Reviews and Comments

On paper, I shouldn't have liked this book. I've tried reading a number of modern retellings of ancient stories/myths, and they fell flat. Odysseus carrying a "tote bag" is just silly (https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/02/woman-scholars-take-on-the-odyssey/). But Dolan's retelling works. Yes, it uses modern language. Yes, it skips over the boring bits--really, over two hundred verses of listing boats and tribes can wear down even the most determined of Homer readers. But it works. God knows it's no Lattimore or Fagles. And here's the things: it doesn't try to be. It's its own things. And it succeeds. It's an exceedingly accessible, and ridiculously readable introduction to the world of Homer. Better to read Dolan than never read Lattimore or Fagles. Throw in Nicolson's "Mighty Dead," and you're well on your way.

This book is a fun romp through number theory. Don't be fooled by the short chapters, the book packs a few punches. But it's still an accessible intro to number theory. While the data related to finding primes by computer is hopelessly out of date, the rest of the material is still very relevant. It was a lucky find in a second hand book store, and together with Lara Alcock's book, it rekindled my interest in maths.

I didn't have great expectations from this book, but it's now one of my favourites in the Discworld series.

2023 re-read: still one of my favourite books in the Discworld universe.