Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Troy: Our Greatest Story Retold by Stephen Fry

30 reviews

arifahmalik's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Slavery, War, Violence, Blood, and Suicide

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Sexual violence

gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense 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

4.0

Another great installment in the epic mythology and history of Ancient Greece. I find it ever fascinating how much can be interpreted as fact and how much can be legend. The blend of it all and how closely interwined the people of the time lived with their gods is so interesting.

The story of Peleus and Thetis' wedding was perfectly accompanied by The Day I Fell into A Fairytale, which was reimaging Briar Rose/Sleeping beauty's story and I couldn't help but notice the themes of a women scorned from not being invited to a celebration.

This was such a great account of the rise and fall of Troy. There's was so much I hadn't ever gotten to the point of understanding before, by Fry takes us through all the players and events of this dramatic period of time.

I read this and listened, simultaneously and adored that combination.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Classism, Infertility, Torture, Cannibalism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, War, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Gore, Death of parent, Incest, Murder, Pedophilia, Child death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Violence, Gaslighting, and Vomit

annakh16's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

This flew off the page. It’s truly impressive how Fry manages to convey such a complex story in such a fun and accessible way. I especially loved his descriptions of the history of the city and the genealogy of all the factions - learned a lot there. I also enjoyed his reflections on the significance of each character to wider culture and even our personal lives.

Fry somehow always manages to pick my least favourite version of any episode - e.g. Iphigenia in Tauris

(saved last minute by Artemis)

or the abduction of Helen

(supposedly head over heels for Paris, at least at this point

. I think feminist retellings à la Jennifer Saint have more to offer here in terms of the impact of the war on women. But, to be fair, he is faithful to and honest about his sources. 

If you’re new to the story of Troy, I‘d say this is a great introduction. And if you love it already, then I‘ve no doubt you‘ll love this too. Would recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, War, Gore, and Violence

Minor: Rape

lowclasswarrior's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was fantastic. Where mythos and heroes were more episodic, troy was more epic. Because of this, the first half was slower for me to get through—lots of setup and characters. However by the time I got to the climax, I couldn’t put it down! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and War

Minor: Rape

torimaier's review against another edition

adventurous funny informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Violence

professoremdash's review against another edition

adventurous informative medium-paced

5.0

Fantastic retelling and amazing delivery by Stephen Fry in the audiobook.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and War

Moderate: Rape

noosayag's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Incredible!!

Whilst not fitting to the cookie cutter, short story formats of its predecessors, Troy illustrates the (practically) complete story of the Trojan War. It utilises all the different books and texts on the topic; if I were an academic, I could probably tell you some of them outside of Homer’s Iliad but alas, I am not. :(

This is a great read for anyone interested in the Trojan War, and wanting a good understanding of all the different story threads which fill the narrative.

Fry’s storytelling and accompanying footnotes are once again perfect to form the world building and audience engagement in what would normally be a treacherous task of a book to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault

megb64's review against another edition

challenging informative 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, and Kidnapping

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

4.0

“We achieve immortality not through ambrosia and ichor but through history and reputation. Through statues and epic song.” 

➽ Troy is a retelling of the history of the Trojan War! Once again Stephen Fry blends what facts we have about the time period with legends and other sources. As always, I enjoy listening to him narrating the audiobook, as he makes the stories sound so engaging! I didn't know too much about the Trojan War, as it's not a subject that I'm specifically interested in, but it was nice to learn a bit more about it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Sexism, Murder, and Death

danimacuk's review against another edition

adventurous informative slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Minor: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Abandonment, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Slavery, Blood, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, and Violence