VOYAGE WITH JASON

Kiwi author Catran offers a melodramatic retelling of Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece, seen through the eyes of a cabin boy. Picked up by genial, if poorly socialized, Hercules, young Pylos is awed to be among the renowned heroes crewing the great ship Argos. Though squabbles, rivalries and arrogance cause much of that luster to fade in the course of the voyage, Pylos, the rough-humored crew and its clever, smiling captain Jason in general acquit themselves well in the crunch. They survive (with some casualties) the man-murdering women of Lemnos, Trojan ambush, huge Clashing Rocks, troops of Amazons, a writhing nest of deadly snakes guarding the glittering prize and finally the bloody downfall of the kingdom of Colchis. Though he replaces divine intervention with natural explanations, Catran otherwise sticks fairly closely to the standard version of the legend, adding a coda covering Jason’s ill-starred history with Medea and his ironic death. This first U.S. edition of an award-winner will please fans of tales featuring manly men and courageous deeds. (Fiction. 11-13)