The only detail which rescues this from a total loss is that the author has included the part of the Iliou Persis where the murderous Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, murders Priam even though Priam has sought refuge at the altar of Zeus. The role of the gods is almost completely omitted. Instead, the muleteer and the mules, who drive the cart carrying the treasure Priam brings to ransom his son and to carry his body back to the citadel of Troy, are elevated to a place of importance. Briseis, who plays a part in these scenes in the Iliad, and who serves as a reminder for the sequence of actions which brings these two men together in the camp of Achilles, makes no appearance here. However, many details of the story told so beautifully and movingly in the Iliad are omitted in this retelling while others are invented. While Simon Vance has a great deal of talent as a narrator, this was a poor choice for this novel where a more sympathetic, kindly voice would have been a better fit. The narration is ponderous, heavy and clunky. This novel fails at every level to capture the drama of Priam's ransom of the body of his son, Hector, from Achilles as told in Homer's Iliad.
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