Reviews tagging 'Death'

Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures by Stephen Fry

18 reviews

adastrame's review against another edition

funny informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I enjoyed this sequel to Mythos much more than its predecessor, probably because it tells a much more coherent narrative (or tries to, at least). Mythos was sometimes random and allover the place and hard to follow. This book, however, focuses on a number of Greek heroes and tells their stories in a more or less coherent manner (but still, these myths are very convoluted and intertwined). 

I learned A LOT from reading this book. Most of my knowledge of Greek mythology was superficial, and this really helped me to get a deeper picture of these myths, and especially of how they still shape our society, and very much also our language. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Incest, and Animal death

Moderate: Sexual content

majestictrilobite's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Excrement, Trafficking, Alcohol, Violence, Pregnancy, Suicide, Abandonment, Death of parent, Infidelity, Rape, Gore, and Incest

hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Grief, Suicide, Torture, Abandonment, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Animal death, Genocide, Violence, Death, and Rape

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

4.0

“You see?' said Prometheus. 'It is your fate to be Heracles the hero, burdened with labours, yet it is also your choice. You choose to submit to it. Such is the paradox of living. We willingly accept that we have no will.” 

➽ Stephen Fry is taking a deeper look at the Greek Heroes in this book! I liked that there are different sections dedicated to some of the popular heroes we know of but also others that might not be as well known. There is also a heroine included and it was nice to see a woman's story, as most heroes are usually men. The author always manages to make their stories sound so interesting and I liked learning something new about them. The discussion of what makes a hero and how almost all of their lives end in tragedy was so interesting to me! The question of fate, agency and free will also frequently comes up, as there is often a prophecy invoking a new hero! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Incest, Suicide, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Kidnapping, Slavery, Grief, Infidelity, Rape, Gore, and Violence

laurataylor's review against another edition

adventurous informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Suicide, Body horror, Child death, Sexual assault, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse

redheadorganist's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Incest, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Infidelity, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Rape, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence

Minor: War

lucyatoz's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I listened to Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures read by the author, which I borrowed as a audiobook from my local library. I love Stephen Fry's distinctive voice and his genuine insight and passion for the subject matter really brought Heroes to life for me.

Heroes is the 2nd book in the Mythology genre that I have read written by Stephen. I still adored and appreciated the way that the stories and myths were told, very much tongue in cheek! However, I found this one to be a denser read than Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold, with longer chapters and more mortals and gods names to learn.

I give this a 4 star review. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, War, Death, Murder, and Suicide attempt

slofie's review against another edition

adventurous funny slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Pregnancy, Cursing, Suicide, Incest, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Animal death, and Death

javafenn's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative lighthearted sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Stephan Fry is a phenomenal story teller! His retellings of the Greek myths and how they influenced (or were just straight up taken and had names changed) other religions, primarily Christianity is truly fascinating. I enjoy his dramatizations of how conversations between heroes and gods occurred and I really loved how he expressed the absolute lack of logic his subject(s) had. This book expands on the first of the trilogy, Mythos. Heracles, Jason, Oedipus and more take center stage with Stephan Fry narrating his own book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Alcoholism, Death, Suicide, Alcohol, Murder, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Misogyny, Rape, Classism, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gaslighting, and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Excrement

tuesdaye's review

funny informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence, Incest, Death, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Rape, and War