Heroes: The myths of the Ancient Greek heroes retold (Stephen Fry’s… (original 2018; udgave 2019)

Stephen Fry tells the ancient greek myths in a modern book. This book follows his previous book [b:Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold|35074096|Mythos The Greek Myths Retold|Stephen Fry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1502518360l/35074096._SY75_.jpg|56371760] and focuses on the heroes, Hercules, Oedipus, Jason, Atalanta, and some others. Some of them were new-ish to me. Others have had their stories told not too long ago by others, but common to them all is their flaws.

Compared to modern super heroes, Greek heroes were never perfect and the border between villain and hero is sometimes very short. Jason and Medea, Herakles (Hercules) kills his own children, and so on.

I did find this a slightly less engaging book than Mythos, but I know I'm putting up a high bar for this book to get over when comparing to that book. This was interesting more than fascinating. ( )

Name: Heroes
Author: Stephen Fry
Genre: Greek Mythology
Age: 8
Review:
This book is a sequel of Mythos. If you have already read Mythos, this book is gonna be a huge disappointment.
Heroes is a retelling the valorous tales of Mortal heroes from Greek Mythology, from Jason on his quest for the Golden fleece to Heracles. The stories are brief and lacks consistency.
If you have already read Greek Mythology, there's not much in this book. But if you have never read Greek Mythology and would like to know about its great heroes, this is the book for you. ( )

I bought this audio book ages ago when I was about to have eye surgery and wanted to have a book to 'read' at bedtime. But in the event, I listened to Campbell Scott's narration of Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Heroes languished until more recently when my old foe, insomnia, surfaced again. I am pleased to be able to tell you that this recording is soporific. (Which is why it took months for me to finish it.)

TBH, I don't much like Stephen Fry. (There wasn't much else to choose from in the bookshop). I admired his role in the film Wilde (1997), but I find his humour, as seen in the QI series, predictable and vulgar. This tendency surfaces from time to time in Heroes and some of the narration is hopelessly over-acted, but for the most part, it's a fairly lacklustre retelling of the Greek myths and legends that we read as children.

To read the rest of my review please visit my blog at https://anzlitlovers.com/ ( )

This is a continuation of Fry's book Mythos. I loved both but with this one, I missed seeing all the rich paintings and details included in the gorgeous print version. Fry reads it himself, which is a complete delight. He tells these well-known tales of Oedipus, Medea, Hercules, Jason and the Argo, etc but he infuses them with such humor and cheek. It reminds me of Gaiman's Norse Mythology.

“You see?' said Prometheus. 'It is your fate to be Heracles the hero, burdened with labours, yet it is also your choice. You choose to submit to it. Such is the paradox of living. We willingly accept that we have no will." ( )

This book is a follow up to Stephen Fry's "Mythos: The Greek Myths Reimagined". The author retells the stories of the Greek heroes who were tasked with ridding the earth of monsters and evil doers. This volume includes the adventures of Perseus, Heracles, Bellerophon, Orpheus, Jason, Atalanta, Oedipus, and Theseus. The way the stores are retold by Fry are a little to modern at times. The author uses modern slang or phrases to make the stories relatable. I found it a bit distracting. Otherwise, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others who enjoy stories from Greek mythology. ( )