Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the chance to read an early copy of this book!

I never read the Iliad, so TROY is really my first encounter with this whole story, even if of course I had cultural knowledge of Helen's abduction, Achilles's heel, Odysseus's long time away from Ithaca, "beware of Greeks bearing gifts," etc. I found Fry's telling a very interesting approach - eminently readable, and you have a strong sense of the storytelling as the author often inserts himself to say things like "this will come back later" or "you don't need to remember all of these little details, just get the general idea." I bet this would make an absolutely delightful audiobook because of the prose and style, although the actual content is a little hard to stomach.

There are quite a number of historical paintings and pictures of artifacts scattered throughout the book, although I can't say too much about them as the captions were yet to be completed in the version I read. The book overall is very visually pleasing with eye-catching use of color and stylish formatting.

The story of Troy is, wow, immensely violent and depressing and full of terrible men, which is exactly why I never read the Iliad. But I really do enjoy the way the story was told and how Fry would bring it together (including footnoted references to where, e.g. you could see more about Heracles in the HEROES book). It's a stylish and relatively accessible introduction to the Trojan War, it has some interesting notes at the end on myth vs reality, and it made me really intrigued to read the other books in this collection. It's certainly a book that will stick with me for a long time.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4047965736

Stephen Fry is a genius, so I'm always on board to see what he's doing. He's also really funny, so I initially expected the book to be more comedic, but it isn't, really. (There is some humor, but it's more an occasional wry aside than full comedy.) This is a written by Fry wearing his scholar hat, not his comedian hat, and so for a while I was enjoying it but not really convinced it needed to exist. Surely we could just read one of the more modern translations of the Iliad instead?

I have somehow not read then Iliad yet, though, so my opinion changed as I came to understand how little of the Trojan War is actually included therein. Fry presents the whole story, an admirable synthesis of many ancient (and sometimes contradictory) sources.

If you're looking for a humorous retelling of the Trojan War, look elsewhere. But if you've ever wanted to hang out with Stephen Fry and have him give you a conversational recounting of the Trojan War, that's the vibe here. Quite worthwhile.

My thanks to both NetGalley and to the publisher Chronicle Books for and advanced copy of this book.

Stephen Fry, actor, writer, director, narrator, noted bon vivant and responsible for my favorite representation of the character Jeeves on screen, returns once more for what is being called the third book in his Mythos Trilogy, Troy. I hope Mr. Fry counts his trilogies the same as Douglas Adams, and keeps adding more titles, for this books are just too much fun and informative to stop at three.

Teaching and engaging with others is difficult, but Mr. Fry makes it seem so effortless, even telling in the beginning of the book, yes this is a lot to take in, but you will and you will enjoy it when it comes to you. He asks the questions we'd like to ask, and gives answers to thoughts that would never occur. As I said I hope he continues on, a book on the Odyssey and the Aenid would be very interesting. Maybe even something a little more contemporary, say within the last 300 years would be nice.

I've heard not but great things about Stephen Fry, and I could not pass up the opportunity to get my hands on this when it showed up on Netgalley.

All I can say is that it's great! I can see what the hype is all about! It just feels epic! Nothing about this is stale, old, repetitive or boring. Incredibly work!


Who would like it? If you like Greek mythology, retellings, the story of Troy in particular

What is not to love about Troy? Stephen Fry is a genius and absolutely hit it out of the park again with these retellings. His stories are quick and funny, they keep you wanting more even when you've reached the end of the book and realize you have to wait a while for the next one (please let there be a next one). The stories are all connected to Troy, but you absolutely do not need to know anything about history to enjoy this book. You will, however, enjoy it a bit more if you do.

5/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"I wish, all those years ago, Prometheus hadn't persuaded me to make mankind," Zeus said. "I knew it was a mistake."

Stephen Fry reimagines Greek myths in this series of books. I've read part of his previous book, Mythos, and similarly with Troy, I couldn't read it from start to finish. The book is interesting and Fry is a great storyteller but if you're familiar with the Greek myths then these books don't add anything too different here. I believe that someone not as familiar with the stories would enjoy this more, but I found myself skimming through multiple parts.

However, I enjoyed the addition of photography.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC!

Full disclosure: I haven't read the first two Mythos books, yet. I intend to! This happened to be the first one I could get my hands on and I thought, why not? Fry says you can read them independently.

Of the stories he's retold, the Trojan War is one of my least favorites in Greek Mythology. Maybe because of its pop culture popularity? I don't know for sure. So the fact that I really enjoyed it makes me hopeful for the other two retellings.

He doesn't update or modernize anything. It's a whole lot more like he's sitting there, in a chair across from you; maybe you're having some tea? And you just get this story told to you in Stephen Fry fashion. His elegant, dry humor and comments on events are charming and made it feel like a bedtime story. He also makes the story easy to follow by keeping his asides in notes at the bottom of each page.

