"Artifact" by Gregory Benford

 

Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

Copyright: 1985

ISBN: 0312930488

Artifact tells the tale of an archeological find in Greece that is not expected or understood. The excavation and examination of the artefact becomes an issue of Greek heritage, and when the basic principles of archeological research conflict directly with of an overzealous ex-archeologist who is now a member of the military, and also part of a junta that is trying to overthrow the government.

The lead archeologists is Dr. Claire Anderson, and she along with her crew foreman discover the artifact, just in time to be interrupted by Kontos the military / ex-archeologist who becomes the ever demanding bureaucrat, and who always wants his own way. Claire recruits another academic Dr. John Bishop to assist her in discovering what the specimen is, and this leads the story in a whole new direction. 

The characters in the story are very well written, and represented. I found the story to be very interesting, and there was actually science in the story, and as all science-fiction should have (but that is usually lacking).

Excellent read.

"The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller

Publisher:New York : Ecco, [2012]
Edition:First edition.
Copyright Date:©2012
ISBN:9780062060617
Characteristics:378 pages ;,24 cm

The Song of Achilles is Madeline Miller's first novel (I reviewed her second "Circe"back on December 16th, 2019). It tells the story of Achilles and the first part of the Trojan War from the viewpoint of Patroclus, his friend and lover.

To tell a story such as this from the viewpoint of what is typically by most to be considered a secondary character is a great way to immerse the reader into a great story. The book takes us from the first meeting of the two men when they are quite young, and then their second meeting some years later after Patroclus has been exiled by his father for the accidental death of another boy who was bullying him.

We are then treated to a view of what ancient Greek civilisation was like and how the two men grew to be fast friends and soon thereafter lovers. The views of homosexuality in this book are treated very subtlety. What most people fail to realise is that homosexuality in the ancient world was accepted by many (if not most) as perfectly normal and it was quite typical for young boys to have male lovers until they reached puberty or slightly thereafter. There was no such thing as the rampant homophobia that can be encountered in certain places in today's world.

I found this book to be a great read and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in mythology. I was first introduced to Madeline Miller's work via the podcast "Let's Talk About Myths, Baby" by Liv Albert, and I would definitely recommend that anybody who is even mildly interested in Greek and Roman mythology should check it out, as not only does it give a refreshing viewpoint, but Ms. Albert has a very interesting sense of humour that gives this show a boost.

"Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold" by Stephen Fry

Publisher:[London] : Michael Joseph, 2017.
ISBN: 9780718188740
Characteristics: ix, 416 pages :,colour illustrations, maps

This book is an excellent retelling of the Greek myths, that mainly focuses on the ones that you typically don't hear too often. In his introduction Mr. Fry says:

"Mythos begins at the beginning, but does no end at the end. Had I included heroes like Oedipus, Perseus, Theseus, Jason and Herakles and the details of the Trojan War this book would have been too heavy for a Titan to pick up."

With numerous footnotes this book gives a fantastic overview of Greek mythology, and points out the numerous links to our current myths, and legends. In addition Mr. Fry's famous sense of humour comes shining through in his prose, and this makes this book a delight to read.

I sincerely hope that he will consider expanding this book into a second volume that includes some, if not all of the above mentioned tales that he purposely omitted. This is a book well worth reading, that would make a great addition to any collection that focuses on history, anthropology, and numerous other social sciences.