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bookinginheels's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
dylanrostek's review against another edition
4.0
I'm very reluctant to give anything five stars and while this one doesn't quite get there I thought about it....
The King Must Die is a retelling of the Greek myths about Theseus (most famous for slaying the Minotaur of Crete) but it tells it with the idea of what if it was real. It asks what if the monsters of the myths weren't monsters at all but other events that could happen that through time and telling were twisted into the myths we know today. With that question in mind Mary Renault weaves an amazing tail that gives you a realistic view of the son of Poseidon and an intriguing glimpse into what Greek life and culture was like in the ancient world. How they lived, worshiped, believed and loved are all touched upon. Never enough to pull you out of the story itself but enough to ground the story and period, explain their motives and ideas and truly make you feel transported.
The only difficulty I had with this book at first was the writing style. I'm not sure how to explain it. It is formal but not in the Shakespearean way I believe a lot of us have come to think of period pieces, this is, after all, ancient Greece not middle age Britain. The language is simpler in some aspects and yet not in others where words are used that have fallen out of use in our modern times. What I can say about it though is while it presents somewhat of a learning curve to get used to it once you do it is simply another tool that is used to firmly set you within that time period and in hind sight I wouldn't have wanted it written in any other way. It lends a voice to Theseus and to Ancient Greece that would have been dearly missed had she written with a more modern tongue.
I strongly suggest this book, I don't imagine it's for everyone but I think most serious readers will enjoy it. If you love historical fiction and/or mythology you should definitely enjoy it. I did.
The King Must Die is a retelling of the Greek myths about Theseus (most famous for slaying the Minotaur of Crete) but it tells it with the idea of what if it was real. It asks what if the monsters of the myths weren't monsters at all but other events that could happen that through time and telling were twisted into the myths we know today. With that question in mind Mary Renault weaves an amazing tail that gives you a realistic view of the son of Poseidon and an intriguing glimpse into what Greek life and culture was like in the ancient world. How they lived, worshiped, believed and loved are all touched upon. Never enough to pull you out of the story itself but enough to ground the story and period, explain their motives and ideas and truly make you feel transported.
The only difficulty I had with this book at first was the writing style. I'm not sure how to explain it. It is formal but not in the Shakespearean way I believe a lot of us have come to think of period pieces, this is, after all, ancient Greece not middle age Britain. The language is simpler in some aspects and yet not in others where words are used that have fallen out of use in our modern times. What I can say about it though is while it presents somewhat of a learning curve to get used to it once you do it is simply another tool that is used to firmly set you within that time period and in hind sight I wouldn't have wanted it written in any other way. It lends a voice to Theseus and to Ancient Greece that would have been dearly missed had she written with a more modern tongue.
I strongly suggest this book, I don't imagine it's for everyone but I think most serious readers will enjoy it. If you love historical fiction and/or mythology you should definitely enjoy it. I did.
cryo_guy's review against another edition
3.0
Well overall I'd say this was a fun read, but it fell short of my expectations in a few ways compared to the other of Renault's I've read. Essentially her other books came off as a bit more thoughtful and considered (I haven't read the Alexander the Great trilogy yet) and this one was more of an actione/adventure story. In a way, that is its strength and I can see a certain faithfulness to the myth in it, but ultimately I think it makes it a bit too shallow.
There are some cool aspects to it, of reconstructing mythical ancient Greece in a more historical way. And Renault as always seems well-researched and to create interesting cultural extrapolations. Maybe the most interesting is her idea of splitting the older worship of female earth goddesses and male sky gods. But these elements are mostly overshadowed by the action of Theseus' grand adventure. Theseus himself is an interesting protagonist, hearing Poseidon's voice and having a strong sense of honor and gentlemanliness. But in other ways he's a bit cliche and boring or his narrative voice skips over the finer details.
As far as faithfulness to the myth, I think Renault does a fine job, filling in gaps where she sees fit. I think she totally bombs Theseus leaving Ariadne on Naxos and sometimes the ethnic oppositions are a bit bland (hellenes vs. minyans). Still, the story is engaging just not as interesting or, dare I say, profound as some of her other books. I'm thinking of Last of the Wine, The Praise Singer, and The Mask of Apollo. However, it's still pretty interesting as a psuedo-historical reconstruction of a myth. All of the "mythic" aspects of Theseus are put in historical terms which, within the context of the novel, create a coherent whole.
I think I'll still read the sequel to see how that goes and then move to the Alex trilogy eventually.
There are some cool aspects to it, of reconstructing mythical ancient Greece in a more historical way. And Renault as always seems well-researched and to create interesting cultural extrapolations. Maybe the most interesting is her idea of splitting the older worship of female earth goddesses and male sky gods. But these elements are mostly overshadowed by the action of Theseus' grand adventure. Theseus himself is an interesting protagonist, hearing Poseidon's voice and having a strong sense of honor and gentlemanliness. But in other ways he's a bit cliche and boring or his narrative voice skips over the finer details.
As far as faithfulness to the myth, I think Renault does a fine job, filling in gaps where she sees fit. I think she totally bombs Theseus leaving Ariadne on Naxos and sometimes the ethnic oppositions are a bit bland (hellenes vs. minyans). Still, the story is engaging just not as interesting or, dare I say, profound as some of her other books. I'm thinking of Last of the Wine, The Praise Singer, and The Mask of Apollo. However, it's still pretty interesting as a psuedo-historical reconstruction of a myth. All of the "mythic" aspects of Theseus are put in historical terms which, within the context of the novel, create a coherent whole.
I think I'll still read the sequel to see how that goes and then move to the Alex trilogy eventually.
beannoneya's review against another edition
5.0
Engaging, surprising, very queer-normative. Especially considering when it was written. Fantastic book.
baileyreneec's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Genuinely one of the strangest books I have ever read. Not only did Renault change all of the supernatural aspects of the legend of Theseus, but this was an incredibly misogynistic interpretation of the legend as well. The amount of times that Theseus' mother's breasts were mentioned just in the first 30 pages was astonishing and generally just so strange. The total transformation of the Labyrinth and Minotaur myth was an odd choice as well. I mean the Minotaur is one of the most iconic characters in Greek classical mythology, so why exclude that figure? I know she made the name a title attributed to a monstrous character, but the fact that the Minotaur was a man with the head of a bull that ate kids was pretty gnarly to me and in Renault's novel he's just... boring. That's my biggest problem with this novel - it is Boring. Renault managed to take a very extensive and very cool myht and turn it into a dull and lifeless novel that I had to suffer through.
glitterbomb47's review against another edition
5.0
I've been forced (by myself) to bump this to five stars as I find myself thinking about this book often, pondering and reanalyzing the content.
luna545's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
adrianacheerios's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0