Odysseus

The legendary voyage of Odysseus will electrify listeners--even if this production isn't perfect. Listeners will cringe at Odysseus's encounter with one-eyed Polyphemus, whose voice growls thrillingly, and wince as Odysseus's men are eaten or drowned in vivid detail. The story's poetic repetition emphasizes Odysseus's strength and cunning against the inexorable will of the gods. While the performances are sometimes stiff and the vocal levels not always even, these weaknesses don't overwhelm a story worth hearing. The full cast ensures that each person, god, and specter is distinct. Indeed, with 20 years of adventure to narrate, the cast creates admirable order in the "world-encircled sea." Together McCaughrean and Full Cast Audio evoke the allure of Greek mythology. C.A. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

December 13, 2004
In this first in a planned four-volume Heroes series, McCaughrean (Stop the Train!
) offers a vivid and accessible retelling of the Ithacan king's long, strange trip home after his victory at Troy. Readers unfamiliar with Homer's The Odyssey
will likely feel comfortable with this prose version, a straightforward account that hits the legendary highlights. The author does not shy away from a fair number of appropriately gory scenes, as when Cyclops "nibbled men like skewered lamb," or when Odysseus, rather than eat the Sun God's cattle, roasts his pet bird to feed his crew. The hero's succumbing to other urges occurs off-stage, as when the goddess Circe leads him to her "white and silver bed." Readers will get a good sense of the peril involved in offending Poseidon and learn the importance of stopping to ask for directions (Odysseus detours to Hades for his). The narrative's rhythm evokes not only the original epic but the ceaseless movement of the "world-encircled sea," as when Queen Penelope looks out the window toward the water and sees only "the waves, arriving, always arriving, always beaching on the shores of Ithaca." Readers will eagerly anticipate Perseus
, scheduled to arrive in spring 2005. Ages 9-14.