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Choose Your Own Adventure #40
The Throne of Zeus
Your parents may have found evidence of the existence of Olympus, palace of the gods, but they'll lose their funding unless they can prove that their discovery is genuine. Your grandmother suggests that you ask Zeus for advice on getting proof, and you attempt to do just that....
118 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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126 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 6, 2025
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.........It was all I had to read okay?!
And I died because I thought it would be a good idea to fight Cerberus btw. lol
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.........It was all I had to read okay?!
And I died because I thought it would be a good idea to fight Cerberus btw. lol
July 11, 2024
What do we have here? The Choose Your Own Adventure debut of Deborah Lerme Goodman, who would publish all four of her contributions to the original series within the narrow window between books forty and sixty. Living in modern Athens, Greece as the child of two archaeologists, you are excited when they return from a dig with titanic news. They have discovered the first artifact of Olympus, headquarters to the gods of Ancient Greece. Your parents need objective proof that the throne they found was indeed crafted for Zeus, king of the gods. Your grandmother lightly suggests having a talk with Zeus, but you get the feeling what she says isn't merely a joke. The only place you can imagine seeing Zeus in person is the Acropolis, but when you linger there after closing and come face to face with the goddess Athena, you may have the chance to meet Zeus for real. Athena spirits you back to Ancient Greece to find him, but which mythological figure would you rather she place you in the company of, Icarus or Persephone?
Choosing Icarus steers you right into meeting the boy and his father Daedalus, lost together in the Labyrinth at King Minos's command. The beastly Minotaur lurks somewhere, and is capable of killing all three of you. You can part ways with Icarus and his father, and maybe run into the Minotaur on your own; the bull-man is enraged by years of people treating him like a monster. If you react to him thoughtfully, you might escape the Labyrinth with the Minotaur and have a chance to make it home, but will you meet Zeus first so he can provide proof of your parents' recent findings? Stay with Icarus and Daedalus, and the three of you figure a way out of the Labyrinth, but your tough choices don't end there. You could approach King Minos and ask for an introduction to Zeus, but get too comfortable with life in Ancient Greece and you'll lose your desire to go home. Adventuring with Icarus thrusts you into the tragic arc of his doomed flight, but you can branch off at any point if you'd rather not see Icarus die. You might meet Phaëton, son of the sea god Poseidon, whose fervent wish is to drive the chariot of dawn across the sky for a single morning. Will you participate in his wild escapade, or leverage meeting Poseidon into an introduction to Zeus? Remain with Icarus even this far, and you can try dissuading him from joining his father in flight, but fate's gravity is powerful. One ending allows you to save his life, but usually you end up traveling the country post-tragedy with grief-stricken Daedalus or on your own, and your options range from hijinx with disguised gods, to settling down in the Ancient world to a quiet life as a tradesman.
Perhaps you decided from the first to go see Persephone rather than Icarus. Judging by your clothing she immediately identifies you as a time-travel project of Athena's, but you have no opportunity to become friends with Persephone before an ebony chariot appears and drags you both into the underworld. Hades has taken Persephone captive to his kingdom of death, where the gigantic three-headed dog Cerberus prowls the entrance to the Land of the Living. Persephone seems resigned to eternity here, but you could attain clemency for yourself by exploring the caverns and happening upon the Furies, a trio of hideous hags who know your story and wish to help you back to the Land of the Living. You're as likely to tangle with Cerberus as meet the Furies, though, and then wind up at the boat of Charon, who transports dead souls across the toxic river Styx. You can accept a position as his apprentice, but will you ever gain enough trust to escape? If you do, is doubling back for Persephone worth the risk? How you comport yourself in the underworld is the difference between meeting Zeus and going home, or an eternity in hopeless darkness.
The Throne of Zeus gets caught in no-man's land between authentic archaeology and Greek mythology, and has the potential to confuse young readers. It presents the gods and demigods of Ancient Greece as historical individuals an archaeologist would find relics from. If you can get past this idiosyncrasy, the treatment of the myths is quite good. The sadness around Icarus's plunge into the sea carries real weight, so if you find the one way of preserving him against destiny, it feels good. I think I'll rate The Throne of Zeus two and a half stars; it's in the upper half of Choose Your Own Adventures, even if it doesn't overwhelm with innovation or narrative power.
Choosing Icarus steers you right into meeting the boy and his father Daedalus, lost together in the Labyrinth at King Minos's command. The beastly Minotaur lurks somewhere, and is capable of killing all three of you. You can part ways with Icarus and his father, and maybe run into the Minotaur on your own; the bull-man is enraged by years of people treating him like a monster. If you react to him thoughtfully, you might escape the Labyrinth with the Minotaur and have a chance to make it home, but will you meet Zeus first so he can provide proof of your parents' recent findings? Stay with Icarus and Daedalus, and the three of you figure a way out of the Labyrinth, but your tough choices don't end there. You could approach King Minos and ask for an introduction to Zeus, but get too comfortable with life in Ancient Greece and you'll lose your desire to go home. Adventuring with Icarus thrusts you into the tragic arc of his doomed flight, but you can branch off at any point if you'd rather not see Icarus die. You might meet Phaëton, son of the sea god Poseidon, whose fervent wish is to drive the chariot of dawn across the sky for a single morning. Will you participate in his wild escapade, or leverage meeting Poseidon into an introduction to Zeus? Remain with Icarus even this far, and you can try dissuading him from joining his father in flight, but fate's gravity is powerful. One ending allows you to save his life, but usually you end up traveling the country post-tragedy with grief-stricken Daedalus or on your own, and your options range from hijinx with disguised gods, to settling down in the Ancient world to a quiet life as a tradesman.
Perhaps you decided from the first to go see Persephone rather than Icarus. Judging by your clothing she immediately identifies you as a time-travel project of Athena's, but you have no opportunity to become friends with Persephone before an ebony chariot appears and drags you both into the underworld. Hades has taken Persephone captive to his kingdom of death, where the gigantic three-headed dog Cerberus prowls the entrance to the Land of the Living. Persephone seems resigned to eternity here, but you could attain clemency for yourself by exploring the caverns and happening upon the Furies, a trio of hideous hags who know your story and wish to help you back to the Land of the Living. You're as likely to tangle with Cerberus as meet the Furies, though, and then wind up at the boat of Charon, who transports dead souls across the toxic river Styx. You can accept a position as his apprentice, but will you ever gain enough trust to escape? If you do, is doubling back for Persephone worth the risk? How you comport yourself in the underworld is the difference between meeting Zeus and going home, or an eternity in hopeless darkness.
The Throne of Zeus gets caught in no-man's land between authentic archaeology and Greek mythology, and has the potential to confuse young readers. It presents the gods and demigods of Ancient Greece as historical individuals an archaeologist would find relics from. If you can get past this idiosyncrasy, the treatment of the myths is quite good. The sadness around Icarus's plunge into the sea carries real weight, so if you find the one way of preserving him against destiny, it feels good. I think I'll rate The Throne of Zeus two and a half stars; it's in the upper half of Choose Your Own Adventures, even if it doesn't overwhelm with innovation or narrative power.
July 5, 2020
La serie de Elige tu propia aventura es, literalmente, un clásico de nuestra infancia. He releído algunos, años después, y me parecen un poco cortos de miras, limitados en las posibilidades, pero cuando tenía 10 años cada uno de ellos era una maravilla lista para ser explorada hasta que hubiera dado todo lo que tenía dentro.
Al final siempre sabías que ibas a recorrer todos y cada uno de los caminos posibles. La emoción estaba, por tanto, en ganar y pasarte la historia al primer intento. Si no podías, pues nada, seguro que en el intento 18 acababas encontrando el camino. A veces los autores iban "a pillar", poniéndote los resultados buenos detrás de decisiones que eran claramente anómalas.
Recuerdo haber aprendido tanto palabras como hechos y datos en estos libros. No nadar contra la corriente cuando quieres llegar a tierra, dónde colocarse cuando un avión va a despegar, un montón de cosas interesantes y un montón de historias vividas, decenas por cada libro, que convirtieron a las serie en una colección fractal, donde cada vez podías elegir un libro nuevo entre los que ya tenías.