I probably won't read this one again unless it's for some kind of reference, but I'm very glad to have read it!

I really enjoyed this retelling of the story of Trojan War. The author makes the stories so accessible and readable. The foot notes really help fill in the gaps or knowledge of Greek mythology that would helpful in understanding the stories. I definitely plan to go back and read the other books on mythology that he has written.

Really fun as always coming from Fry, even with hard hitting topics covered in the greek myths! I really enjoy this series. The only thing is that I wish this was available for kindle instead of a pdf which made it less easy to read. Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book!

I'm a huge fan of all of Fry's mythology books, and Troy is no exception. His voice is unlike anything other and helped me deepen my understanding, laugh, and feel big things. That's a lot to accomplish in a mythology book and he does it every. single. time.

"Troy" by Stephen Fry is a retelling of the classic legend of the Trojan War and all of the people and gods it involved. I enjoyed reading it once the story picked up and really got going. If you're familiar with the stories, this will likely be an easy read for you. If not, it might be harder to get into. Most likely though, if you're reading it you have some interest in Greek mythology! There are so many characters in this book (and every iteration of the Trojan War), which can hard to keep straight even if you are familiar with the legend. The story moved quickly. It almost felt like it ended abruptly (even though it was a natural break in the story) and I was left wanting just a bit more resolution.

There were tons of footnotes throughout the book, to offer backstories or research or explanations, which I won't lie, I would skim or skip because I wanted to stay in the action. For a more thorough reading, the footnotes are great. Overall, it was a good read-through.

Thank you to Netgalley and Chronicle Books for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Like Heroes, Fry once again opens up mythology to the masses. Clever, witty and altogether compulsive reading. I love mythology and suspect this interpretation will show a much wider audience it’s appeal. I hope this will become an audiobook read by the author!

CW: Misogyny, racism, slavery, and rape

Though this is an entertaining and informative retelling of the myths of Troy, I found it lacking in new senstivities and insights for a book published in 2021 and calling itself "Greek Myths Reimagined."

The book leaves the blatant misogyny and violence against women in a large number of these myths totally unquestioned. Occasionally rape and slavery are even used as the butt of a joke. The description of the rape of Thetis as "loving" particularly disturbed me. This text, like so many others before it, leans towards treating the women in these stories as objects for men to win and conquer rather than taking the time to consider them as characters in their own right. Helen is treated with a bit more complexity, but only near the end of the book. The author's treatment of race is not great either. For example, he describes the fight between the Ethiopian Memnon and the Greek Achilles as "the dark Memnon and the golden Achilles."

I realize that the misogyny is so ingrained in these myths that it would be difficult to erase entirely, but simply acknowledging it and treating the violence against women with the same gravity he uses when describing the atrocities of war would have been enough for me.

Troy is the new Stephen Fry title in his ongoing mythological series. He treats heroes and gods as characters in a novel making the well-known stories approachable and absolutely funny.
After devoting the first two books to Greek myths and heroes, he now enters Homer’s work with a retelling of the history of Troy. He begins with the origins of the city, which had a rather short life, ending with the adventures of its demise.
The characters gain life in the pages of this book, making us spectators to the events that inevitably led to the destruction of the city of Troy
A wonderful story that resonates still today told in a brilliantly new way. Not to be missed.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I have heard of Troy (I mean, who hasn't?) but I wasn't very familiar with it's history beyond the Brad Pitt movie (which I've seen some years ago). I have read Mythos, but not yet Heroes, also by Stephen Fry. Those 2 books are not required reads before you get to this one, even if there are some references to characters mentioned in previous books.

There are a lot of names in this book, but fear not, the author says in the beginning it won't be necessary to remember them all. Thankfully he reminds us of who's who when that is important and the main names you probably already know or will learn fast. Also, there's a guide in the end of the book.

Things gets confusing with the many similar names at some points, but besides that I loved how the author brings everything about Troy in this book: from its origins to its fall. It wasn't as humorous to me as Mythos was, but it was still fun. His writing and the way he guides us throughout the story makes it a very pleasant read

If you are interested in Greek mythology and history this is a good choice for you.

Having read Stephen Fry’s other books in the Great Mythology series I did know what I was getting into... and my review is similar to how I felt about the previous two: informative and readable but still a bit too academic for my tastes. (footnotes always make me wary) Stephen Fry’s excellent wit, humour, and individual style of writers craft makes this an enjoyable take on the traditional stories. When I started the Great Mythology series, I expected it to be more like Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, but instead its a bit more educational and less storytelling oriented. Stephen Fry does an excellent job of streamlining some very complicated storylines, and reminds us the details are not important, or adds helpful footnotes where confusion may be expected, but I still found it a bit of a slog to get through all the names, events, etc. I had the visual pleasure of reading the e-book version via NetGalley, but I would imagine the audiobook would be stellar, given Stephen Fry’s unparalleled abilities as a narrator.

