Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Audio Book Review: Torn from Troy: Odyssey of a Slave, by Patrick Bowman

Torn from Troy by Patrick Bowman book cover and review
Torn from Troy is a retelling of The Odyssey from the point-of-view of a 15-year-old Trojan slave. For a book that I didn't have much hope for, I was really entertained.

Alexi is "Torn from Troy" when they are invaded by the Greeks.  He is enslaved by none other than Odysseus himself.  Alexi despises the Greeks, and has difficulty holding his tongue, which gets him into trouble over and over.  The only thing that saves him is his knowledge of Trojan healing methods, which are more advanced than the Greeks'.

They face a harrowing, storm-ridden sea journey and have to fight off an advancing army. They are almost taken under the spell of the Lotus-eaters and almost eaten by a Cyclops. Alexi learns some secrets and is also keeping some of his own. He earns some respect from Odysseus.  And in the end, we are left hanging as to what will be Alexi's fate.

I must admit that I know only the basic facts about The Odyssey, so I'm not sure how exactly this portrays that story. But Torn from Troy was exciting and fast-paced.  Both Odysseus and Alexi are clever and get themselves (and all the Greeks) out of several life-threatening situations. Yes, some of it is a bit over the top and there is a lot of luck, but it's all great entertainment.

The audiobook, narrated by Gerard Doyle, is very good.  The voices were helpful and not over the top.  Very easy to listen to and understand.

There are two more books in the series, Cursed by the Sea God and Arrow through the Axes, and I'm looking forward to continuing. Recommend this to younger readers who enjoy mythical adventures.

Published by Ronsdale Press, 2011, audio by Post Hypnotic Press
Audiobook obtained from Sync YA Literature
200 pages

Rating: 4/5





Back to Annette's Book Spot Homepage Copyright © 2016 Annette's Book Spot. All Rights Reserved

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for visiting! I LOVE comments!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...