Witty and a delight to read! I loved Fry’s distinct writing style and humor. All the stories were fascinating and hilarious. The illustrations were all gorgeous and enhanced the reading experience.

My favorite stories were Heracles and Theseus’s stories. Those were full of wit and humor and I could not stop laughing! I did get a bit confused, however, because so many names were mentioned and I could not figure out who was who, but according to Fry, one only needs to remember the important ones, so don't get too discouraged when you're reading through it!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this and will definitely recommend to any fans of Greek mythology!

Just a little note: the copyright watermark made it a bit difficult to read and it would have been a bit better if it was a bit more transparent. But otherwise, everything else was really fun and entertaining.

I really enjoyed these retellings of the Greek myths and I liked the author's humor. Some of the stories dragged on for a little too long in my opinion, but in general I definitely enjoyed it.

I have always been fascinated by Greek mythology and this opportunity to read and review a copy of Heroes by Stephen Fry, courtesy of Netgalley, was too good to pass. And I am glad I took it up, for it is unlike any other text I have ever read on the subject! Stephen Fry has delightfully retold the stories of the well known heroes Perseus, Heracles, Jason, Oedipus and Theseus, and the somewhat obscure - for me, at least - Bellerophon, Atalanta, and Orpheus.
Fry's narrative is funny, fast-paced, and hugely entertaining - especially the reimagined dialogues and the quirky footnotes. Understandably, many of the episodes from the lives of these heroes have been described only briefly due to the vast scope of this undertaking; each of the heroes is worth a separate book of his / her own. But the brevity does not affect the fun in any manner, and the reader is treated to an unconventionally engaging insight into the world of whimsical gods, fearsome monsters and heroic mortals undertaking fantastic quests. Adding to the fun are the excellent illustrations, ranging from millennia old archaeological pieces to centuries old artistic masterpieces.
Though it will not serve the purpose of serious readers looking for a detailed account of the heroes, this book will appeal to those readers who wish to get introduced to Greek mythology in a light-hearted way. I enjoyed it a lot!
(A small complaint about the review copy: the 'copyright' watermark was way too opaque for the actual text to be clearly readable)

I absolutely love this series!

Generally I don't read much nonfiction because the lack of story tends to lose my interest, but Fry's tales are a perfect blend of interesting facts and humor. While I've read a number of books about mythology, there was still much here that I didn't know.

After the popularity of other recent fiction titles like Circe, this is a great book to give readers who are hungry for more freshly told tales of the Ancient Gods and Heroes.

Actuall raiting: 3.75 STARS.
I did really like the book and how Stephen Fry wrote it. But to be honest the book felt a bit long and sometimes there were too much information and gods, men, monsters and giants to keep up with. But i really liked it :)

I am a huge fan of Greek Mythology, and I really enjoyed the previous book by Stephen Fry called 'Mythos', so my expectations with 'Heroes' was high.

The reading is not heavy or boring, it is light and delightful, sometimes very funny (because is a fun way to learn some topics, or revisit them). This book, in specific, talks about some Greek heroes, like Heracles, Perseus, Oedipus, Jason and some others. For me is always a fun reading, because I love the theme. Although, is important to say that in Greek mythology exists some weird and confusing stories, so deep and intricated that sometimes is hard to explain very well. But the book is gorgeous! With paintings, pictures, maps and references 'Heroes' is a very good reading.

The book almost lacks the charm that Mythos had. Though it does make a refreshing change to the more staid retellings of the Greek Myths. I would love to see what Fry does with the War on Troy. There is a bit of tongue in cheek about the book. If you want to get a younger person interested in the Greek myths, this is a good place to start.

Heroes is a follow-up to Stephen Fry’s original book of Greek mythology, Mythos, which I haven’t read but now plan to. Whereas Mythos focuses on the titans and gods of Greek mythology, Heroes focuses on the mortal heroes (as the name suggests). It includes sections on Perseus, Heracles, Bellerophon, Orpheus, Jason, Atalanta, Oedipus, and Theseus.

I love Greek mythology, and I love Stephen Fry, so this was the perfect combination. Fry’s writing style was pretty much exactly what I expected, the perfect blend of information and humor. He stayed true to the original stories while still providing a fresh take on each of them with his more modern perspective. It makes for a very accessible but well-researched guide to the mortal heroes of Greek mythology.

Because he has to fit the stories of eight heroes into one book, Fry doesn’t go into a lot of detail in each one. I actually preferred this; I have a hard time getting through nonfiction because of the lack of a story, but the fast pacing of Heroes kept me reading. My favorite stories were those of Heracles and Jason, partially because they were the longest and most complex, which gave me time to get more invested.

Because it covers so much ground in just a few hundred pages, Heroes leaves out some details, so I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for a comprehensive guide to the heroes of Greek mythology. Instead, I’d recommend it to those of you who, like me, are interested in Greek mythology but intimidated by the classical or academic sources. It was an enjoyable read and it convinced me to add Mythos to my “to read” list.

It also seems to me like Fry might add a third book to this series, one that covers the Trojan War and the events of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and if he does, I’ll read that one too.

trigger warning
<spoiler> infanticide, patricide, rape, child molestation, cannibalism, torture, gore, sex with animals, kidnapping </spoiler>

In this second part of his retellings, author Stephen Fry recounts the tales of the Greek Heroes.
You probably know some, but not all.

This is exactly what I liked about this book: I am quite versed in the Greek mythology, what with studying classic archaeology and being a Percy Jackson fan, and did know quite a few of these stories - but not all. Not at all.

Apart from the basic retelling, you also get a list of names at the end, and helpful footnotes translating some of the names or clarifying when this is indeed the person we met 100 pages before and when we simply have a case of two different people wearing the same name.
Then there are affirmations that you are right, the timelines don't match up. Being used to Egyptian mythology, I can handle a few timeline inconsistencies, but it's nice to acknowledge their existence.
What I didn't find value in was the pronounciation helps, as the English way of pronouncing Greek names is very weird to me. Nope. Especially Zeus pronounced the English way gives me the shivers.

So, if you're in Europe, you might ask yourself why I got an arc of a book that has been published years ago - but good news! Stephen Fry's book is coming to the USA with a shiny new cover.
Let me end with the obligatory recommendation for either fans of mythology who might look for a new spin of the old tales, or stories they never heard before, or of Stephen Fry's voice. I am told the audiobook of this is amazing.

I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Stephen Fry is so smart that whenever I read something by him I feel like I get smarter! This edition was no different.

Name: Heroes
Author: Stephen Fry
Genre: Greek Mythology
Age:+8
Review:
This book is a sequel of Mythos. If you have already read Mythos, this book is gonna be a huge disappointment.
Heroes is a retelling the valorous tales of Mortal heroes from Greek Mythology, from Jason on his quest for the Golden fleece to Heracles. The stories are brief and lacks consistency.
If you have already read Greek Mythology, there's not much in this book. But if you have never read Greek Mythology and would like to know about its great heroes, this is the book for you.

I've been loving Greek mythology for many years, and I've been reading so many different books, comics and graphic novels using the myths (as well as other media), and I'd like to believe I know a fair bit about the mythos itself, and perhaps that's why I finished Heroes feeling a bit bored. I had high expectations about Heroes after having read Mythos last year and loving that book, however I just felt myself getting bored with this one and I had to force myself to finis it. It had nothing to do with the language or writing style, but rather just having re-tellings of stories I've already heard and know a great deal about.

Some good things that I did enjoy was that Fry did mention that each myth has different interpretations and the he explained why he'd chosen the version presented in the book, but also that the myths are stories and stories tend to have several different versions to them, that I liked. And I do enjoy Fry's style of writing, making it both sort of fiction as well as non-fiction.

Thank you for this e-copy for review. My full review will be posted on my social media accounts, Amazon, and Goodreads.

The second book of retelling of Greek mythos by Fry. He is a great storyteller, so reading the familiar stories is still very much fun. And if you are new to the mythos - then you are in for a real treat!

I really liked it. Having read Mythos before, Heroes follows the same line with humour in the stories we thought we knew. Some of them I heard/read before, but those retellings were pretty dry. The humour in these stories make it fresh, something they might have done centuries ago too, when the stories were played on stage.

I really enjoyed Heroes, and it's made me want to read more books by Stephen Fry! Really well told and clever!

Gorgeous art throughout. When reading it, it felt like Stephen Fry was reading it to me. To be honest, I tried to save that for daytime so I could stay awake reading it; if I read it too close to bed time the rhythm of the book put me to sleep. Since I wanted to enjoy it, I put it aside for when I am on the porch with a cup of tea and my children are playing to get their daily exercise. Well researched, well written, this book is a must buy for anyone who enjoys mythology.

This is an excellent book, again, another gem written by Stephen Fry.

A lot of people don't know or realize that as an actor, Stephen is also a writer too. I've read a few of his Sherlock Holmes stories and he does quite a good job. But, I think when you get him on a topic he will certainly go to town.

Especially on Greek Heroes. While his first book focused on Greek Myths, he shines in Greek Heroes. Everyone and their mother has read Edith's Greek Mythology book in school or on the side, but it is nice to read a book well documented and developed by someone who takes care at letting you experience the characters in a new light.

I enjoyed this book and I look forward to any others he will release in the future.

Stephen Fry's makes Greek mythology accessible, fun and easy to follow. I have a shelf full of Greek Classics at home and have never got through any single epic/play in its entirety. However, I breezed thru Fry's collection of stories on Greek heroes in a few weeks. Am not implying Fry does a better job than Homer or Euripides - but reading this retelling of Greek myths has motivated to actually go back to the classics.

Fry focuses on some of the legendary figures of Greek Mythology - Oedipus, Hercules, Theseus, Atalanta, Orpheus etc.

Fry's writing is funny, informative and a touch irreverent. The upside of this is that Greek Literature becomes easy, the downside is that even tragedies appear funny.

The goal of reading Heroes shouldn't be the end of your journey on understanding Western legends but its beginning.

I have known Stephen Fry as an actor, having watched an enjoyable series called Kingdom in which he starred.  He is also a man with lots of personality.  More recently, Mr. Fry has turned his hand to writing.  A prior book of his, Mythos, was well received.  Now we have this new book which re-imagines a number of Greek myths.


Eight heroes have their stories told here in a series of short chapters.  The characters are Perseus, Heracles, Bellerophon, Orpheus, Jason, Atalanta, Oedipus and Theseus. Before starting on his tales, Fry includes helpful resources such as maps and a family tree of the Olympians.   There are some helpful entries at the end of the book including a list of characters, monsters, mortals and more. 


The book's introduction sets the tone.  The style is conversational and engaging.  It is written in a present tense. Frye tells his stories well and with a sense of humor.  The text is beautifully illustrated with many paintings.


If you would like to relax and have someone tell you a story, you should enjoy this title.  I am eager to see the print copy.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.