Product Description
What does the future hold in store? Is it ever a good idea even to ask? There was a time once when the Three Fates sat in the corner of the young world and knitted like grandmothers for each newborn infant. They wove and worked and patterned each day of a man's life, from the first stitch to the last casting off. And in those days, there were oracles, too, fortune-tellers so sharp-eyed that they could see into the future, so unkind that they were prepared to say what they saw there.

In this second of four books in Geraldine McCaughrean's Heroes series, following the acclaimed Odysseus, readers follow Perseus as he lives the fate the oracles have declared, an impossible quest to kill the hideous, snake-haired Medusa to save his mother from marriage to an evil king. A power struggle among the gods both hinders and helps him along the way, and Perseus manages to find true love when he rescues the breathtakingly beautiful Princess Andromeda from the horrors of a bloodthirsty sea monster in this entrancing retelling of the classic myth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"Someone has Cut the Threads of Fate..."
There are probably much shorter retellings of this hero-story, and there are probably quite a few longer ones - but if you wish to avoid the simplicity of a picture book and the long-windedness of an epic, then I don't think you'd find any reason to complain about Geraldine McCaughrean's version of the Perseus myth. In fact, I would go so far as to say that its fidelity to the well-known myth and the lyrical prose in which it is told make it the quintessential retelling of the ancient story (perhaps a premature claim considering I'm far from having read them all, but this would surely be up there in the top five!)

King Acrisius foolishly asks the Epidauran Oracle how he will die, and gets a devastating answer: that it will be at the hands of his own grandson. Inevitably, he takes pains to insure that his daughter Danae will never beget a child, by locking her up in a specially-designed tower. Just as inevitably, this attracts the attention of Zeus, the king of the gods...and a few months later Danae gives birth to a son: Perseus.

Horrified, Acrisius sets mother and son adrift on the sea in a wooden chest, only for them to be rescued by a fisherman and introduced to the King Polydectes. Coveting the hand of beautiful Danae, Polydectes sets her son an impossible task in order to pursue his reluctant bride without inference. Perseus is tricked into bringing back the head of the Gorgon Medusa - but you don't need me to tell you how this particular quest will pan out.

In fact, (though no fault of McCaughrean herself) this is one of the inevitable weaknesses of the book: that you already know what's going to happen! When Perseus discovers exactly who and what the Medusa is, I thought to myself: "wait - how can he not know that already?" The myth of Medusa is so well-known, it seems strange that anyone (even the characters in her story) wouldn't know about her! But of course, I was reading from the point of view of a person who has known these stories for years - for a young reader just discovering the world of Greek myth, this is the perfect way in which to introduce them.

McCaughrean takes us through all of Perseus's adventures: his encounters with the hideous Graeae and the beautiful nymphs, the accumulation of his god-given weaponry, his confrontation with Medusa and her sisters, his meeting with the Titan Atlas, the rescue of the beautiful Princess Andromeda from the sea-serpent, and the conclusion of his grandfather's long-awaited fate. Speaking of fate, McCaughrean weaves in an underlying theme of the immutability of fate and the despair that this can cause - yet manages to add in a glimmer of the hope that comes with free choice by the story's end.

McCaughrean retains the sensuality that is so prevalent in Greek myths, without making it all too obvious (such as Danae's union with Zeus as he appears as falling gold through her window: "Coins and ingots and gold dust pelted her like hail so that she reeled and fell on her back and drew up her knees and cried out in fright. But it was not unpleasant - just a little startling). Likewise, the author's prose throughout the story is wonderfully poetic and descriptive, from the beauties of Mount Olympus to the horror of the gorgons. It's quite reminiscent of Rosemary Sutcliffe actually.

The tone shifts mid-way through the story, from grim seriousness of Perseus's youth and the fight with the gorgons to a lighter and more comic confrontation with Andromeda's people (the poor girl is tied up naked to a rock on the shore, having to listen to Perseus muse about whether she'd like to marry him: "Sir! I would marry your horse if it would save me from being eaten!") but it was probably wise to write "love at first sight" with a touch of tongue-in-cheek.

Basically, I read "Perseus" in one sitting, and felt that although it was a story well-known to me, I had experienced it in a new, refreshing light. For any young person just beginning to get interested in the world of myth, this would be the book to get them (this and McCaughrean's other retellings of Greek heroes: Heroes: Hercules (Heroes) and Theseus (Heroes).

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Beautiful Archetypical Imagery
Although more famous because of her extensive travels in Arabia, the British writer Freya Stark must not be overlooked for this wonderfully exquisite collection of essays.

"Perseus in the Wind" is organized by devoting an essay to a single Platonic Form such as Love, Beauty, Death, Sorrow, and Memory: those primary ideas which serve as a backdrop to modern-day Jungian archetypical motivations.Do not be intimidated by the subject matter breaching on philosophical technicalities, hoever.Stark's prose is fluid, rich, and emotional and she is comparable to the great American novelist Edith Wharton in her skills with diction.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good writing and finds themselves contemplating the more sublime aspects of human consciousness. ... Read more

Product Description
Perseus is the dashing hero who saved the princess Andromeda from the sea serpent and slew Medusa, the snake-haired monster who could turn men to stone with a single glance. But few know the real story. In this contemporary take on the ancient myth, Perseus is an awkward youth who stumbles his way into a heroic adventure he never wanted. His mother Danae is a sexy, earthy single mom with a salty vocabulary and not very much patience with her exasperating son. Andromeda is an opinionated, modern young woman as unimpressed with Perseus as she is with his exploits. And the god Hermes, sent by Zeus to explain the finer points of being an epic hero, is a sardonic, wise-cracking smart-ass who loves poetry and delights in quoting Shakespeare. Comic, spirited, and unexpectedly tender, