Perseus

The Heroes #2

by Geraldine McCaughrean

This adventurous, dramatic, and at times funny retelling of the Perseus myth retains the spirit and structure of the original while offering a coming-of-age story sure to appeal to modern readers.Readers will follow Perseus on his quest to kill the hideous, snake-haired Medusa in an effort to save his mother from marriage to a less than noble king. A power struggle among the gods both hinders and helps him along the way, and Perseus even manages to find true love when he rescues the breathtakingly beautiful Princess Andromeda from the horrors of a bloodthirsty sea monster.PERSEUS is the second of the four books in the HEROES series, which debuted in the Fall of 2004 with the release of ODYSSEUS.

Genres: Mythology, Fantasy, Audiobook, Greek Mythology, Childrens, Greece

160 pages, Hardcover

First published November 26, 1998

About the author

Geraldine McCaughrean is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide. She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.

Reviews

[Marthe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elsket historien men innleserne var utrolig plagsomme og irriterende å høre på. Ekstrem overdramatisering og roper så mye at jeg svetter. Men uansett veldig spennede med historien ettersom de følger stjernebildene. Skulle bare ønske det var bedre innlesere!

[RebL · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 8YO and I read this in chapters at bedtime. He liked Perseus WAY better than Theseus! Both as a book and as a person. At times the writing is a bit overwrought and hard for a young child to follow, but nothing a little editing on the fly while reading aloud can't fix, and to be fair the book is probably intended for a slightly older reader anyway.
Would recommend.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Giuliana: OK, so maybe I'm biased against Greek mythology 'cause it's like (high-pitched voice) "I'm not a hero it was just my fate, waah" or " The "gods" hate me" . I don't think I like Greek fiction written in this way. I do like informative, non-fiction books about Greek life, just this, blah. Oh, and besides, he acccidentally kills his grandfather. Yeah.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading of this familiar myth. Two of my children know this story well, but the were even mesmerized by this audiobook telling. And the author, Ms. McCaughrean, does a fantastic job sanitizing this book just enough to make it acceptable for younger readers but not so much as to rob it of its salient plot points. As far as age and interest level, Kindergarten to Adult. I enjoyed it as much as my 5, 8, and 10 year old children. Great listen!

[Mr. R · Rating 2 out of 5]

This skewed to a lower grade level than I had hoped (early middle school). While Perseus's myth has always been a bit problematic for me, I appreciated McCaughrean's language and attempt to add details to a pretty straightforward myth. However, some issues, like love at first sight, the heightened self, and the cruelty shown by a supposed "hero," tainted my reading of this.

Grade: D

[amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had forgotten (or not known) some of the details of the actual story (after watching Ray Harryhausen's version so many times). This was an engaging text for an adult, with positively challenging vocabulary for its intended young adult audience. A very enjoyable night's reading.

[Ms. P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Club book for the Heroes and Sheroes unit.

[Adin Milostnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldnt stop reading this when I was 14. I remember it being a great page turner.

[Carrie Marston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written for school aged readers

[Heather C · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I should point out that this is not a novelization of the classic myth of Perseus but rather a retelling. We do not really get into the thoughts of anyone but instead follow the story of Perseus as he slays Medusa, takes down Atlas, fights various kings, saves a princess, and kills a sea monster (not necessarily in that order). This book really helped to flesh out my knowledge of Perseus – all I knew came from a video game that I had played where he was one of the heroes you requested to slay Medusa. As this is a retelling of a myth, I’m not going to critique the character or plot development. At 160 pages (the paperback version) I think that this is a pretty sufficient retelling – you don’t feel like you are losing out on anything.

There is one thing that irritated me throughout the story – all of the pantheon of gods were referred to by their Greek names (like Zeus, Hera, and Artemis) with the exception of one – Hades was constantly referred to as Pluto, his Roman equivalent. This broke the continuity for me and was frustrating. I think to stick with the Greek names would have made the most sense as the story is taking place in Greece.

While McCaughrean’s books are intended for a YA audience, Amazon suggests 4th – 8th grade, this was still the enjoyable read for an adult. It didn’t feel like the story had been watered down for youths.

I certainly am interested in checking out the other Heroes that she has written about.

This was one of the best audiobook productions I have listened to in awhile. As the name of the publisher suggests, this is a full cast production. You have a different actor for each character – even the minor ones. This really helps to flesh out the characters even more and gives a good feel for their personalities – especially the gods. The storytelling was well paced and dramatic. There were tiny musical interludes between chapters – it reminded me of harp and drum music. This just helped to break up the chapters and didn’t take away from the story – they were approximately 5 – 10 second clips. I would certainly listen to one of their productions again.

This book was received for review from the publisher - I was not compensated for my opinions and the above is my honest review.

[Smilingplatypus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perseus has always been my favourite Greek hero. This is a fairly simple retelling of the Perseus myth, but it is well-told and has some very vivid descriptions.

I will admit, thought, that I was annoyed when Hades was consistently referred to as Pluto, despite the fact that everyone else was known by their Greek names (except Hercules/Heracles, in passing). But that's a quibble, and the book is still worth reading for kids or teens with an interest in mythology.

[C.S. Malerich · Rating 2 out of 5]

McCaughrean's prose is quite lovely, and the tone has a light, tongue-in-cheek sense that's appealing (never laugh-out-loud funny). In particular, this is the first time an author has gotten me to physically imagine what it would feel like to fly wearing Hermes' winged sandals. But all-in-all, this retelling of the myth is pretty straightforward and the coda, about smashing prophecy and allowing humans to make their own fate, was kind of too little too late to give it some gravitas.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because I was hoping that it would be appropriate for me to read to my students during our study of Ancient Greece. I found it interesting, so I started reading it aloud to my class and so far they are very engaged. Though I will have to skip over the rude (yet appropriate) name that Hera calls Perseus.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have never read mythological stories told in this way. At times I liked this retelling and other times not as much. Teachers will love the varied vocabulary uses that bumps this novel up a reading level or two above most other mythology reads.

[Julie Shick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great retelling of a classic story.