Llegué hasta el tomo 54 y dejé de tener interés por la serie, pero la serie siguió hasta superar los 180 títulos. Tal vez mis hijos quieran seguir el camino que yo empecé. Si quieres que lo sigan, pasa a la página 7.
Al final siempre sabías que ibas a recorrer todos y cada uno de los caminos posibles. La emoción estaba, por tanto, en ganar y pasarte la historia al primer intento. Si no podías, pues nada, seguro que en el intento 18 acababas encontrando el camino. A veces los autores iban "a pillar", poniéndote los resultados buenos detrás de decisiones que eran claramente anómalas.
Recuerdo haber aprendido tanto palabras como hechos y datos en estos libros. No nadar contra la corriente cuando quieres llegar a tierra, dónde colocarse cuando un avión va a despegar, un montón de cosas interesantes y un montón de historias vividas, decenas por cada libro, que convirtieron a las serie en una colección fractal, donde cada vez podías elegir un libro nuevo entre los que ya tenías.
Llegué hasta el tomo 54 y dejé de tener interés por la serie, pero la serie siguió hasta superar los 180 títulos. Tal vez mis hijos quieran seguir el camino que yo empecé. Si quieres que lo sigan, pasa a la página 7.
September 8, 2014
My first and favourite "Choose Your Own Adventure". Reading it 20+ years later, it seems awfully simple, but at least the choices are a lot more obvious now that I know more about Greek mythology so getting to a correct end (and staying away from certain death) was a lot easier than when I read it last ;)
August 29, 2022
Jeżeli myślicie, że łatwo jest znaleźć Zeusa w starożytnej Grecji, to grubo się mylicie!
Najpierw próbował Zib i nawet dobrze mu szło, ale niestety utknął na Krecie u króla Minosa. Tak czułam, żeby nie mówić za dużo o sobie, bo to może się źle skończyć, ale to był jego wybór... Potem spróbowałam ja i wcale lepiej mi nie poszło, ba, nawet gorzej, bo skończyłam w Styksie. Śmierdzi tu i przepływające martwe dusze dużo jęczą, nie polecam. Odkryliśmy tylko 2 możliwe zakończenia, a jest ich aż 30!
"Tron Zeusa" jak najbardziej polecam jako świetną zabawę dla odbiorców w każdym wieku. To wcale nie musi być samotna przygoda, wystarczy, że jedna osoba będzie czytać, a reszta zastanawiać się nad dalszymi poczynaniami. Książka dodatkowo odświeża popularne greckie mity, ma zabawne momenty, warto spędzić z nią czas.
Najpierw próbował Zib i nawet dobrze mu szło, ale niestety utknął na Krecie u króla Minosa. Tak czułam, żeby nie mówić za dużo o sobie, bo to może się źle skończyć, ale to był jego wybór... Potem spróbowałam ja i wcale lepiej mi nie poszło, ba, nawet gorzej, bo skończyłam w Styksie. Śmierdzi tu i przepływające martwe dusze dużo jęczą, nie polecam. Odkryliśmy tylko 2 możliwe zakończenia, a jest ich aż 30!
"Tron Zeusa" jak najbardziej polecam jako świetną zabawę dla odbiorców w każdym wieku. To wcale nie musi być samotna przygoda, wystarczy, że jedna osoba będzie czytać, a reszta zastanawiać się nad dalszymi poczynaniami. Książka dodatkowo odświeża popularne greckie mity, ma zabawne momenty, warto spędzić z nią czas.
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May 19, 2025Paragrafówka o podróży w czasie do starożytnej Grecji, żeby udowodnić, że tron znaleziony przez rodziców archeologów był Zeusa. W opcjach wiele opcji śmierci, uwięzienia, zamienienie w zwierzę albo zostanie półbogiem lub bogiem (różne opcje powodzenia misji też). Choć szczerze, jeśli paragrafówkom wystarcza czasem tak słabe pisanie, to brzmi trochę, jakbym ja też bym tak umiał. Najgorzej zrobić ciekawe drzewko decyzji i je ogarniać.
