Troy
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- Create Date：2021-06-08 08:54:04
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Stephen Fry
- ISBN：0241424585
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Summary
The story of Troy speaks to all of us - the kidnapping of Helen， a queen celebrated for her beauty， sees the Greeks launch a thousand ships against the city of Troy， to which they will lay siege for ten whole years。 It is a terrible war with casualties on all sides as well as strained relations between allies， whose consequences become tragedies。
In Troy you will find heroism and hatred， love and loss， revenge and regret， desire and despair。 It is these human passions， written bloodily in the sands of a distant shore， that still speak to us today。
In Troy you will find heroism and hatred， love and loss， revenge and regret， desire and despair。 It is these human passions， written bloodily in the sands of a distant shore， that still speak to us today。
Reviews
Tamzen
，
"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 st "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。 。。。more
Jennifer Nolan
，
I loved this book。 I feel that Stephen Fry has a way with words and he tells a good story。
Eline
，
3⭐Na een wervelwind aan namen en familiegeschiedenissen wordt het verhaal steeds boeiender。 Gelukkig staat er ook een lijst achteraan het boek en de auteur geeft regelmatig tussendoor een korte herhaling om te kunnen volgen。 Ik zou dit boek graag nog eens als luisterboek beluisteren， aangezien dit volgens velen prachtig verteld wordt door Stephen Fry。
Sophie
，
Troy is one of those classic tales which does not age。 It's entertaining， thrilling and horrific in equal measure。 I really enjoyed Stephen Fry's take on this， even more so as he explains the role the Greek gods may have played in the tale。 My familiarity with the story mainly comes from the film （rather than from the Iliad）。 So it was interesting to find out why some characters did certain actions due to the influence of the gods。 I also enjoyed the appendices which explores whether Troy actual Troy is one of those classic tales which does not age。 It's entertaining， thrilling and horrific in equal measure。 I really enjoyed Stephen Fry's take on this， even more so as he explains the role the Greek gods may have played in the tale。 My familiarity with the story mainly comes from the film （rather than from the Iliad）。 So it was interesting to find out why some characters did certain actions due to the influence of the gods。 I also enjoyed the appendices which explores whether Troy actually existed and if the war took place。 。。。more
Tina
，
Stephen Fry retells the Iliad and more of Greek mythology in his own special way。 He finishes by adding his own thoughts and opinions。 What’s not to like？ ☺️
Jeroen Scheerder
，
In hindsight， why not Troy after Mythos and Heroes？Hindsight does thus trilogy no justice， each subsequent book filled with surprise and delight over the light-footed lucidity-and Troy， to me， the superlative。 Thank you Stephen。
Em_AW
，
*audiobook* Yeah， yeah， I'm obsessed with Greek myths， I get it。 At this point it borders on an addiction but I have no plans to change my reading habits。Troy is the shorter， more trackable triplet of Mythos and Heroes - at this point， the characters are familiar （Achilles， Odyssus， Agamemnon， Ajax， Helen， Paris， Hector） and the plot points infamous。 Fleshed out and linked with clear pieces of string， Troy ties the numerous characters and stories together in a cleverly concise manner， meaning re *audiobook* Yeah， yeah， I'm obsessed with Greek myths， I get it。 At this point it borders on an addiction but I have no plans to change my reading habits。Troy is the shorter， more trackable triplet of Mythos and Heroes - at this point， the characters are familiar （Achilles， Odyssus， Agamemnon， Ajax， Helen， Paris， Hector） and the plot points infamous。 Fleshed out and linked with clear pieces of string， Troy ties the numerous characters and stories together in a cleverly concise manner， meaning readers and listeners alike are never left out in the cold。 。。。more
Wil
，
Loved it。 So many footnotes though， gets distracting。
Louise Gray
，
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！
Frances Maples
，
CW: Misogyny， racism， slavery， and rapeThough 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 disturb CW: Misogyny， racism， slavery， and rapeThough 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。 。。。more
Raluca Marcu
，
It provides a rather clear， yet complex narrative of the story of Troy。 I couldn’t have asked for more。 I will definitely read his other books。
Inger
，
3。5 stars。 A well done book， like Fry's other books about Greek mythology， and just as fun to listen to as an audiobook。 Somehow I was less invested in this one though， maybe because I already knew the story to some extent， or maybe because I was a little bored with how much of it happened in one place and how much of it was just men having dumb big egos。 It just didn't grab me the way the other two books did。 I wouln't re-listen this one。 3。5 stars。 A well done book， like Fry's other books about Greek mythology， and just as fun to listen to as an audiobook。 Somehow I was less invested in this one though， maybe because I already knew the story to some extent， or maybe because I was a little bored with how much of it happened in one place and how much of it was just men having dumb big egos。 It just didn't grab me the way the other two books did。 I wouln't re-listen this one。 。。。more
Alda Delicado
，
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 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 TroyA 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。 。。。more
Gail Haigh
，
Utterly brilliant！ Everything I hoped it would be and more。 Covering the myths and history of Troy from its inception through to its bloody and brutal collapse， this is a definitive and complete walk through the story。 Stephen Fry has produced a wonderfully written， witty and informative work。 Superb！ I listened to Fry’s audio narrated version， which completely enhanced the experience。 Highly recommended。
Raluca
，
Maybe not the best book to listen to， given all the names and characters it contains。。。 ， but I appreciate the way Stephen tried to shape it into a modern story format， interceding when author notes were needed。 I would listen to anything read by him， so I will probably give Mythos and Heroes a chance， even though I can't say that the legends are particularly endearing to me。 Still， best to have the stories straightened out， since I can't say I remember much from school。 Maybe not the best book to listen to， given all the names and characters it contains。。。 ， but I appreciate the way Stephen tried to shape it into a modern story format， interceding when author notes were needed。 I would listen to anything read by him， so I will probably give Mythos and Heroes a chance， even though I can't say that the legends are particularly endearing to me。 Still， best to have the stories straightened out， since I can't say I remember much from school。 。。。more
Mariana Cevallos
，
-ARC of Troy by Stephen Fry， thanks to Netgalley-Maybe this have been the hardest review to make for me。 First， I know a lot of people adore how this man write and with that in mind maybe this review will upset some of youThe rate of this book totally depends on the amount of knowledge or， in turn， the amount of desire you have to learn about Troy and its stories。 If you have no knowledge BUT a big desire of it， this book is 5 starsFry manage to create a beautiful kind of great glossary of heroe -ARC of Troy by Stephen Fry， thanks to Netgalley-Maybe this have been the hardest review to make for me。 First， I know a lot of people adore how this man write and with that in mind maybe this review will upset some of youThe rate of this book totally depends on the amount of knowledge or， in turn， the amount of desire you have to learn about Troy and its stories。 If you have no knowledge BUT a big desire of it， this book is 5 starsFry manage to create a beautiful kind of great glossary of heroes， gods， love and death stories， myths and conflicts that take place or in Troy， or that in a way are connected to it。 His writing style is indeed nice， easy， sometimes funny for some people （not for me） but stillBut for others I think this books can be heavy。 Even though Fry have a light writing style and everything is easy to understand， sometimes the amount of info can be too much。 In very few pages he told us THE COMPLETE history of Troy， this can be heavy and maybe can make you DNF itNow， if you indeed have knowledge， and have read and loved all these myths， the book is boring sometimes， because you keep reading， in a superficial way， things you know， and you would love to study in a deep way。 Then the rate is 2。5 stars。With this I'm not saying it is a bad book！ is really good！ but not for everyone。 Also， I found the appendix of it is very useful， and as I said， maybe can be read as an easy tool to refresh concepts and a light and entertaining reading 。。。more
Vitória Fernandes
，
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 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。 。。。more
Laura
，
To reveal my biases upfront--I absolutely LOVE the story of the Trojan War， and I will gladly eat up all content that anyone wants to provide me on it。 But Troy is an especially funny and empathetic one。 Its not a retelling so much as it is a chronicle。 As a person who knows the story well， I loved the way Fry drew connections to modern art and literature and culture， but you don't need to be well versed in the petulance of Aphrodite that started it all， or the rage of Achilles that drove most o To reveal my biases upfront--I absolutely LOVE the story of the Trojan War， and I will gladly eat up all content that anyone wants to provide me on it。 But Troy is an especially funny and empathetic one。 Its not a retelling so much as it is a chronicle。 As a person who knows the story well， I loved the way Fry drew connections to modern art and literature and culture， but you don't need to be well versed in the petulance of Aphrodite that started it all， or the rage of Achilles that drove most of the high drama， or the wily nature of Odysseus that finally brought the whole thing to a bloody conclusion to get a a ton out of this book。 Its a way better introduction to the Trojan War than The Iliad ever was。 。。。more
Jon Munro
，
4。5
Katie
，
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 Mytho 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。 。。。more
James Green
，
