Scan barcode
noosayag's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Whilst not fitting to the cookie cutter, short story formats of its predecessors, Troy illustrates the (practically) complete story of the Trojan War. It utilises all the different books and texts on the topic; if I were an academic, I could probably tell you some of them outside of Homer’s Iliad but alas, I am not. :(
This is a great read for anyone interested in the Trojan War, and wanting a good understanding of all the different story threads which fill the narrative.
Fry’s storytelling and accompanying footnotes are once again perfect to form the world building and audience engagement in what would normally be a treacherous task of a book to read.
Graphic: Violence and War
Minor: Sexual assault
megb64's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
4.0
“We achieve immortality not through ambrosia and ichor but through history and reputation. Through statues and epic song.”
➽ Troy is a retelling of the history of the Trojan War! Once again Stephen Fry blends what facts we have about the time period with legends and other sources. As always, I enjoy listening to him narrating the audiobook, as he makes the stories sound so engaging! I didn't know too much about the Trojan War, as it's not a subject that I'm specifically interested in, but it was nice to learn a bit more about it!
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
danimacuk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Violence and War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
hannah_grace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and War
moveslikewind's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Violence, and War
javafenn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
em_davies7019's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Blood
Minor: Child death, Gore, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
camoo3032's review against another edition
3.25
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and War
Minor: Violence
The sexual assault is written as if it's not sexual assault. The language around it is quite blase and almost normalisinghouse_of_hannah's review against another edition
3.0
It took forever for me to get through this book. I found myself really losing interest after the first 100 pages. It's actually quite easy to read, besides some of the names, but that's to be expected. However, I didn't find Stephen Fry's voice here to be very interesting. I mean, yeah, he's certainly telling us the myths, but it's just not the fresh take that I think most are looking for when it comes to retellings.
The actual book ends on page 333 (paperback version), with the last 100 pages being the Appendix, List of Characters, Picture Credits, Acknowledgements, and Index. So it's at least less of a beast to read than it first appears.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Suicide