Good fiction set in mythic Greece?

Dumarest · September 16, 2017, 11:19:06 PM

Do any of you bibliophiles know of any good fiction set in mythic Greece? I don't mean The Odyssey or The Iliad or Jason by Apollonius of Rhodes or Greek mythology, as I've already taken all that stuff in; what I mean is fun adventure novels set in mythic/legendary Greek times! Aside from the paperback version of Clash of thr Titans (1981), I'm coming up empty. Surely there must be some and I just don't know about it?

Dr. Ink'n'stain · September 17, 2017, 04:47:55 PM

Not so much legendary but a historical novel, Tamburas might fit the bill. Although it has been ages since I read it, at my 'golden age of sci-fi'.

Voros · September 17, 2017, 06:52:44 PM

Although set in an imaginary Atlantis-like kingdom De Camp's The Tritonian Ring draws heavily on bronze-era Greece for its flavour. Moorcock recommended this as the best De Camp solo fantasy novel and I enjoyed it tremendously, it is a real gem.

Headless · September 18, 2017, 02:01:37 PM

Illium and Olympus. Dan Simmons.

Unfortunately they are set in the far future. Post human type far future. If thatvisn't a deal breaker for you they are great books.

I was going to recomend Red rising. But it just uses greek myth as a skin or a lens. Still a great book. But the Dan Simmons books are mostly taking place in an Ancient Greece transported into the far futue surface of mars. Someone is refighting the Trogan war.

Dumarest · September 18, 2017, 02:40:30 PM

Quote from: Headless;993550Illium and Olympus. Dan Simmons.

Unfortunately they are set in the far future. Post human type far future. If thatvisn't a deal breaker for you they are great books.

I was going to recomend Red rising. But it just uses greek myth as a skin or a lens. Still a great book. But the Dan Simmons books are mostly taking place in an Ancient Greece transported into the far futue surface of mars. Someone is refighting the Trogan war.

Unfortunately I'm only looking for stuff set in the days of Perseus and guys like that, but thanks for the answer!

Headless · September 19, 2017, 12:33:35 AM

Well Achilles and Odysseus and Hector are there. So the days are "their days," but so are post human cyborgs living benigth the ice of Europa.

Dumarest · September 20, 2017, 02:57:41 PM

Quote from: Headless;993766Well Achilles and Odysseus and Hector are there. So the days are "their days," but so are post human cyborgs living benigth the ice of Europa.

Yeah, no.

Omega · September 28, 2017, 08:18:26 PM

The Minotaur trilogy by Thomas Burnett Swann. The last one and his last book being Cry Silver Bells.
An issue of Dragon statted her out even.

Dumarest · September 28, 2017, 10:15:48 PM

Quote from: Omega;996692The Minotaur trilogy by Thomas Burnett Swann. The last one and his last book being Cry Silver Bells.
An issue of Dragon statted her out even.

Cool. Never heard of that.

Statted who?

Tod13 · September 29, 2017, 08:23:15 AM

Not Greece, or mythical, but if you ever get interested in ancient Rome, Lindsey Davis' Marcus Didius Falco mysteries are really good and have a lot of historical facts/basis around them. Things like it being common for public housing to collapse during Rome's decline and my favorite, while shopping for a slave, one character makes the comment that he doesn't want to buy a Christian, because they're disgusting, since they drink the blood of their god.

Dumpire · October 04, 2017, 03:30:07 PM

Gene Wolfe's Soldier of the Mist is set in 479 BC Greece. Not mythic times, but it has some fantasy stuff going on.

Omega · October 04, 2017, 04:30:02 PM

Quote from: Dumarest;996718Cool. Never heard of that.

Statted who?

oops, he, not her. Silver Bells, the Minotaur. Issue 36 of Dragon. 15th level Ranger 13th level Paladin. Which seems a bit excessive.