Troy: Last War of the Heroic Age

author: Si Sheppard

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.11

book published: 2014

rating: 4

read at: 2014/06/03

date added: 2014/06/03

shelves: non-fiction

review:

'Troy: Last War of the Heroic Age' is one of the most concise retellings I've seen of the Trojan War. In 80 pages (inluding illustrations!) the major themes, characters and battles of the war are discussed (as well as much of the minor material as well).



It all starts with Paris running off with Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta. The city of Troy found itself besieged by the Aechaens and a huge number of forces from other states in Greece. We meet Achilles, Ajax, Hector, Odysseus, and Aeneas. Some will survive, some will be cut down. We see the capricious gods intervening to serve their own inscrutable aims. We learn the origins of the myth of Achilles heel and how it didn't become part of the myth until much later. Then there is the Trojan horse, a plan so crazy that it almost failed a couple times before succeeding.



Professor Si Sheppard has done a great job distilling this story. The illustrations are well chosen. I especially loved the bits of Greek pottery that were chosen which illustrate the heroic moments of the story. I really enjoyed this book.



I was given a review copy of this ebook by Osprey Publishing and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review the fascinating ebook.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/S6yrop