The Luck of Troy

This book offers a nice look in the story of Troy, from the perspective of Helen's son. He is actually the son of Menelaus, not Paris, but he was very young when Helen took him away, so he is basically raised in Troy and Paris is his stepfather.

This offers a refreshing view into the whole story of the Trojan War, from the view of a boy who does not quite feel like he belongs. 'The Luck of Troy' refers to a statuette that is said to keep Troy safe so long as it is in its proper location. This statuette figures hugely in the story, but some characters also carry the story nicely. It has a more personal (and less bloody) feel than the Illiad.

This is a slight departure for Roger Lancelyn Green's retellings of ancient myths. In this story he follows the Trojan War from the perspective of Nicostratus, the son of Menelaus and Helen of Troy, who is taken with his mother to Troy when she is kidnapped by Paris. It's told in much more of a "children's adventure" style of an older period, complete with occasionally cringeworthy dialect, such as the elderly maid talking like a stereotypical Irish woman, and Palamades talking like the pwiest in the Pwincess Bwide who pwesides over the wedding of Buttercup and Pwince Humperdink. The story itself is well told and hits all of the important bits. Well, except for the part where Iphigeneia is sacrificed… considering she is shown as a show more friend to Hermione, Helen's daughter, at the beginning of the story, it might have been a bit much to show that part on screen. The intended audience is from about ages 8 to 10; the book itself says 10 to 12, but I'd maybe pitch it a bit younger these days, since there is so much more young adult and teenage fiction to choose from now. show less

This was a favourite book of my childhood, and 20 years on still makes a good read. Green is an admirable expert in his field and brings all of his knowledge to the fore in this story. But what makes this story amazing is that it is not only accessible to the layman, but also to children and young adults. Green makes a convincing narrative from a young boy's point of view, charting his childhood and his journey being thrust unwillingly into adulthood. The politics of war, however far away they may be from a child's mind, were clear even to my own 10 year old mind when I first read this. The characterisations are fantastic and true to their mythological counterparts. Green's style is simple yet elegant.

I highly recommend this book to show more children and young adults interested in general in reading good fiction, and more specifically in Greek mythology. It is an old book now, but due to its subject matter is not outdated. It brings a whole new, intimate level to the legends of the past. I would even recommend it to adults as a good example of a quick, light, undemanding - yet rewarding - read. show less

I loved this story when I was a child and I am fairly certain that it was this book that set me off on my ongoing love affair with Homer and all things Greek. Sadly this book is out of print and it shouldn't be as it is a classic.

Roger Lancelyn Green draws on both familiar and obscure sources to describe the last year of the Trojan War from the viewpoint of 12-year-old Nicostratus, son of Helen and Menelaus, living as a captive in Troy.