who, because he can't remember anything anyway, just tries to respond to whatever's happening at the moment. There's a very charming sense of trying to do the right thing in impossible situations.
It's also nice that there are no villains. Certainly there are people whose actions run counter to Latro's quest, or who behave badly. Very badly in some cases. But we're never left in doubt that everyone Latro meets is a person, with their own internal story -- usually one that doesn't make any more sense than his. The book has moments of piercing compassion, even for tiny bit-characters. There's the foreigner who tried to speak Greek once, was made fun of, and now only communicates with hand signs. The general who has mastered his emotions so thoroughly that he isn't aware of it when he's angry. The god who hopes his wife will teach him mercy.
The book does drag on a bit. Like other Wolfe stories I've read, it has a tendency to wander across the map, searching for itself. And there's the weird way characters speak, although with Latro, it's easier to interpret that as awkward translation from Greek to Latin to English. You (or at least I) also have to read this book with wikipedia on your other tab (who the heck is "the King of Nyssa"? Oh, okay. And where is Nyssa? Uh huh. And who were his parents? And so on.) But that's part of the fun, isn't it?
katiecatbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Slow. Long. Mystifying.
Story: So this story is about Latro, a Greek soldier who was injured in battle and has only about a 12 hour short-term memory. Everyday he writes in a scroll so the next day he can look back and read what he needs to know. While this is a great premise, it doesn't work in this case. Each chapter begins at the point Latro chooses to explain, and like Latro, the reader is left with large missing chunks and the story is just too disjointed.
Language: Each chapter generally follows a C A B order, where Latro tells his current situation, goes back to explain how it all started, and fills in details of what happened in between. This gets very old as many chapters are filled with the running gag of meeting new people and strangers being given a show of Latro's memory. While Latro travels far and wide, descriptions of setting are lacking, so a desert has as much substance as a boat.
Characters: Latro is simple minded. I don't know about you, but if I woke up everyday not remembering anything, I would be a bit startled and shocked. Latro however takes everything in stride, fa-de-da style. Conveniently, he has two sidekicks that are able to give him stability, one of which acts as his seeing-eye dog and explains the world to him. Latro is extremely trusting and follows everything this character says as true. This reader is skeptical.
I struggled through it , and I'd like to try to read the next book, but this alternate history fantasy did not impress.
Story: So this story is about Latro, a Greek soldier who was injured in battle and has only about a 12 hour short-term memory. Everyday he writes in a scroll so the next day he can look back and read what he needs to know. While this is a great premise, it doesn't work in this case. Each chapter begins at the point Latro chooses to explain, and like Latro, the reader is left with large missing chunks and the story is just too disjointed.
Language: Each chapter generally follows a C A B order, where Latro tells his current situation, goes back to explain how it all started, and fills in details of what happened in between. This gets very old as many chapters are filled with the running gag of meeting new people and strangers being given a show of Latro's memory. While Latro travels far and wide, descriptions of setting are lacking, so a desert has as much substance as a boat.
Characters: Latro is simple minded. I don't know about you, but if I woke up everyday not remembering anything, I would be a bit startled and shocked. Latro however takes everything in stride, fa-de-da style. Conveniently, he has two sidekicks that are able to give him stability, one of which acts as his seeing-eye dog and explains the world to him. Latro is extremely trusting and follows everything this character says as true. This reader is skeptical.
I struggled through it , and I'd like to try to read the next book, but this alternate history fantasy did not impress.
nobodywisdom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jcpinckney's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-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
3.5
mithrandir57's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
blacksentai's review against another edition
2.0
The choice to tell the story from the point of view of someone who can only remember today and so has to write things down in order for him to know what's going on is very interesting, but probably not the best idea ever. It's kind of cute at first, then it gets to be a little annoying, but ultimately it kind of ruins the story. It throws the pacing off and just feels ham fisted. It leaves the plot open to wholes because that sort of internal logic just doesn't work.
t_thekla's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
percy jackson knock-off