Reviews

REVIEW RATING SYSTEM - [ 1 = FELT DECEIVED, 2 = NOT WHAT I EXPECTED IN A BAD WAY BUT WASN'T A WASTE OF TIME, 3 = WHAT I EXPECTED FELT LIKE MY TIME WAS USED AS EXPECTED, 4 = PLEASANTLY SURPRISED, 5 = THINKING ABOUT IT MONTHS LATER ]

RULES : (1) can not give anything a 5 outright, must either be a re-read or a update to score, (2) can not give incremental ratings, except for 4.75 which is functionally a "revisit in case it is actually a 5", (3) I should always end with a "this leads me to think" of 2-3 ideas this book roused in me.

Maybe because I have not read many Greek epics, but this feels like the Avengers. Just a whole lot of dudes being bros. And you know what? For 150 pages, I think that's fine.

First off, I whole heartedly agree with the major points of other reviews. (1) not very interesting characters, except Medea. (2) The first two books are mostly a snooze fest.

God, Greek poetry loves it's lists and itineraries. I understand why they exist, but I would love a midpoint between a retelling, and something that is stripped of the less interesting parts of the book for the casual reader - something like a "readers digest of Jason and the Golden Fleece"

What do I mean by dudes being bros? It's just a bunch of heros, buff dudes (either literally or metaphorically, I guess) that go on an adventure because their dude friend Jason needs their help. Many of the scenes/inner-texts can be read from this vantage point, and I think can be greatly enjoyed in this way. Arriving at Lemnos, where a bunch of previously murderous women offed their male counterparts, asking the Argonauts to stay rule the island with them, where they chill at for a while before Herakles is finally like "alright, you all had your fun, lets get on with it". Total dude being bro action. Similar things can be said for Polydeukes duking it out with Amycus. I think this is a perfectly acceptable way to enjoy most of this book.

This falls a part a bit (luckily, IMO) when Medea comes on to the scene. Of course, because she doesn't REALLY have any personal agency ( i mean, loves arrow is driving her actions, right?) it can be read in the same way. I think it's more interesting, though, not to read it that way at that point, and to interpret the character motivations more realistically. At what point can it be said that her agency truly returned to her? What are the parallels between her degree of agency and the argonauts? It often seems like the men, for instance, are mostly at the mercy of the whims of female goddesses, leading the inveitable comparison of Goddesses to Argonauts as Argonauts are to Medea.

I think, most of the time, though, this is a story, at least in my translation by Richard Hunter, that REQUIRES you to extrapolate a bit beyond the pure words of the story. At the Crashing Rocks scene, while its written with some tension, adding your own music, visuals, sounds, etc. makes it much more enjoyable IMO.

I would be very interested in reading a good verse translation. Richard Hunter's was.... well. It felt plodding.

lillanaa's review against another edition

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5.0

A faithful translation, with a lot of really good extras! The map in the front is awesome, and the notes through the back of the book definitely help with key understanding points. This is one I would recommend if you're looking for a good translation that's easy to pick up.

cazxxx's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

3.0

marandi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative medium-paced

4.0

ameserole's review against another edition

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3.0

Jason and the Golden Fleece was somewhat interesting and entertaining. In it, you will meet Jason and his crew. Without know much about Jason to begin with, and my brain slowly melting away from my crazy work day, I found the story just okay.

The beginning started off pretty great but with all the extra side notes I got easily confused and lost. Maybe it's just because today was not the day to dive into this book and I still somehow made it through.. or maybe I just wasn't invested into Jason to begin with. He kind of reminded me of the cartoon version of Hercules. Like just a little bit.

I feel like things started to pick up for me once we met Medea. There was just something about her and their love in a way that woke me up. Even for a little bit. I mean don't get me wrong - I love most of the Greek Gods/Heroes mentioned in this book but for some reason it didn't work for me today. Maybe I will re-read this later in life and my opinion might change.

mads5289's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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