A visually over-the-top paean to stories that still resonate today.
With its bold artwork in attention-grabbing, intense colors, this large-format collection of Greek myths and gods begs to be made into posters.
The fantastical images could come straight from 1960s album covers, mixing reality and symbolism, with a diversity of skin colors and some hint at gender fluidity—it’s definitely a mythology collection for a new generation. Full-page images fill one half of each spread on a particular personality while opposite are a few paragraphs and some smaller visual vignettes. Each entry includes a terse “Where” and What” section and the name of the figure in Greek, a unique feature of this enticing volume. The stories are told in a matter-of-fact, contemporary style. Writing about Ares, part of the description reads: “His most famous partner was the goddess of love Aphrodite. Even though she was married to Hephaestus they had lots of kids together.” Four stories are singled out for greater focus: those of Heracles, Odysseus, the Trojan War, and Jason and the Argonauts. Occasionally the visuals don’t correlate with the text. “The Fates were ugly, lame, old women,” it claims, but the artist depicts them as three handsome, brown-skinned women. This mythological encyclopedia should certainly encourage readers to find the new graphic-novel adaptations of the myths or Homer’s epic poems themselves, although the book lacks sources or a bibliography.
A visually over-the-top paean to stories that still resonate today. (Cosmology. 11-15)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-78603-193-8
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
An introduction to ancient Egypt and the Pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings. The authors begin with how archaeologist Howard Carter found the tomb of King Tut, then move back 3,000 years to the time of Thutmosis I, who built the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Finally they describe the building of the tomb of a later Pharaoh, Ramses II. The backward-forward narration is not always easy to follow, and the authors attribute emotions to the Pharaohs without citation. For example, “Thutmosis III was furious [with Hatshepsut]. He was especially annoyed that she planned to be buried in KV 20, the tomb of her father.” Since both these people lived 3,500 years ago, speculation on who was furious or annoyed should be used with extreme caution. And the tangled intrigue of Egyptian royalty is not easily sorted out in so brief a work. Throughout, though, there are spectacular photographs of ancient Egyptian artifacts, monuments, tomb paintings, jewels, and death masks that will appeal to young viewers. The photographs of the exposed mummies of Ramses II, King Tut, and Seti I are compelling. More useful for the hauntingly beautiful photos than the text. (brief bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7922-7223-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This useful but uneven volume summarizes the legend of the Trojan War, then describes the archaeological excavations at Hisarlik, the Turkish site believed to have been Troy. After a brief (though ponderous) introduction comes a graceful 20-page retelling of how, according to Homer, the Greeks fought at Troy. Elegant red-and-black illustrations every few pages echo Greek vases, part of the overall attractive book design. Readers must then switch gears for the final 35 pages, illustrated with a handful of photographs, which describe the main excavations, from Heinrich Schliemann in 1870 through several more scientific expeditions up to recent times. The authors, a writer and a classical scholar, review hypotheses about the site and occasionally weave in anecdotes, but the overall scheme is chronological and the writing straightforward, without the spark of Laura Amy Schlitz’s biography, The Hero Schliemann (2006). However, readers may find the recap of The Iliad enjoyable and the rest, including a timeline and recommended websites, helpful for reports. Given the source material, it should be better. (bibliography, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58089-326-8
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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