Review: Troy by Stephen Fry

Posted November 30, 2021 by Stephanie in 4 Stars, Mythology, Nonfiction, nonfiction november, Review / 17 Comments

Title: Troy: The Siege of Troy Retold
Author: Stephen Fry
Publication: Stephen Fry’s Great Mythology Series #3
Genre: Nonfiction, Mythology, Retelling
Find it on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo
Rating: 4/5

The story of Troy speaks to all of us – the kidnapping of Helen, a queen celebrated for her beauty, sees the Greeks launch a thousand ships against the city of Troy, to which they will lay siege for ten whole years. It is a terrible war with casualties on all sides as well as strained relations between allies, whose consequences become tragedies.

In Troy you will find heroism and hatred, love and loss, revenge and regret, desire and despair. It is these human passions, written bloodily in the sands of a distant shore, that still speak to us today.

With so many retellings of the siege of Troy do we really need more? I say hell yes to that. Every book that retells the story of Troy adds something new I have learned and this is definitely the case with Stephen’s Fry’s version of it. He also went into the very beginnings of Troy which most retellings, the ones that I have read anyways, don’t do that. I loved that.

Nobody can deny the epicness of Homer’s Iliad and it always seems equally epic when authors retell the story. I really enjoyed how Stephen Fry told this story. I loved his previous books of Mythos and Heroes too so I had no doubts that I would be hooked by this one as well. It was witty, action-packed as well as a real page-turner. I absolutely couldn’t put the book down.

My favorite character was Odysseus. Which also wasn’t surprising since he’s always the one that’s my favorite. I just really loved how the author recreated him, making Odysseus his own but still giving him the same qualities that we know him for like a sharp intellect and confidence but also the flaws like his temper. I do wish some of the female characters would’ve gotten more of a time to shine like Hecuba, Andromache, Cassandra. But that’s really my only complaint.

I’m also very glad to know that Stephen Fry’s next book is going to be a retelling of The Odyssey. I’m really curious about this one because The Odyssey is one of my favorite stories ever. So I will be having high hopes for that one!

About the author:

Stephen Fry is an award-winning comedian, actor, presenter and director. He rose to fame alongside Hugh Laurie in A Bit of Fry and Laurie (which he co-wrote with Laurie) and Jeeves and Wooster, and was unforgettable as General Melchett in Blackadder. He has hosted over 180 episodes of QI, and has narrated all seven of the Harry Potter novels for the audiobook recordings. He is the bestselling author of four novels – The Stars’ Tennis Balls, Making History, The Hippopotamus and The Liar – as well as three volumes of autobiography – Moab is My Washpot, The Fry Chronicles and More Fool Me. Mythos and Heroes, his retelling of the Greek myths, are both Sunday Times bestsellers.

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17 responses to “Review: Troy by Stephen Fry

  1. Great review! I have had my eyes on this book for a while, but none of the libraries have it in English and I do want to read it in that language because of Fry.

  2. Kate Sarsfield

    I’ve read Mythos & have Troy but it’ll have to wait till the New Year when the house is sold. Love Fry’s work. Have you read his earlier fiction? I’ve got them all and can’t part with them!

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