Glyn Iliffe

Odysseus and our less well-known hero - Eperitus are back and they're hunting down items and people to help them defeat Troy - these are 'The Oracles of Troy', or at least that's what they've been told to do by an Oracle and we know how well that usually goes for them all.

The Second Half of the book is about the Fall of Troy - I hope I'm not giving away any spoilers here, but yep Tory falls! And our heroes and their friends, Polites, Antiphus and Eurybates are having to do than defeat the enemies of Greece, they have people to save, revenge to take and a certain princess to help out. I also love the fact that Diomedes is included a heck of a lot in this story as from an early age and from one of the earliest fiction books I read about Troy and the Greeks, he was always a legend for me.

Again, this is Mr Iliffe at his best, friendship, disagreements, plots and ploys, Gods and Goddesses, heroes on both sides, villains on both sides, love and lost love, oracles and horses, big big horses and of course all out war! I love this series!… (more)

Heracles(Hercules)is the son of Almecedes and Zeus (who slept with her while pretending to be her husband Amphitryon). As a birthday present Zeus gives his son immeasurable physical strenght(he lets Hera nurse him without her knowledge so he acquired this supernatural power of the goddess herself). Well,Zeus's good lady wife,the goddess Hera,is not  best pleased with this dalliance and even less with the outcome. So Hera, who's middle name is revenge,works out a plan to get rid of this abomination. Meanwhile,Heracles has sowed some of his wild oats and is settled with his loving wife Megara and and their 3 children in Thebes when disaster strikes,in a fit of madness, he kills his 3 sons. After wandering for a while he asks the oracle of Delphi for advice. She tells him in no uncertain terms that if he wants to find out the truth about that night of madness and wants to find some redemption, he has to perform certain labours. For this reason he becomes a slave to his cousin who is king of Tiryns(also thanks to the lovely Hera ). Of course Hera does not want Heracles to find out the truth nor find any atonement so she has her hand in the choice of these famous labours.This is historical fiction based on Greek mythology but it reads as a fantasy story(the lion of Nemea,a white hind with golden antlers and a seven headed snake)albeit with a sad and bitter undertone. One can not help but feel sorry for this giant who's life is manipulated by the whims of the gods. This is the first part of the trilogy (3 labours done,9 more to go)but it is not the classic retelling of the myth,Heracles and the other characters are so much more than individual parts of this myth. Yes,I think I will probably follow Heracles his further adventures...… (more)

This is the third book of the Adventures of Odysseus series and takes place during the tenth year of the Trojan War, pretty much covering the same ground as The Iliad. As the title suggests, Achilles is the main focus of this volume, though the cunning Odysseus and his fictional friend Eperitus are to the fore at times as well. Achilles' overweening pride almost results in the defeat of the Greek army but after the death of his closest friend, he returns to the fray knowing that he's fated to die at the gates of Troy. Once again, Mr. Iliffe succeeds in breathing life into real and mythological characters, both human and divine. I'm looking forward to reading the fourth installment of this series, The Oracles of Troy, which is due out early next year. As the final line of the book states, "beware of Greeks bearing gifts".… (more)

The middle book in Glyn Iliffe's Odysseus trilogy, The Gates of Troy begins 10 years after the conclusion of the preceding volume, King of Ithaca. Odysseus is happily married to Penelope and rejoices in the birth of his son Telemachus. Unfortunately, events were occurring in Sparta which would result in a 20-year separation from his wife and child as well as his beloved Ithaca. Helen of Sparta was abducted (not so unwillingly it would seem) by Paris of Troy, setting the stage for the Trojan War. The reader is absorbed by this classic tale which covers the preparations for war, the tragic sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia, and finally the landing of the Greek fleet in Troy followed by the first clashes with the Trojans. Once again, the author's superb storytelling skills are to the fore, making a well known epic incredibly exciting and suspenseful. I strongly recommend this book and its two companions to anyone who loves Greek mythology as well as a fantastic story.… (more)