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I swear upon the murky waters of the River Styx with thunder-bearing Zeus as my witness - Stephen Fry’s latest instalment in his Greek myths series “Odyssey��, is an excellent book that certainly doesn’t disappoint. Just as the breath of Athena gave life to Pandora, so does Fry’s fecund imagination, as he breathes life into a post-Trojan war cast of characters through a delightful series of narratives.

My favourites included Odysseus marooned on seductress Calypso’s island - where, amidst their insatiable bouts of coitus, Odysseus laments how he really must be getting back to Ithaca�� it has been 12 years... But oh go on then, another round won’t hurt surely!

Odysseus then manages to flee only to become captive on another island to the witch “Circe�� (the correct pronunciation of her name rhymes with “mercy�� according to the footnotes). After an initial misunderstanding, he “persuades�� her to undo the spell that cast his men into a pack of swine herd, unwittingly getting her pregnant in the process.

My favourite of all though had to be the tale of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Aegisthus and those pesky kids with a penchant for matricide: Orestes and Electra. A story of familial macabre and tragedy second only perhaps to Oedipus Rex. The source material taken from Aeschylus�� “Oresteia��, is brilliantly brought to life by Fry, culminating in the trial of Orestes at the Areopagus, where, (spoiler alert) Athena intervenes and not only exonerates the lad, but exorcises him of the Furies that have been hitherto inflicting psychological torture on him.

Indeed, just like that filicidal old git Tantalus in the underworld, forever grasping for fruit that he cannot reach and stooping to quench his thirst on water that always receeds - I too felt ‘tantalised�� and left wanting more after reading this book! I am already looking forward to listening to the audiobook version. 5 stars.