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David McK (3562 KP) rated Troy in Books

Nov 30, 2020  
Troy
Troy
Stephen Fry | 2020 | Education
7
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Stephen Fry's straight retelling (as much as is possible) of the Siege of Troy, following on from his earlier works 'Mythos' and 'Heroes'.

As such, we cover all the familiar ground: Helen of Troy, Paris, the Gods involvement, Agamemnon, Menaleus, Achilles, Odysseus, that giant wooden horse ...

I have to say, however, for such a well know story this is probably the first time I've ever seen (or heard) a straight retelling of it: we normally get either the Gods left out entirely (see the early 2000s film 'Troy'), a slow and plodding retelling that leaves it up to you to decide whether they were involved or not (BBCs 'Troy'), or a reworking/reimagining where the wooden horse is reworked into a metaphor for something completely different (I'm most familiar with those by David Gemmell, such as in his trilogy beginning 'Lord of the Silver Bow').

Having said that, this also has a bit of an abrupt ending, leaving it - I feel - open for a retelling of The Odyssey to come next!
  
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David McK (3562 KP) rated Guards! Guards! Discworld Novel 8 in Books

Jul 15, 2023  
Guards! Guards! Discworld Novel 8
Guards! Guards! Discworld Novel 8
Tony Robinson, Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.4 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
When people ask which Discworld book to start with, I often tell them to skip the first two in the series (The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic), then ask in which direction their interests lie.

Reimagining of famous plays/fairytales? Try any in The Witches series.

Primarily murder whodunnits? The Guards.

Of which this is the first.

So this is the one to introduce the reader to Sam Vimes, Nobby Nobbs, Fred Colon and Carrot Ironfoundersson, as well as featuring a prominent role for The Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, and which would lead to perhaps the most-revisited characters in the entire Discworld series - I think Pratchett returned to the Watch a further 7 times, for a total of 8 such novels.

Quick google search: yes, 8 times. Only matched by the Wizards of Unseen University.

Anyway, this is the one that sees a secret society summoning a Dragon in the hopes of installing a puppet ruler to the vacant throne of Ankh-Morpork, before things go awry ...