Jest to raczej dla dzieci lub czystej rozrywki. Brak tu pogłębionej wiedzy o mitologii, mimo retellingu, więc pozostaje wyłącznie opcja popularyzacyjna. Jednak ma to jeden duży plus — mamy podróż w czasie. Wątpię jednak, że sięgnę samemu dla siebie po więcej książek z tej serii.
Jest to raczej dla dzieci lub czystej rozrywki. Brak tu pogłębionej wiedzy o mitologii, mimo retellingu, więc pozostaje wyłącznie opcja popularyzacyjna. Jednak ma to jeden duży plus — mamy podróż w czasie. Wątpię jednak, że sięgnę samemu dla siebie po więcej książek z tej serii.
June 10, 2021
Supongo que este tipo de libros se quedan un poco simples cuando los lees de adulto, pero este me parece un buen primer acercamiento a los mitos griegos. Aporta nombres y pinceladas de sus historias y eso me gusta, aunque el hilo conductor es bastante simple. Lo más llamativo es que el objetivo del niño protagonista es encontrar a Zeus para ayudar a sus padres en una excavación arqueológica, pero en muchos de los finales no le importa lo más mínimo volver con ellos.
August 7, 2018
A fun Choose Your Own Adventure with the typical range of endings. This one has basis on many of the Greek Myths, and you make choices that allow you to adventure with characters in those myths. The artwork is good and fits the story.
November 13, 2018
I dug it but I don't think I took the time to find ever ending. This one felt a bit spread out with all the page turning. They're usually more structured. Still, Greek gods are fun.
September 18, 2020
Fun adventures with no really traumatic endings. Recommend for all ages. Lively writing, good research, worthwhile choices to be made.
December 12, 2020
This was cute, and I think I enjoyed it a lot more now as an adult, since I know all the Greek myths.
April 22, 2021
Entertening and really nice illustrations!
July 1, 2022
This one was good.
December 10, 2023
Fun and easy read. Doesn’t try to do anything crazy, cus it’s a kids book, but gave me some good afternoon entertainment!
April 29, 2024
Very interesting read. When I thought I was gonna die, I didn't. But I got to meet Zeus.
August 27, 2024
Nostalgia + Mitología griega ... puede que esté siendo imparcial.
March 23, 2025
Z całą moją miłością do mitologii, to było denne
December 29, 2025
Another fun one from this collection! I love a good Greek mythology theme and this one didn't disappoint!
April 14, 2015
Otro librojuego "Elige tu propia aventura" muy por encima de la media. La premisa (ir a la época de los dioses griegos para demostrar que un trono de piedra que han encontrado tus padres, pertenecía a Zeus) es un poco tonta, pero todo lo que sigue funciona muy bien.
Según las decisiones que tomemos, somos testigos de diferentes mitos griegos: El laberinto de Creta, ícaro, el cerbero, perseo, heracles... o llegamos a conocer a Zeus. La escritura es muy simple, pero las decisiones suelen ser coherentes con los mitos y el componente educativo funciona bien. Es bastante original dentro de lo habitual en esta serie de libros.
Según las decisiones que tomemos, somos testigos de diferentes mitos griegos: El laberinto de Creta, ícaro, el cerbero, perseo, heracles... o llegamos a conocer a Zeus. La escritura es muy simple, pero las decisiones suelen ser coherentes con los mitos y el componente educativo funciona bien. Es bastante original dentro de lo habitual en esta serie de libros.
May 28, 2015
I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure books - and read them non-stop when I was nine or ten. This was one of my favourites, and I owned it, so I re-read it over and over, trying to get to all the endings, and find "the best." These were always so much fun.
July 14, 2015
I love how different these books are from regular books. This one is even cooler now that I have learned about Greek and roman mythology
December 6, 2021
Finished it! #finishitpod
December 1, 2024
An enjoyable time travel Choose Your Own Adventure book wherein you travel back in time to ancient Greece and can encounter various figures from Greek mythology.
April 12, 2010
This book seem really interesting to me because..
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews