The Iliad by P. V. Jones, Peter Jones and Homer (2003, Paperback)

And I don't mean because it's violent and bloody. This is a long read, folks, much longer than it's 400 pages would lead you to believe. But one of the things that makes it worth reading is how it's written. Not too many stories are still being read 2,800(ish) years after they were written, but this one still is.

That said, if you are a fan of high fantasy (or even just so-so fantasy), historical fiction or military fiction, you might want to be aware of some things before you take a stab at this one. There is more talking here than fighting, and more background for even minor characters than any modern fiction has. Character development is visible on both sides, and so is descriptive scenery and the development of issues at hand. The Gods are freely acknowledged and take part in even small events. There is fighting to be sure, in spades, but the part that drags the story down, really, is telling all who died at such-and-such's hand, or at the end of someone's spear, or with an arrow in their neck, etc.

Some of the description is very repetitive, and I understand that is a requirement for a spoken-story perspective. But once it was written down, and to read it over and over again...it gets to be a bit much. Naming each person that one particular hero or another kills, and where that victim came from, and who their father was, and what brought them to the battle, and how their armor clattered to the ground...yikes. By the middle of the book it gets to be one big blur.

But there is a point to it all, and a flow, and an ending that though you know about it at the beginning, is still worth turning page after page to get to. And once you finish, give a sigh, stretch, and reach for something decidedly lighter or at least more fun to read. Greek tragedy at it's finest, it's a classic for a reason.