Call it a Spaghetti Epic: Manfredi’s narration of ancient Greek history owes as much to John Ford and George Lucas as it...
Two brothers in ancient Greece, separated at birth, come together to rescue their nation in the Persian Wars.
Italian architect Manfredi (Alexander, not reviewed, etc.) starts with twin brothers in Sparta. One of them, born with a crippled leg, will never be able to fight and so (in accordance with Spartan custom) is left in the woods to die. But he is found by the kindly Helot shepherd Kritolaos, who takes pity on the baby and brings him home to be raised as his own. Talos (as he is named) grows up among the Helots (who were enslaved by the Spartans) ignorant of his true ancestry. Brithos, the other twin, is raised to follow in the warrior traditions of his people. On his deathbed, Kritolaos entrusts Talos with his greatest possession: the armor and sword of Aristodemus, the defeated king of the Helots, which Kritolaos had secretly kept hidden away these many years. But Talos has no ambitions to glory. He tends to his flocks and falls in love with Antinea, the daughter of a local Helot tenant farmer. When Brithos, traveling through the region with some Spartan friends, comes upon Antinea and tries to rape her, however, Talos springs to her defense and discovers within himself a taste for battle he had never known before. Conscripted as an orderly to Brithos, he has his true identity revealed to him by an oracle. Meanwhile, Xerxes the Persian has raised the greatest army ever known and is on the verge of overrunning Greece. Brithos falls in battle, as does his father. Can Talos (now known as Kleidemos) save the day? He can certainly play his part.
Call it a Spaghetti Epic: Manfredi’s narration of ancient Greek history owes as much to John Ford and George Lucas as it does to Herodotus. But while this is a fairly accurate narration of ancient history, the private dramas involved are too outlandish and overdrawn to be read with a straight face.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2003
ISBN: 0-7434-7542-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
In his quest for easy moolah, Owen learns that the road to financial solvency can be rocky and fraught with work. Greene (Owen Foote, Soccer Star, 1998, etc.) touches upon the often-thorny issue of chores and allowances: Owen’s mom wants him to help out because he’s part of the family and not just for the money—while Owen wants the money without having to do tedious household chores. This universal dilemma leaves Owen without funds and eagerly searching for ways to make a quick buck. His madcap schemes range from original—a “free” toilet demonstration that costs 50 cents—to disastrous, as during the trial run of his children’s fishing video, Owen ends up hooking his ear instead of a trout. Enlisting the aid of his stalwart, if long-suffering, friend Joseph, the two form a dog-walking club that becomes vastly restricted in clientele after Owen has a close encounter with an incontinent, octogenarian canine. Ultimately, Owen learns a valuable lesson about work and money when an unselfish action is generously rewarded. These sudden riches motivate Owen to consider wiser investments for his money than plastic vomit. Greene’s crisp writing style and wry humor is on-target for young readers. Brief chapters revolving around a significant event or action and fast pacing are an effective draw for tentative readers. Weston’s (Space Guys!, p. 392, etc.) black-and-white illustrations, ranging in size from quarter- to full-page, deftly portray Owen’s humorous escapades. A wise, witty addition to Greene’s successful series. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2000
ISBN: 0-618-02369-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
This novel began as a reworking of W.W. Jacobs' horror classic "The Monkey's Paw"—a short story about the dreadful outcome when a father wishes for his dead son's resurrection. And King's 400-page version reads, in fact, like a monstrously padded short story, moving so slowly that every plot-turn becomes lumberingly predictable. Still, readers with a taste for the morbid and ghoulish will find unlimited dark, mortality-obsessed atmosphere here—as Dr. Louis Creed arrives in Maine with wife Rachel and their two little kids Ellie and Gage, moving into a semi-rural house not far from the "Pet Sematary": a spot in the woods where local kids have been burying their pets for decades. Louis, 35, finds a great new friend/father-figure in elderly neighbor Jud Crandall; he begins work as director of the local university health-services. But Louis is oppressed by thoughts of death—especially after a dying student whispers something about the pet cemetery, then reappears in a dream (but is it a dream) to lead Louis into those woods during the middle of the night. What is the secret of the Pet Sematary? Well, eventually old Jud gives Louis a lecture/tour of the Pet Sematary's "annex"—an old Micmac burying ground where pets have been buried. . .and then reappeared alive! So, when little Ellie's beloved cat Church is run over (while Ellie's visiting grandfolks), Louis and Jud bury it in the annex—resulting in a faintly nasty resurrection: Church reappears, now with a foul smell and a creepy demeanor. But: what would happen if a human corpse were buried there? That's the question when Louis' little son Gage is promptly killed in an accident. Will grieving father Louis dig up his son's body from the normal graveyard and replant it in the Pet Sematary? What about the stories of a previous similar attempt—when dead Timmy Baterman was "transformed into some sort of all-knowing daemon?" Will Gage return to the living—but as "a thing of evil?" He will indeed, spouting obscenities and committing murder. . .before Louis must eliminate this child-demon he has unleashed. Filled out with overdone family melodrama (the feud between Louis and his father-in-law) and repetitious inner monologues: a broody horror tale that's strong on dark, depressing chills, weak on suspense or surprise—and not likely to please the fans of King's zestier, livelier terror-thons.
Pub Date: Nov. 4, 1983
ISBN: 0743412281
Page Count: 420
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1983
BOOK TO SCREEN
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