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The Othernauts: A laugh-out-loud ancient Greek adventure for kids!
AN ORIGINAL RETELLING OF THE CLASSIC GREEK MYTH OF JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS FOR YOUNG READERS WITH A FRESH AND FUNNY TWIST, PERFECT FOR FANS OF LOKI AND DAVID SOLOMONS.
Meet Phoebe. She's eleven years old and desperate to escape the boring island where she lives.
Enter the Argonauts - a crew of so-called heroes on a quest to grab the golden fleece.
Before Phoebe can think better of it, she boards the ship and stows away on the Argo. But the Argonauts have their work cut out. From attacking harpies to deadly whirlpools, giant sea monsters to skeleton armies, there is peril at every turn. Fortunately the Othernauts are on hand - though with Phoebe's unhelpful prophecies, Perry's unreliable shape-shifting skills and Cora the siren's headache-inducing singing, it's not quite clear exactly how much help these kids will be . . .
Do the Othernauts have what it takes to get the Argo and its motley crew back to safety in one piece?
AN ANCIENT GREEK ADVENTURE TO CAPTURE THE LEGENDARY GOLDEN RUG, I MEAN, FLEECE - BUT NOT LIKE YOU'VE EVER HEARD IT BEFORE . . .
Meet Phoebe. She's eleven years old and desperate to escape the boring island where she lives.
Enter the Argonauts - a crew of so-called heroes on a quest to grab the golden fleece.
Before Phoebe can think better of it, she boards the ship and stows away on the Argo. But the Argonauts have their work cut out. From attacking harpies to deadly whirlpools, giant sea monsters to skeleton armies, there is peril at every turn. Fortunately the Othernauts are on hand - though with Phoebe's unhelpful prophecies, Perry's unreliable shape-shifting skills and Cora the siren's headache-inducing singing, it's not quite clear exactly how much help these kids will be . . .
Do the Othernauts have what it takes to get the Argo and its motley crew back to safety in one piece?
AN ANCIENT GREEK ADVENTURE TO CAPTURE THE LEGENDARY GOLDEN RUG, I MEAN, FLEECE - BUT NOT LIKE YOU'VE EVER HEARD IT BEFORE . . .
- GenresMiddle Grade
169 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 4, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 6, 2026
By Clare Pollard. Cover: Macha Yao.
I reckon I watched Jason and the Argonauts every Easter as a kid and yet, I’ve never kept the full narrative in my head, more a series of terrifying vignettes. A response to being exposed to Harryhausen’s animation from an early age?
When I saw a new, fun retelling was coming, I preordered it tout de suite. I loved the premise: add a shadow crew of ‘Othernauts’ to the original crew of the Argo, making the story immediately more relevant to a young readership, and bringing a lot of fun as the Argo’s heroes and their antics are viewed through a child’s eye.
The story is told by oracle-in-training, Phoebe, who is desperate to escape her dull life on the island of Lemnos. Phoebe’s island home was where the women killed off all the male population after a bit of divine intervention gone wrong. So, not as boring as some places I have holidayed, but I’m not an 11 year old.
Phoebe seizes her opportunity when the Argo rocks up during a storm, showing bravery and quick-thinking. (Two characteristics she will show a lot throughout the book).
Will an adventure on the Argo give Phoebe’s life the direction it needs?
I loved the Argo herself, and how her personality was brought to life, right down to the rolling ophthalmoi (that’s ship’s eyes to you and me).
That the Argo and Phoebe are oracles means prophecies. These can foretell doom, or other random scenarios, and brilliantly, the Argo can see right up to the current day- making room for some funny anachronisms.
It’s jam-packed with sophisticated vocabulary (eg rain-pocked; becalmed; fetid; footholds; tentatively; indignantly; drudgery) but without any halting of the flow because of the context clues, free-flowing laughs and contemporary slang. As I was reading, I had the thought that it’s kind of the literary equivalent of hiding veg in your kid’s dinner. They still get all that nutritious goodness; they just don’t have to dwell on it that much!
The story was easy to follow, which is helpful when there’s a fairly large cast, and the amount of detail brought across from the original myth was enough to clearly retell the story without sinking the ship.
I was pleased to read there’s more coming. Next book featuring the Gorgons no less!
I reckon I watched Jason and the Argonauts every Easter as a kid and yet, I’ve never kept the full narrative in my head, more a series of terrifying vignettes. A response to being exposed to Harryhausen’s animation from an early age?
When I saw a new, fun retelling was coming, I preordered it tout de suite. I loved the premise: add a shadow crew of ‘Othernauts’ to the original crew of the Argo, making the story immediately more relevant to a young readership, and bringing a lot of fun as the Argo’s heroes and their antics are viewed through a child’s eye.
The story is told by oracle-in-training, Phoebe, who is desperate to escape her dull life on the island of Lemnos. Phoebe’s island home was where the women killed off all the male population after a bit of divine intervention gone wrong. So, not as boring as some places I have holidayed, but I’m not an 11 year old.
Phoebe seizes her opportunity when the Argo rocks up during a storm, showing bravery and quick-thinking. (Two characteristics she will show a lot throughout the book).
Will an adventure on the Argo give Phoebe’s life the direction it needs?
I loved the Argo herself, and how her personality was brought to life, right down to the rolling ophthalmoi (that’s ship’s eyes to you and me).
That the Argo and Phoebe are oracles means prophecies. These can foretell doom, or other random scenarios, and brilliantly, the Argo can see right up to the current day- making room for some funny anachronisms.
It’s jam-packed with sophisticated vocabulary (eg rain-pocked; becalmed; fetid; footholds; tentatively; indignantly; drudgery) but without any halting of the flow because of the context clues, free-flowing laughs and contemporary slang. As I was reading, I had the thought that it’s kind of the literary equivalent of hiding veg in your kid’s dinner. They still get all that nutritious goodness; they just don’t have to dwell on it that much!
The story was easy to follow, which is helpful when there’s a fairly large cast, and the amount of detail brought across from the original myth was enough to clearly retell the story without sinking the ship.
I was pleased to read there’s more coming. Next book featuring the Gorgons no less!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The Othernauts is a fun, amusing, entertaining retelling of Jason and the Argonauts for younger readers.
We follow Phoebe, who's 11 and completely bored of her island home. So when the opportunity to stow away on the ship Argo presents itself, she jumps at the chance. But life on the high seas isn't all it's cracked up to be, and Phoebe and the Argonauts soon find themselves in the midst of dangerous whirlpools, onslaught from harpies, immense sea monsters and even a terrifying skeleton army. Enter the magnificent Othernauts who come to the rescue. But can they get Phoebe and the crew to safety? Be sure to pick your copy up to find out.
So all in all, this was a brilliant read for our 10 year old Daughter and I. We read it over about a week of bedtime stories and we both really enjoyed it. It's packed to the brim with action and adventure on the high seas, and lots of humour and laughs to boot.
A big 5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from us.
We follow Phoebe, who's 11 and completely bored of her island home. So when the opportunity to stow away on the ship Argo presents itself, she jumps at the chance. But life on the high seas isn't all it's cracked up to be, and Phoebe and the Argonauts soon find themselves in the midst of dangerous whirlpools, onslaught from harpies, immense sea monsters and even a terrifying skeleton army. Enter the magnificent Othernauts who come to the rescue. But can they get Phoebe and the crew to safety? Be sure to pick your copy up to find out.
So all in all, this was a brilliant read for our 10 year old Daughter and I. We read it over about a week of bedtime stories and we both really enjoyed it. It's packed to the brim with action and adventure on the high seas, and lots of humour and laughs to boot.
A big 5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from us.
July 30, 2026
When a young girl finds the Argonauts sheltering from a storm courtesy of the little island she grew up on, she decides to stow away and get a lift to Colchis, to meet Medea and be a witch or something. She'll have much more of a story than that, however, in this heavily-adapted Greek myth. I think this might land with the target audience given some of its drama, for I'm guessing the comedy would be a hit with the intended reader – a polite way of saying it wasn't with me. A heck of a lot of the "humour" is related to yack and yack about sexism, though, and how women being sexist is so much better than men being sexist – which really drags things down. Add that to a style that never felt settled or common-sense to me (a reference to nectar tasting like boba tea is not the most universal of similes, for one) and I found it clear, bay leaf joke aside, that there are better options elsewhere. Two and a bit (fixed) stars.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is the story of Jason, the Argonauts, and the search for the golden fleece as you have never come across it before, packed not only with action and adventure, but also humour that will appeal to readers in the target age group.
Because no one ever said that being a hero was easy...!
Highly enjoyable and perfectly illustrated, it will be a hit with the target group readers.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Because no one ever said that being a hero was easy...!
Highly enjoyable and perfectly illustrated, it will be a hit with the target group readers.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
August 9, 2026
This was so much fun! I love a good Greek myth as much as anyone, and this made me smile a lot! Trying to escape a miserable life and going on a voyage on the Argo sounds like fun, but when you’re surrounded by Hercules and Jason, surely you’re surplus to requirements? I loved all the different nods to other Greek myths in this and the idea of Zeus and Hera playing a massive game of destiny chess makes me chuckle! Loved the illustrations too!
June 22, 2026
The Othernauts is a clever, funny, and action-packed adventure that breathes new life into one of the most famous stories in Greek mythology.
Clare Pollard combines mythological excitement with humor, memorable characters, and fast-paced storytelling to create a highly entertaining journey. Through Phoebe and her unlikely companions, readers experience dangerous quests, mythical creatures, unexpected challenges, and plenty of comedic mishaps along the way. The story successfully balances adventure and laughter while introducing younger audiences to legendary tales in an accessible and engaging manner.
Overall, it’s a valuable read for fans of children's fantasy, Greek mythology, mythology retellings, humorous middle grade fiction, adventure stories, friendship-centered narratives, school and library readers, and anyone who enjoys imaginative, fast-paced stories filled with humor, heart, and heroic misadventures.
Clare Pollard combines mythological excitement with humor, memorable characters, and fast-paced storytelling to create a highly entertaining journey. Through Phoebe and her unlikely companions, readers experience dangerous quests, mythical creatures, unexpected challenges, and plenty of comedic mishaps along the way. The story successfully balances adventure and laughter while introducing younger audiences to legendary tales in an accessible and engaging manner.
Overall, it’s a valuable read for fans of children's fantasy, Greek mythology, mythology retellings, humorous middle grade fiction, adventure stories, friendship-centered narratives, school and library readers, and anyone who enjoys imaginative, fast-paced stories filled with humor, heart, and heroic misadventures.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews