This book is incredible. I cannot even begin to comprehend the research that has gone into creating it. The amount of names and storylines and detail. It is phenomenal. It actually boggles my brain!

Stephen Fry somehow still seems to make it all manageable though - his warnings about not trying to remember every name or family line were well heeded - and he was right that the needed names and threads would stand out and all come to make sense. I admit there were times I had no clue who or what he was writing/talking about (I listened to come via audio), it didn't seem to matter.

My favourite parts were Achilles and Patroclus (after reading The Song of Achilles, how could it not be?), but I loved all of the characters - heroes and villians, Gods and Godesses. There were lots of parts I had heard before, and I loved hearing them all again and putting it all into place. And there were lots of stories I had never heard. The details of Paris's birth and upbringing, and the story of the golden apple...

Thank you so much NetGalley for my gifted copy - I'm off to re-watch Troy now (the Brad Pitt version). :)

I absolutely love everything Stephen Fry so it's no surprise that I absolutely adored this!
Fry makes mythology and legends incredibly accessible and fun to read so I am always excited to see when he has a new book coming out.
If you're a fan of story telling then I definitely recommend picking this one up.
Beautiful writing and a gripping story to match.

A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.

5/5 - Loved it.

Where to begin with this brilliant book. Perhaps I can start with the fact that after being given a free copy for a NetGalley review, I realized I'd be recommending this book to everyone I come in contact with and should probably own a physical copy to share with my friends and family. So I bought "Troy", along with "Mythos" and "Heroes." All three books now occupy a place of honor on my bookshelf.

Stephen Fry's writing is nothing short of brilliant. I will be honest - I have long been obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology, but the siege of Troy for me was a rather boring event that one had to know about, but could speed read over. I could not get enough of the gods, the heroes, the wanderings of Odysseus, the monsters, the star-crossed lovers... but Troy felt stale to me. I could never connect with the characters or see their humanity. I struggled to keep the lineages and alliances straight. Consequently, I never cared much about Troy or the horse that has since become such a stereotype that we've almost stripped it of its original form.

Stephen Fry's "Troy" converted me. His narrative untangled the complex storylines and relationships, and brought characters such as Helen, Paris, Hector, and Agamemnon to thundering, vivid life! I genuinely felt transported to the sandy battlegrounds at the walls of Troy. The pride of the Greeks, the pain of the Trojans, the duplicity of Paris and the vengeance of lovers wronged felt absolutely real to me. On top of that, Fry provides historical annotations to explain points which might confuse a reader, or to offer added context. For the first time in my life, I finally understood the story of Troy for all its tragedy and all its glory.

As I'm certain my review indicates, I think this book is phenomenal. I think it should be read by everyone, because I cannot imagine reading this book and not plunging headfirst into its gripping narrative.

Stephen Fry is always a must-read. I love mythology and it's easy to become intimidated by the names and keeping track of everything. What I love about Fry's work is I'm continually validated that I'm not expected to remember all of that and it's really about enjoying the story. The stories are so narrative and I collect all of his books as go-to references. I can't recommend his work enough!

We all know the story of Troy. In this retelling written by Stephen Fry you can experience these myths once again. The story begins with the introduction of each character important for the story like Hercules, the Greek gods, the royal family of Troy, etc. What I liked in this book was that the myths I heard separately in my teen years were in chronological order. For the first time, I actually understood how Helen ended up in Troy and why it was destroyed. The book was written in an easy language to understand the story well, and included illustrations connected to the story. I’m a big fan of this book and I will definitely read other books by Stephen Fry. His way of retelling this story was very special to me and brought me back to the time when I was a teen obsessed with Greek Mythology. I could bring this part of me back for the time when I was reading this book.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Stephen Fry, and Chronicle Books for providing me with the ARC copy of this book! I recommend it to everyone interested in Greek mythology, these reimagined myths are just for you!

Stephen Fry does it again with this gripping retelling of the legend of Troy. His writing is as enchanting as ever and his talent for bringing the past to life is unmatched. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait for another masterpiece from Mr. Fry!

An incredibly detailed retelling of Troy, backstories and all. Stephen Fry uses a wonderful conversational style that had me smiling from the start (even the footnotes are amusing or useful!). He tells the reader not to worry if you can’t remember all the various genealogies because who could? I found it easier to read this book in smaller bites, it was just too detailed to be enjoyed in one go, all the names etc become overwhelming (maybe that’s just me) but it’s definitely a brilliant achievement.

I really like Stephen Fry, but this felt more like a slog than a thrilling story. Maybe it's that the first third of the book is all setup and interminable genealogy? And other than the rascally Odysseus, Fry's anachronistic language didn't really work for me. Disappointed but hopefully Fry rebounds with the Odyssey.

I would like to thank netgalley and Chronicle Books for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Complex, but enjoyable.

I really love Stephen Fry’s way of retelling these myths, his style is chatty and warm. It reminds me of parents or grandparents telling a story. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and gives plenty of detail and back story.
I did not enjoy the erasure of my favorite literary couple, Achilles and Patroclus. He was like “yeah they were best friends, like really close, so close they wanted their ashes mixed for eternity. Normal bestie things.” Other than that, I loved this retelling.
I’m not sure if retelling is the right word, it feels more like an in depth analysis backed up by actual scholarly research. Regardless, Highly recommend this book if you want to read about the Trojan war.

Another fantastic book by Stephen Fry. He continues to deliver with the Mythos series, and Troy is no exception. It's informative, funny, and interesting.

Stephen Fry is truly incredible at story telling. The story of the Trojan War and its events and players are beautifully weaved together to tell an ancient story in a new light. Fry is faithful to the source while presenting the story in a way that flows like a story rather than an 10th grade reading assignment. As a fan of greek mythology from a young age, I was excited to draw connection between this book and other beloved retellings. It should be clearly noted that prior knowledge of the Trojan War nor other mythology is not needed to enjoy this book.
Whether a greek mythos fanatic or a novice, this story is fitting for anyone.

Thank you to Chronicle Books, Netgalley and the incomparable author for an Advance Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The author has made this legendary story entirely new and engaging. I read Mythos and Heroes, which were amazing. This is the third book in the Fry's Great Mythology Series and focuses on Troy. It's evident that the subject has been thoroughly researched - I'm amazed at how the author has navigated this dense and convoluted history/myth and translated in a way that is relatively linear. It's hilarious, touching and relevant while being informative and thorough.

The characters of this story, whose names were always familiar, became real to me. Their motivations and personalities were explained in such a human way. I found myself laughing at the way Cassandra's melodramatic prophecies were obviously ignored and getting annoyed at Paris and Agamemnon.

I hope there' s more to come - perhaps the Odyssey next? Please?

Troy is the third entry in Stephen Fry's Great Mythology series and it lives up to all my expectations.

This is the first mythology book by Stephen Fry that I have read, but the stories are familiar and the characters well-known so I was really excited to see what Fry does with it. He makes it thoroughly entertaining to be swept along in a history lesson. And uses great skill in keeping the reader aware of the important parts of the story and leading us in the direction he wants.

I loved the way all the many characters are described and little tidbits and sidenotes added on everywhere. It helped to keep track of what could be an utterly confusing web of events and characters.

Stephen Fry is excellent is holding the attention of a reader and I am excited to try the rest in this series.

“We achieve immortality not through ambrosia and ichor but through history and reputation. Through statues and epic song.”

This was an excellent and very entertaining romp through some of the key events in Trojan mythology. I haven’t read Fry’s earlier books on Greek mythology and although the books are fine to read standalone, I wish I had read those first for the wider context and background. Whilst there is a cast list of thousands, the reader is helpfully given reminders when players re-enter the story, which is invaluable in keeping tabs on who did or said what.

I wondered whether this would read like a textbook, but the style is conversational and amusing, and at times peppered with anecdotes and modern comparisons. I would highly recommend this to mythology fans or anyone new to the topic who is looking for an imaginative telling of the stories.

With thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me by me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed the other books Stephen Fry’s in Great Mythology series, so I had high expectations for this one. Troy definitely lived up to them.

On the goodreads app it says this book is a lot longer than the 200 pages that downloaded to the netgalley app and unfortunately I was unable to download to my kindle which is a shame.

Thank you for the arc.

Just as good as the rest of this "Series" - or companion books on the myths, sagas and history Fry has going.

Its beautifully made up, even to just flip through and read a snippet here or there, just as its a fantastic read from start to finish.

For everyone that has interested in history, wants to learn something or just wants an informative read?
this book is great!

My review is available on my blog (link attached).

Hmmm, where should I start this review?

