Troy: Our Greatest Story Retold: 3 (Stephen Fry’s Greek Myths, 3) Paperback – 22 July 2021

This is the third of the Stephen Fry's trilogy about Greek myths and legends, and is every bit as wonderful to read as the superb Mythos and Heroes which preceded this volume. This book recounts the lead up to the Trojan war and the 10 years of siege and fighting which followed. The cast of characters is amazing; the gods Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Athena, and Apollo, and the humans and demi-gods, Helen, Achilles, Patroclus, Hector, Paris and Odysseus among many others feature in this splendid retelling of the ancient Homer stories.The tale begins with the doings of the Olympians and how human events were set in train by the competitiveness of the gods. The abduction of Helen by Paris, the 1000 ships launched to take her back, the Trojan horse - all in all a wonderful tale, brilliantly written with humour and style.The book also benefits from a very helpful timeline at the start of the book and a full list of dramatis personae, with short pen pictures of each, at the end.This all makes for very enjoyable reading as well as filling in gaps in knowledge about Greek mythology ( at least for me). Just one criticism - and not of the writing. Why the lack of a dust jacket? It spoils the presentation which looks cheap, and disappointing alongside the much better produced Heroes.Still, definately worth buying and enjoying

I was waiting for this book ever since I finished Heroes, the second book in the series. Troy is my favourite subject to read about since it is full of great myths, stories, heroes, villains, sorrow, pain, lust and love. I knew Stephen Fry would do a great job at retelling the greatest story of all times. And he did a brilliant job! This book goes back to the beginning of Troy and takes us on a journey from there to the end, the end of Troy, the end of honour and the end of a great era. We get to know Hector, Achilles, their parents, Paris, Helen and where they came from and how the Olympians interfered with their lives. I am still shocked how the destiny and fate shaped the fall of Troy from such an early stage. This book is not a heavy read. It is very enjoyable, but you still learn a lot more about Troy. I was laughing, feeling sad, annoyed, angry and happy at the same time whilst reading this. I feel lucky and blessed to have read Stephen Fry’s retelling of the greatest story of all times. I hope he will continue retelling the Greek myths and other historical events, because his style is funny, informative and respectful. He never tries to interpret the story, never tries to shape it into something else and the retelling never feels pretentious at any point. This was brilliant. I bought it the day it was published and finished it in three sittings. I love Stephen Fry and cannot recommend this book enough. 5 GOLDEN STARS!

This was a delightful read which provides fans of Greek mythology an intriguing look into the various and intertwining stories that precede and unfold during the last days of Troy. I was surprised to learn of Paris having a first wife and Helen having a son and daughter when she was abducted. The gods as always are as capricious, petty and divisive as ever, and their self centered actions serve to hinder and doom the mortals rather than aid them.All the characters are fully realised through Fry's witty and tongue in cheek lens that his previous installments, Heroes and Mythos are written through. The violence as to be expected is unhindered and there is plenty of historical context provided behind each aspect of the story. Fry makes an observation that the real and fantastical go hand in hand, which makes the exact interpretation of the events of Troy and whether or when they took place exactly hard to pinpoint or to discern which version of events could be considered the most accurate.All the major and minor characters are given the attention and focus they deserve and for new readers as well as lifelong scholars of Homer's works this is a very worthwhile read.My only objection is the ending, which felt rather abrupt and on a negative note, after the sacking of Troy. There is no epilogue given on the fates of the survivors or even a nod of foreshadowing to the Odyssey or the Aeneid. It just ends, and that's why I had to subtract a star, which feels petty of me to do so.Like the previous books, a range of classical artistic depictions of characters are provided and even the 2004 Troy Film is referred to, which I was quite surprised to see.Overall a worthwhile read for all adult Greek Mythology fans.

Another excellent story well written and exciting.I heave enjoyed this immensely and I’m already excited to read the next in the series

For my son in law, a book he requested

Stephen Fry reimagines complex historical writings in a delightful way that makes it easy for people like me to read and enjoy

This book deserves to be on any amateur historians bookshelf. The study of Homer and the following centuries of debate on myth and fact, are delightfully discussed at the end. I could not put it down! My wife Kathy has saved up a pile of housework for me!!

The story of Troy is a mess of conflicting legends and myths without a single timeline and yet the story here is told as coherently as it could be, brought up to date with dialogue that isn’t needlessly trying to be old fashioned which would be ridiculous. Loose ends that might have been left dangling with a cliffhanger in one version are tied off by merging multiple versions of the story to give a clear picture of the tragedy of Troy.