As I have a week off work and we’re now no longer able to do what we had originally planned I thought I’d get in some new reading materials. My timeline has been populated recently by the impending release of Stephen Fry’s latest offering Troy. Having read some of his books before, it was a no brainer to hit the Buy Now button.
Then of course, you get recommendations based on what you’ve just purchased, and up popped SF’s previous books on Greek mythology. Yep, I’ll take those too, thank you.
I sat down and opened the first book, Mythos, and was immediately transported to a world so very different from the traditional teachings, in this country at any rate, of the origins of the world and humankind.
Far from being a stuffy, non-fiction list of unpronounceable names and dates, the incestuous, violent beginnings of the world and humankind, had me laughing to myself, wishing that all historic text books were written this way.
Its not often I read a book from start to finish in one sitting (well 2 actually, apparently you supposed to go to bed at some point), but I really wanted to know what happened next, which God or Goddess killed which next, and which sibling/spousal coupling resulted in which infidelity and offspring.
SF’s writing style is so easy to read you lose track of the fact that there’s an awful lot of information being imparted. He also relates it to modern day events and people, so there’s no need to worry if you think you’re not going to understand.
I’m looking forward to reading the next installments.
Bells, Bakes & Bettering Myself 