I really like and admire Stephen Fry, his dry humor and his wonderful acting abilities. The audiobooks narrated by him are among the best I ever listened to. His love for Greek mythology is widely known, and he certainly has a respectable amount of knowledge about it. Moreover, he has the uncanny ability to make it accessible and relatable to a modern, not classically educated reader.

And herein lies the problem ;). I gradually discover (yeah, I can be a slow learner ;)) that I do not like retellings of the mythologies I love. Nope. Just nope. I catch myself questioning the author’s decisions about including or omitting stuff, about structuring the narrative, and so on. Worse, I disagree with interpretation ;). So really, I don’t know why I’m even doing this to myself! But when I noticed Fry’s Troy on NG, I just had to check it out to see if it would be a good book for younger readers – and for me 😉

I assure you, the answer to the first question is yes. While the mythological history (or prehistory) of Troy and Trojan war is extremely convoluted, sometimes contradictory, and completely out of whack time-wise, Fry spends a lot of time to patiently unravel the Gordian knots and ultimately succeeds in presenting us with a streamlined version of the mythical conflict. It’s no small task, and while Fry is not entirely successful, his attempt is laudable. If you want readers without earlier exposure to Greek mythos to read Greek mythology, you can certainly do worse than Fry – though I’d suggest starting with something a bit easier than the Trojan War, like Mythos, or Heroes.

As to the answer to the second question – it is less unequivocal. It was an okay read, don’t get me wrong. But the main value I see in this book for someone like me, who’s been marinating in the Greek mythology for the vast majority of their life, professional too, is that it once again proves that there’s nothing better than the original. Oh, the myths are a dime a dozen, written down in different times by different groups of authors, with different aims and within varied context, again often ending up as contradictory as possible – but Homer’s Iliad (and Odyssey, but we’re not getting into THIS discussion here) is one.

This is the moment when I drag my hands through my hair and roll my eyes and start my lengthy rant on what was missing from Fry’s version. I’ll spare you the details 😉

The only thing I feel needs emphasis is the lack of a soldier/military perspective on what was, after all, a freaking ten-year extremely bloody conflict that ended in genocide. Oh, I know this is something that seems like a completely niche critique, but let me assure you – the fact that it seems niche stems from our culture’s repression of the real cost of war. We want heroes and parades, tales of noble deeds and patriotic duty, and we don’t want to hear what war really is. The end result is that we then start wars we are unable to end, for wrong reasons, with wrong aims, and we do not learn. Homer’s Iliad is one of the few so powerful lessons on the futility, rabidity, cruelty and chaotic nature of war, and I wanted Fry’s retelling to reflect some of this. There are sparks of this attitude, for example in Fry’s analysis of Achilles:

“We recognize that if we had ever encountered the real demon demigod Achilles, we would have feared and dreaded him, hated his temper, despised his pride, and been repelled by his savagery. But we know too that we could not have helped loving him.” (p.190)

This is however a case of too little, too late – especially considering that Troy came over a quarter of century (27 years exactly) after the publication of Jonathan Shay’s Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character, and two decades after the UK sent their troops to Afghanistan and became embroiled in the War on Terror.

Of course, there’s also the problem of the narrative being abruptly cut; as you can imagine, another work, about Odyssey this time, is already being written. Still, there is much to love about Fry’s Troy. While the source material occasionally got the better of him and the narrative flounders in various side arcs and explanations, all in all it’s a solid, faithful retelling of the conflict that shaped the culture of ancient Greece. There’s also a nice Appendix with a short introduction to intricacies of the relationship between myth and reality – definitely worth a read.

I highly recommend this book to all who are not well versed in Greek mythology and want to learn more. It’s accessible, well written, and clearly a work of love.

I have received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks.

One of my favorite reads in the past few years has been his first book, Mythos. So, as you can guess, this book was high on my TBR-and let me tell you-it absolutely did not disappoint.

Greek mythology can be intimidating-and Stephen Fry has a way to retell these stories with such ease, humor, and makes them readable. You understand who everyone is, and can follow the epic tale throughout.

I truly love that it is all the good stuff-gets right to the story-his prose is beautiful-the humor is dry and sarcastic which I enjoy.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves Greek mythology or wants to try out an epic story that is readable and understandable.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Chronicle Books, and Stephen Fry for the ARC of TROY in exchange for an honest review.