A review by baileyreneec
The King Must Die by Mary Renault

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.