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I’ve never been that interested in Greek mythology, to be honest. I knew a few of the names and (fewer) of the stories, of course. But I would definitely consider myself a newbie.

So as a newbie, did this book work for me? It did. Partially.

This is essentially a short story collection, told from the beginning. I enjoyed most of the tales. Some more than others, sure. But generally I felt entertained throughout the book.

But I’m not sure how I’m supposed to keep all the names and their relationships straight. In the end I had marked down 308 names. 308! It’s just too much information to end this read with a feeling of having learned a lot.

I’m probably more a fan of the author now, than of the myths of ancient Greece. Stephen Fry has such a charming narrative voice, he could basically tell me about anything, and there would be a high probability of me enjoying it immensely.

He did pique my interest in mythology, though. And this, ultimately, makes the book a success. I might have not learned as much as I had initially hoped for. But I definitely enjoyed it much more than I thought.

His narration of the audiobook, by the way, is even more fun than only reading the words he so eloquently and humorously put on paper. But because of the many names I had to revert to actually reading the book, in order to be able to make some notes. So this book is definitely marked down for a re-read (or rather listen), before I pick up the second one. Because this I surely will. Well done, Mr. Fry!


This has been a buddy-read with Susy, Grant, Allan, Lata, Rebecca, Amanda and Jeff.