Books Based on Mythology...

As some of you may know I started a course on the Ancient Greeks this week and it's really great so far. I'm the eternal geek and I really love having structure and assigned reading and having to think about things. Also I love that it's finally given me the kick I needed to start reading The Odyssey again.  I started it a few years ago but got sidetracked, as so often happens, and never got past the first few pages. Now I'm reading it again and really enjoying it, and what's better is that through this and the excerpts of The Iliad I've been reading I'm reminded of so many great books based on the Trojan war, or on Greek mythology in general. I wanted to keep a record of them here so that when I finish the course and am at a dead end, I can come back and do some rediscovering. :-) I'm also hoping that you guys will have some favourites, new or old, to add to my list!

Troy by Adele Geras was the first Trojan war book I really loved, so much that it's survived every purge I've had over the last ten years and my original copy still sits on the shelf today, complete with my name and a holographic butterfly sticker, which is how I differentiated my books from those of my siblings in my early adolescence. Because I'm cool, obviously. 

The Troy Series (Lord of the Silver Bow, Shield of Thunder & Fall of Kings) by David Gemmell. I have an all enduring love for David Gemmell which I have very rarely blogged about, partly because I read all of his books before I started blogging, and partly because he's kind of my irrational author. You might have noticed that fantasy isn't massively my thing, but as a teenager I fell in love with Gemmell's books. They're epic fantasy and he writes character ridiculously well and basically I just love him and think he was pretty much the greatest and will punch people if they dare to argue. His take on Troy is awesome, and is made extra poignant by the fact that he died mid-way through the writing of Fall of Kings so it was completed by his wife (you can't tell at all). There's a bit at the end which has a lot of double meaning because of that and is super sweet and makes me cry every time. So. 

Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan - these book just kick ass. I am midway through the first book in the second series, The Lost Hero, and for some reason I've been distracted from it and it's still sitting in a corner at home. I will get back to it soon. They make very good in the bath/bedtime reading (don't have to focus too much, and they're really enjoyable). 

The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller is one I haven't actually read yet. I got it from the library a while back but had to return it before I got around to reading it because somebody else wanted it. Sigh. I will get to it one day though as it sounds great and I've heard really good things about it. 

Those are mine, what are yours? :-)