Helen queen of Sparta is the most beautiful woman who has ever lived。 When she is abducted by Paris， prince of Troy， an army of Greek kings and princes is raised to get her back。This is the story of the decade long siege that we all know， the one with the famous wooden horse。 In this retelling we go from Troy's founding and early stories all the way up to it's destruction at the hands of the vengeful Greeks。 It's a very mythological version of the tale， the gods are directly involved for example Helen queen of Sparta is the most beautiful woman who has ever lived。 When she is abducted by Paris， prince of Troy， an army of Greek kings and princes is raised to get her back。This is the story of the decade long siege that we all know， the one with the famous wooden horse。 In this retelling we go from Troy's founding and early stories all the way up to it's destruction at the hands of the vengeful Greeks。 It's a very mythological version of the tale， the gods are directly involved for example， which is no bad thing for me。 Mr Fry has a schoolmasterly tone， though more avuncular rather than lecturing， which makes it very enjoyable though he can't do much to help with the confusion of names， relationships and chronology that makes up the story regardless of the version you tell。I would certainly recommend it to anyone with an interest in fundamental myths of European culture。 。。。more
Lisa
，
Not quite as good as his previous two books， this story is purely about the lead up to the fall of Troy by the wooden horse - a story which most people know from school or have heard of at some point in their lives。 I got this story as an audiobook as I love Stephen Fry’s voice and， to be honest， just listening to him makes me feel immediately more intelligent！ If you can avoid getting too wrapped up in the detail and the names of who’s who etc， this is a great story and definitely worth a liste Not quite as good as his previous two books， this story is purely about the lead up to the fall of Troy by the wooden horse - a story which most people know from school or have heard of at some point in their lives。 I got this story as an audiobook as I love Stephen Fry’s voice and， to be honest， just listening to him makes me feel immediately more intelligent！ If you can avoid getting too wrapped up in the detail and the names of who’s who etc， this is a great story and definitely worth a listen。 It’s a little annoying that Fry goes with the more traditional pronunciation - ‘Heracles’， rather than the more modern Hercules， however this is easily overlooked amongst the other great stories of Achilles， Paris， Palamedes， Hector， Ajax， and Agamemnon， to name but a few and all of which you probably already know but may not realise it。 A great listen， but try his other two books first！ 。。。more
Tracy
，
I really enjoyed the first two books in this series， but this one didn't capture my interest as much。 I think that may have been because it was such a long and arduous story （as was the supposed battle of Troy） and didn't have the same level of character development as Mythos and Heroes。 So many of the characters were selfish and treacherous; it was difficult to feel invested in them。 Still great writing （and reading - I listened to this as an audio book） and I'm looking forward to reading more I really enjoyed the first two books in this series， but this one didn't capture my interest as much。 I think that may have been because it was such a long and arduous story （as was the supposed battle of Troy） and didn't have the same level of character development as Mythos and Heroes。 So many of the characters were selfish and treacherous; it was difficult to feel invested in them。 Still great writing （and reading - I listened to this as an audio book） and I'm looking forward to reading more of Stephen Fry's work。 Or delving further into Greek mythology。 Or probably both 🤔 。。。more
Morgan
，
Another Stephan Fry book that takes on Greek mythology in an easy to read and understand way。 From the perspective of somebody not so good a reader to take on books like the Illiad straight up， I found this to be very entertaining and an insightful view of the Trojan war whilst not being overly detailed。 Anyways justice for my girl Helen， she deserved better 😔
Isa
，
delicious
Qinyang
，
Having listened Fry’s Mythos and Heros， when reading this one， his animated narration seemed to jump out of the pages and into my ears。
Purple Lorikeet
，
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 terrib 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。 。。。more
Margaret
，
This was a super engaging listen on audio， with Stephen Fry reading it。 I've read The Iliad 4-5 times now and I enjoyed this recapturing of events， and I think someone who has never read The Iliad would enjoy it just as much。 I'll have to listen to the other books in the series at some point！ This was a super engaging listen on audio， with Stephen Fry reading it。 I've read The Iliad 4-5 times now and I enjoyed this recapturing of events， and I think someone who has never read The Iliad would enjoy it just as much。 I'll have to listen to the other books in the series at some point！ 。。。more
Victoria
，
I LOVE greek mythology。 I hate war。 Yes we exist。 The story of Troy was mostly about war， so I knew that this book likely wasn't going to be my cup of tea。 And I was right。 The only thing that make me like it is the fact that Stephen Fry tells greek mythology so well。 I LOVE greek mythology。 I hate war。 Yes we exist。 The story of Troy was mostly about war， so I knew that this book likely wasn't going to be my cup of tea。 And I was right。 The only thing that make me like it is the fact that Stephen Fry tells greek mythology so well。 。。。more
Arav Behl
，
Gets kinda dense at times
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Troy
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Troy&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Troy&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0