Heroes by Stephen Fry

 

Heroes: The myths of the Ancient Greek heroes retold: 2 (Stephen Fry’s Greek Myths, 2).

Published 1st November 2018 by Michael Joseph.

From the cover of the book:

Few mere mortals have ever embarked on such bold and heart-stirring adventures, overcome myriad monstrous perils, or outwitted scheming vengeful gods, quite as stylishly and triumphantly as Greek heroes.

In this companion to his bestselling Mythos, Stephen Fry brilliantly retells these dramatic, funny, tragic and timeless tales.

Join Jason aboard the Argo as he quests for the Golden Fleece. See Atalanta - who was raised by bears - outrun any man before being tricked with golden apples. Witness wily Oedipus solve the riddle of the Sphinx and discover how Bellerophon captures the winged horse Pegasus to help him slay the monster Chimera.

Filled with white-knuckle chases and battles, impossible puzzles and riddles, acts of base cowardice and real bravery, not to mention murders and selfless sacrifices, Heroes is the story of what we mortals are truly capable of - at our worst and our very best.

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I absolutely loved Stephen Fry's first foray into the world of Greek mythology, Mythos, and have been dipping into this second volume, Heroes, on and off for quite some time. However, no book by Fry is complete without taking in his expressive dulcet tones in the audio book version too - which I had the pleasure to listen to last month.

In this second volume, Fry concentrates on the fascinating adventures of a number of mythical Greek heroes, bringing alive the tales of Perseus, Heracles, Jason, Oedipus, Bellerophon, and Theseus, with the pleasing addition of Atalanta... and a few asides to related stories.

I thought I knew many of these myths well, but Fry proved that there was a lot more to discover about these famous characters, as he delves into their death defying feats of bravery, their monstrous foes, their loves, their motivations, and their tragic missteps. I have also never realised before quite how much the stories of the different heroes overlap and connect with each other, which was a bit of a revelation. Alongside the stories, Fry adds lovely snippets about language, repeating themes, motifs that echo through history, and how the significance of the acts of the heroes on how the modern world came into being.

This was just as entertaining as I was expecting, and a fabulous vehicle for Fry's prodigious wit, warmth, and accomplished storytelling talents. I cannot wait to devour book three next, Troy, which has been sitting on the shelf for far too long.

Heroes is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats.

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 Liar, The Hippopotamus, Making History and The Stars' Tennis Balls - as well as three volumes of autobiography - Moab is My Washpot, The Fry Chronicles and More Fool Me. Mythos, Heroes, Troy, and Odyssey, his retelling of the Greek myths, are all Sunday Times bestsellers.