Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I was excited to read this book because I love greek mythology and the cover is beautiful however, i'm quite disappointed.

The story takes too long to really get going and engage the reader. I felt I never truly connected with the characters in the story and their motivations. As I mentioned, the book is slow going and then adds insult to injury by ending on a cliffhanger to set up the next book which I think is unnecessary.

I would not recommend this book and will not be reading the next book in the series.

My thanks to Head of Zeus for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Argo’ by Mark Knowles in exchange for an honest review. It was published in November 2021. My apologies for the late feedback.

‘Argo’ is the first book in classicist Mark Knowles’ Blades of Bronze series and is a retelling of the tale of Jason and the Argonauts though with a difference.

Knowles clearly wished to erase the fantastical elements from Jason’s story and making it more of a Bronze Age historical adventure. It is quite a long novel and while there was a fair amount of boys’ own action and adventure, the pace often slowed down to a crawl.

‘Argo’ was somewhat redeemed for me by Knowles’ Historical Note in which he wrote: “When I began to write Argo, I resisted the temptation to take on Ray Harryhausen by conjuring monsters, mythical beasts and demigods from the blank page: there is only ever going to be one winner in that particular contest.” Fair point though plenty of others have managed to write powerful retellings of myths and legends without stripping out the magic.

He went on: “I was more interested in creating a realistic world populated by relatable characters acting upon plausible motives, whilst still preserving the wonder and liminality of the distant myth.“

I feel that I would have preferred if Knowles had provided this intention as an opening Note to Readers. As for preserving the wonder, I didn’t feel any wonder. It was an okay adventure but I felt that it lacked depth or sense of the numinous apart from a few scenes of Medea.

I am intending to read the next book ‘Jason’ though with the awareness going in that while its characters will often be saying ‘by the gods’ that the gods are unlikely to have any agency. I am curious in seeing how Medea’s story plays out given that she does seem to have a genuine devotion to Hecate.

I do feel ‘Argo’ will appeal to readers who are seeking a retelling of myth in this realistic style. However, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

The legends of Greece don't often cross my mind when I'm thinking of stories to read, but I read a wonderful retelling of the legend of Troy last year, and so I was really intrigued to be invited to read Argo by Mark Knowles. And I'm so pleased I did.

Argo is a rich retelling of the journey to retrieve the Golden Fleece, populated with a cast of characters with names even I recognised. Some of them leap from the page more clearly than others, as is to be expected with such a large cast, and the ship, Argo itself, is one of the clearest, for even someone such as me to imagine. Reading the author's bio, it's easy to see why the ship is such an important part of the story.

I was swept away by the tale and intrigued to know how it would all end. I should probably have known, but I didn't.

The story is rich in detail, the journey told in great detail, as are the stops along the way, and the people the Argonauts interact with. It certainly builds in tension so that the last quarter of the book went by in a flash. This truly is a wonderful reimagining of the legends of Jason, the Argonauts and of course, Argo.

Legend tells that one stormy night, in the Month of the Goddess 1250 BC, a son was born to Queen Alcimede and King Aeson of Iolkos - the same night the King's half-brother Pelias attacked the palace and stole the kingdom away. His mother named him Jason, and having tricked Pelias' men into thinking he was stillborn, ensured he was smuggled away under the cover of darkness to be raised in secrecy on Mount Pelion - hoping that one day he would return to claim his birthright.

Twenty years later, the usurper King Pelias is plagued by dreams that someone wearing a single shoe will appear and bring about his destruction, so when a young man arrives to compete in the Games of Poseidon having lost a sandal in the river, he is terrified that the prophecy is about to come true. Crafty Pelias realises that this young man is in fact his nephew Jason, apparently returned from the dead, and he comes up with a plan to get him out of the way by assuring him that he will consider his claim to the throne, if he first proves his worth by undertaking a quest to obtain the fabled Golden Fleece of Colchis.

Jason, newly in possession of his true identity and keen to avenge his parents, gathers a band of mighty warriors to help him in his quest. They set sail aboard a ship called the Argo, steadfast in their belief that they will prevail in their task and return to Iolkos triumphant. But this is a voyage steeped in danger, and not all of our brave Argonauts may survive the trials ahead.

Anyone lucky enough to grow up with the spectacular Ray Harryhausen film of heroes, gods and monsters, Jason and the Argonauts, will be familiar with the story of Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece, although in truth, there is no one definitive version of the myth to draw upon.

Intriguingly, rather that channelling the spirit of Ray Harryhausen in Argo, the first book of the brand new series Blades of Bronze, historian Mark Knowles takes a different approach with his retelling of the story of Jason and the Argonauts. Here we encounter a crew of entirely mortal adventurers, albeit with names we might recognise from legend, pitting their wits and physical strength against real world trials, which although unexpected, is every bit as compelling as a story spun from the pages of a Greek myth.

Cleverly, Knowles incorporates episodes from the myth of the Golden Fleece, as the Argonauts undergo their voyage into the Black Sea, with our heroes taking the stage as mortals motivated not by powerful magic, but by all too human emotions - with revenge, desire, and greed driving most of the action. It all works very well indeed, and I thoroughly enjoyed how Knowles bends the more fantastical elements of the story into realistic scenarios from the world of men, all the way up to the Golden Fleece itself - which our brave band track down at the end of the story, before making off with their treasure.

The Argonauts come across as a rag-tag collection of outsiders, often haunted by loss, and the need to make amends for their pasts, and curiously it is their vulnerabilities that form them into really engaging characters. I enjoyed how their relationships develop over the course of the voyage, and there is a lot of heart and humour in their interactions. Equally there are some excellent villains in this nicely paced tale full of adventure to make your gall rise, and to create many heart-thumping moments of tension. And I take my hat off to Knowles for writing Medea as an interesting character with depth, and just the right amount of light and shade to bide well for what lies ahead in the story beyond this first book.

There is plenty of sweeping saga left to absorb, for now the Argonauts must make their way home, and I am looking forward to whatever Knowles has in store for them. Book two, Jason, awaits...

SUMMARY
This is a descriptive retelling of the classic Greek myth: Jason and The Golden Fleece.

OPINION
I like to see positives in everyone I meet and everything I read. Well, I certainly know more about Greek mythology than I did before starting this book. And I commend the author on their dedication to writing this novel. This very very long novel. There were times when I appreciated the tension of the action. However, those are really the only positives I can muster.

The author doesn’t shy away at all from writing every single point of Jason’s journey to get The Golden Fleece. Which is what makes the abrupt ending such a disappointing surprise. I’ve always felt that the longer the book, the bigger the reward needs to be for the reader. The one thing I looked forward to was justice for Jason, and a novel of that size I expected a fantastic ending one which saw Jason proving his doubters wrong, winning back the throne, winning the peoples hearts, finding love, whatever it may be, any conclusion would have been better than a cliffhanger. This is coming from a reader who is usually a fan of cliffhangers!

I really believe the format of this book should be looked over again: swap some descriptive accounts to getting to know the Argonauts, editing needs to be done as some points are confusing (twice ‘Fingers’ is mentioned, with only reference to who that is on the second mention, and no reason given for the nickname, additionally, Pelias is described as Jason’s stepfather at one point?), and for Greek gods’ sake; write a more conclusive ending. There is no point in setting up for a sequel nobody will want to read. Whether that means skipping over some irrelevant stops on the journey there, speeding up the pace and being able to relay the journey back.

RECOMMENDATION
For once, I’m at a loss at who to recommend this book to. Those interested in Greek mythology, can handle a long, slow paced novel, and a cliffhanger, would perhaps receive this book better. This is, of course, just the opinion of one reader.

I have to admit, Argo was painful to read. The amount of purple prose was extremely overwhelming and took away from the story tremendously. It was like in an attempt to sound like a seasoned and intellectual writer, the author pulled out his thesaurus for every other sentence. While I can appreciate the try, it really made the whole reading experience rather awful. Not to mention Jason is one of the most boring characters in Greek mythology.

Definitely not for me. I was trying to hard to get into this as I have a deep love for Greek myths but it was just too much and the writing wasn't my style.

This is a retelling of the myth of Jason and the Argonauts but I was close to DNF-ing this book. Much to my disappointment, there's no resolution at the end and that just threw me off.

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

I’ve read quite a few retellings of myths and legends over the years, and I’ve heard of Jason and the Argonauts and knew bits of the story. But I’ve never read a novel focused on Jason, so I was interested in this retelling, Argo by Mark Knowles. Knowles is a Cambridge classicist, who clearly knows the story well.

Unfortunately, this was rather a slog to get through. It’s a very detailed narration of the adventures of the Argonauts on their way to Colchis to steal the Golden Fleece. Despite the dangers and numerous battles, and despite the fact that many of the individual scenes are interesting, on the whole, the book dragged.

In a nutshell, Jason was challenged (by his uncle, who had usurped Jason’s father’s throne) to go steal the fleece in order to win his parents’ freedom. The challenge is meant to be a fool’s errand that will rid the usurper of the upstart challenger. Jason gathers together a motley crew of quarrelsome misfits, who somehow are able to defeat various armies along the way. The Argonauts band together, more or less, when they have to fight, but never form a cohesive unit. Rather than reading as a focused journey, with a cumulative rise in tension, the adventures seem rather aimless random bumps in the road as they wander their way to Colchis.

Jason is a weak leader, though he is a strong fighter. Aside from Jason’s self-doubts, there isn’t much depth to the characters. When Jason finally meets Medea, she morphs too quickly from a witch-like goddess worshiper who despises men and terrifies the suitors her father pushes at her into a sexy young girl who melts for Jason.

Although tempted numerous times to give up on the read, I nevertheless pushed through to the end. I was curious to learn about Jason’s saga as a whole. So it was especially frustrating to read 566 pages and reach the point where Jason finally steals the Golden Fleece, only to have the book end with “to be continued.” They haven’t even completed an escape from Colchis. Although I admire the scholarship behind the effort, it didn’t engage me as a novel.

While showing a deep knowledge of the classical, this retelling of myth of Jason and the Argonauts stuffers from both overtelling and under-telling what should be a thrilling tale. I was sad to say that I got bogged down in the flowery language but didn't feel any emotional connection or sense of pace to the storytelling.

Upfront, I want to note that I read and am reviewing this as a specialist in classical reception! A retelling of the myth of Jason and the Argonauts following the plot of (most of) Apollonius Rhodius' 3rd century BD epic the Argonautica, I really wanted to love this book, and found it surprisingly compelling for the first third of the novel. Knowles builds the environment very effectively with lots of well-researched contextual details, which I enjoyed.

However. As soon as we get into the actual building and crewing of Argo, things start to slow down rather a lot, and I found it becoming a bit of a slog. The writing, which begins well, loses quality around the midway mark, with some questionable metaphors noted by other reviewers. The character development also slows down to a virtual stop - where we begin to get to know Jason and his crew, we learn nothing new about them throughout the journey. Side characters like Butes and Idas were particularly frustrating, and their characters are never satisfyingly resolved, despite the considerable length of the novel. It also feels truncated towards the end, which leaves us at a cliffhanger at a similar point to the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts.

While I did like that the plot took in several episodes not well treated elsewhere in retellings, I was not expecting the rationalised narrative that removed all traces of magic and the gods. Although this is inventively explained, unfortunately many of the rationalisations fall down by invoking misogynistic explanations for the episode (view spoiler). There is no positive depiction of any woman (even the Argonautica manages to do better, and ancient Greek literature is not known for its positive portrayals of women). Queer narratives (which are present in the ancient literature) are written out entirely. I found myself waiting for any indication of the relationship (or even a strong friendship!) between Heracles and Hylas, but the opportunity is completely skipped over.

The search for historicity also leads to some questionable, bordering on racist, depictions of the tribes the crew encounter. If nothing else, the stilted language used for the othered non-Greek tribes reinscribes false equivalences between "the West" and ancient Greece, and reminded me strongly of the problem trope of the "Queen's Latin", especially as of course the book is in English!

I awarded this book two stars rounded up, for its enjoyable opening. Although I read as a classicist, I probably would have DNF'd if I was reading this for leisure. Worth a go if you are more interested in historical reads, I would not for lovers of myth retellings and especially not feminist ones!

(Thank you to Aries Books and Net Galley who provided me with a free ARC in return for an honest review).

I was excited at the prospect of reading another retelling of Greek myths. But this book is, sadly, a disappointment.

It retells the story of Jason and the Argonauts in their epic journey to bring back the Golden Fleece from Colchis in order to win back Jason's throne of Iolkos, stolen by his murderous uncle Pelias.

This book started well, but the storytelling became turgid, without much character development, and felt more like a list of the Argonaut's adventures in getting to Colchis than an actual story.

But the worst thing was the ending. It just stopped. There was no resolution, ne satisfying feeling of a well-rounded tale; the overall impression was of a (very, very long) book randomly chopped in half. I expect this is setting readers up for a sequel, but it's a cheap trick and cheats us of an ending that makes any sense.

I don't think I'll be back for the next volume, sadly.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. I am a fan of Greek mythology and retellings. While the premise of this book is a good one, I found it a bit slow to start. There were points where I was just wishing for a bit more. The story itself was enjoyable, I just found myself hoping for more.

This book was a bit of a mixed bag, On the one hand, it was nice to read a book telling the story of a character who is difficult to like at the best of times and I think the author did a decent job of rehabilitating some aspects of his character. It also told the story faithfully and the author clearly has an in-depth knowledge of the myths surrounding Jason.

On the other hand, it felt incredibly dense to read and borderline boring in some parts. It felt like some parts were padded to justify subsequent books and it made for a rather bloated reading experience. The supporting characters were woefully underused and one dimensional which was a shame as I was looking forward to reading their character dynamics.

Overall a decent enough read which gives an interesting insight into Jason's character but suffers from being overly long.

A great retelling of the infamous story of Jason and the Argonauts. We go back to where the adventures began, the quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece,

It pains me to say this, but I’ve finally found a book involving Greek myths that I do not like, and probably wouldn’t recommend to people who are well versed in Greek Mythology and Ancient Greece. I was very excited to read this, more so because the author is a Cambridge classicist, but boy oh boy did that excitement disappear within the first few chapters and by the time I got to the hallway mark it became a chore to pick this one up to finish it.

I’m more than aware of the story of Jason and the Argonauts and the adventures they had, but this book came across as just wanting to tick them off one by one. There was no storytelling or emotion in this book, and that’s what I found most disappointing. The author had such a great opportunity to create something wonderful with this book and he really missed the mark. If you’re looking for a great story about the Argo, this isn’t it. And the most infuriating part of this is that it’s clearly set up to have a follow on book with the “cliffhanger” that it ended on, because apparently the author couldn’t retell this myth in one book.

I won’t even go into the absolute atrocity that is Medea in this book, this is NOT Medea. Sadly I won’t be picking up book two. I couldn’t recommend this book to anyone, not a newbie to mythology or a classicist or anyone in between, I wish that I could say I would recommend it.

Two starts rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

As a Classicist, there is nothing more reassuring (and refreshing!) than coming across a novel based in ancient history or ancient mythology where the author has actually done the research, and created a world that is both accurate and entirely fantastical (as the ancient world could be!). Knowles knows exactly what he is doing, and has crafted a world that is a delight for readers both old and new to mythology. There is no doubt that we are completely immersed in Jason’s adventures, and the narrative is both rich and accessible, and thus entirely enthralling. Reminiscent of Mary Renault, in a slightly more contemporary way…

Overall, I’m just left wondering how and why a novel surrounding Jason and the Argonauts hasn’t been done sooner! But I’m thrilled Knowles, with his background in Classics, has managed to pull this off so successfully.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Aria and Aries (Head of Zeus) for the privilege of this ARC - I’m going straight in for a re-read!

Argo by Mark Knowles had so much potential. I powered through it to the end but honestly, I was skimming through for a majority of the book. This is pitched as a Jason and the Golden Fleece re-telling and while it's not my favourite story, this book didn't appeal the story to me in any other way meaning, I was as disinterested in the story, even more so, at the end of the book than I was before this book.
Jason was incredibly boring and definitely not like the Jason I read in the myths. He was whiny and strong-headed and was not a great leader. I understand there is a reason for a change in the personality of a character from mythology but to a certain extent, it has to stay true to the text and the myth. In the myth, Jason was a very resourceful person who managed to get the Golden Fleece. In this book...well, there was barely any good characterization of him.

In a nutshell, this book was boring. It couldn't hold my attention at all, and I had to make a conscious effort to stop myself from constantly checking to see how much further I had to read before finishing. It was a concept that just didn't work. The re-telling of a Greek myth with all that makes Greek myths interesting removed - namely, the shenanigans of the Gods. What is a Greek myth without that? A dull story with little or nothing to give it substance; Argo.

Not even the characters offered any redemption. With all the ingredients for a character-driven story present in abundance, this opportunity was not taken, and the characters were hackneyed, predictable and only really utilised as and when needed, rather than forming a substantial backdrop for the plot. That being said, the book was not plot-driven either, since the plot merely seemed to lurch from one incident to the other, with no sense of cohesion or actual progress.

Jason himself was just about the lamest hero I have read in a long while. He is insecure and whiny, yet, and at the same time, bold and determined. Above all, however, he is an absolutely useless leader, and this shortcoming in the main protagonist put paid to any success the book may have garnered.

I did not finish the book. Although I reached just beyond the halfway point, I decided that life was too short and my leisure time too valuable to expend it on a book I just was not enjoying, so I gave it up. Once I request a book for review I usually stick with it through thick and thin but the fact that I did not do so in this case is review enough, I think.