HEROES BY STEPHEN FRY

We have gathered all the fantastic reviews our Book Club Members have sent us this month.

Click on each name to read the review. If you would like to become part of the Viking Book Club, sign up sign up here >>

REVIEWS

Fiona McKinlay

I’m exhausted! I’m sure I will finish this one day but after reading through the exploits of Perseus, Heracles, Bellerophon, Orpheus, Jason and Atalanta, I can take no more slaying of fire-breathing dragons and multi-headed, drooling beasts, and hapless human beings having their lives manipulated for the entertainment of spiteful gods. Stephen Fry is always entertaining and this is a very easy to read summary of the lives of mythical Greek heroes. Little was new to me but I have a hopeless memory. His witty renditions of these tales are more likely to stick in my brain than reading a dry account. Time will tell!

Jackie Powell

It was very well written and at times humerous with lots of detail and too many names to remember. The facts were put together from a lot of research into books that have already been written (and the pictures) and let's face it you cannot really add to that except relate the subject in a very different format. Stephen Fry is a clever man that achieved this but it was too much for me to digest and I looked for any excuse to put it down.

Certainly not my holiday read but more a coffee table one. I will finish it...one day.

Irene Brockie

Heroes by Stephen Fry is not my normal Genre at all, but I have been to Greece a few times and every time I think I must learn more about the Greek gods and the stories behind them. I even went as far as buying a book about them while in Greece but think it was just too academic for what I required. Not so with this book, I really enjoyed the stories and the insight into the legends behind them. It’s written in a way to make them fun and enjoyable. I think this book would appeal to teenagers as well as adults. If you're off to Greece on holiday be sure to pack this book for holiday reading.

Jennifer McFarlane

This book , the second in the series by Stephen Fry is a story put into today’s language (you can almost hear Stephen Fry reading to you as you go along) of the Greek myths and legends that we have all heard bits of throughout our lives.

It puts all the stories into context with each other and it is obviously well written and researched and it is laid out in a logical way where the stories are separated into each character but intertwine with each other as the legends overlap.

The family tree of the Olympians at the beginning is a great help as is shows the relationship between everyone.

This is a book you can dip into easily and not necessarily read all in one go.

The stories are funny and witty which is what you would expect of Stephen Fry.

He is staging a show of the first book Mythos I am sure the show will be amusing and entertaining.

Neil Squires

Although I was aware of Fry’s Mythos, I hadn’t read it and wouldn’t be drawn to read this book. However, soon after reading the first three chapters, Fry had managed to bring these historical characters to life. Characters such as Perseus, Oedipus and the Minotaur are all given characters as well as humour in telling their stories. Many unfamiliar characters are well described and it only needs a small amount of imagination to see parallels in modern popular culture of superheroes, Harry Potter and the whole genre of human endeavour such as The Ring Cycle and The Hobbit quests for mere mortals to follow.

I feel a large amount of storytelling is made here and sometimes I would have liked to have more detail about a newly introduced character that Fry gives the reader.

Overall, an enjoyable read. I still have the final section to read on Theseus, but am impressed by the authors inclusion of forty pages of List of Characters that have been invaluable in cross referencing unfamiliar characters encountered in the book ,as well as a comprehensive Index at the end of the book.

I look forward to my next read from the Viking Book Club.

David Llewellyn

Thank you for sending this book for review. I actually haven't had enough time to complete it, but gave certainly enjoyed reading it thus far. Well written, modern style keeps the pace flowing, and the characters are well described and easy to relate to. When I was in my local Waterstones a week, ago I discussed Stephen Fry’s Heroes with a member of staff who then recommended two other novels in a similar genre, and I then bought both. Perhaps mythology in an easier read format has made history more appealing and I'm certainly getting much pleasure out of this read.