I have been an avid reader of Greek Mythology (starting with D'Aulaire and then Edith Hamilton, Rouse, Graves ,etc), Ancient Greek plays (Sophocles/Euripides/Aeschylus), and novelizations of Greek myths (think Mary Renault) since my youth.

I had heard of Stephen Fry's mythology books but this is the first one I have read. I can tell you I am going out to buy Mythos and Heroes as soon as possible because I enjoyed TROY so very much. It was written in a conversational yet erudite tone. The generous footnotes added to the narrative and I enjoyed the photographs of Greek antiquities interspersed in the text. .

This is a brilliant retelling/observation/study of the story of the Trojan War and Homer's Iliad as well. Fry breathes life into the characters, brings them to us as the flawed and complicated human being they are. He does not flinch from the violence and gore, but he also contextualists so much with the history and customs of the times. This books brings together many mythologic tales regarding the story of Troy and weaves them together into a enthralling narrative.

Highly recommended. It's an in depth and compelling read.

Greek mythology was a part of literature in school and I did learn a bit back then. The translations tended to be rather dry so I wasn’t enthralled with it like some people are. Still, I picked up some of the basics with the regular forays into that branch of literature. I’ve revisited some of the stories more recently, having reread Homer’s “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” a few years ago. I enjoyed that for what it was and there was a certain beauty to the writing there. But I still wasn’t terribly engaged.

Perhaps what was lacking is a translation with good storytelling. In this book, we have some beautiful storytelling where the myths come alive like I’ve not seen before. I am quite familiar with Stephen Fry and I can just imagine hearing him narrate these stories. I was able to feel the stories in ways I have never done before and there’s a chance more of the story will stick with me in the long term. Of course, with the improved storytelling, I found it to be even more blood-thirsty than I would have in the past. This version really shows there are no good or bad guys in these stories. Just flawed characters with some very human traits like greed, rage, and jealousy.

One of the books’ outstanding features is the number of illustrations and images included. This just adds more depth to the stories, seeing how events were depicted in ancient times. Also, the book abounds with footnotes which are filled with fuller explanations and more information to round out the reader’s knowledge. That said, sometimes it was hard to keep reading footnotes as I read the story as there were so many. Perhaps that might be a reason to go back for a second read?

I will add one last remark, about all the names in the stories. I knew there were many that I don’t recall but this book makes clear that the ones I remember are really a tiny part of the mythology. Fry often reminds readers that it’s really not necessary to worry about remembering all these characters. But in case you still worry, there is a list of characters at the end of the book to help keep track.

I give this book 4.5 stars. I want to thank Netgalley and Chronicle books for sharing an advanced reader copy for free. I have voluntarily written this review.

I love the legend of Troy. The Troy movie with Brad Pitt was one of my favourites. I enjoy reading Troy retelling although some I have hated (Song of Achilles), This one did not disappoint. It was everything I expected from a Troy retelling. An enjoyable Troy adventure.

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
It should be noted that most people think the Trojan War was started with an apple; in fact, it was swan sex. If Zeus could have kept it in his chiton things would have been much better for some people.
Fry’s retelling of the Troy cycle ends with the Fall of the City and begins with the founding of the city and the Trojan line. It’s Fry, of course, so there is swan sex.
Okay, let’s be honesty, Fry’s series of Greek myth retellings, of which Troy is the third, is an easily accessible, immensely readable, slyly funny needed update on Hamilton’s Mythology. Look, I love Hamilton. I’ve read and re-read Hamilton’s mythology. I love it. Don’t get me wrong. But you have to admit, there is a simplicity to the retellings. Fry’s retellings are long (he’s taken three books so far) but there is a sense of humor and, even judgement. They are more accessible in tone and less dry. They are a great way to get anyone interested in the Greek myths.
There is something immensely satisfying reading a book that weaves in all the various sources and discusses the more morally ambiguous issues – such as Odysseus say. There are appendices that discuss the various historical conditions. Fry gets points to for putting the sacking into perspective, and also connects to sackings in history.
What was particularly nice was the lack of bias, which sounds strange I know. The thing is that many modern retellings even straight forward ones such as this tend to side with the Trojans. Not surprisingly really, in our modern sensibilities Helen should have the right to chose who she wants to be with, and that sacking was barbaric. Fry, however, presents both sides as good and bad. This is important because, let’s be honest, the Trojans violated xenia, when Paris ran off with Helen, the god, and, in the version Fry uses, Menelaus’ son (who does not grow at all during the war). While Fry does not spell this out, he does emphasis the underhandedness of Paris’ behavior, and one of the running themes of the book is Paris’ behavior.
By contrast, while Agamemnon does still come across as a spoiled king, Fry also deals with him fairly, pointing out how the seers always just see at the most inopportune times and how he is constantly accepted to sacrifice. He also points out the places where the High King did show to various people.
It is a more even handed approach to the war; even the gods who do sit in judgement are also taken to task.
Troy is an excellent retelling of the cycle.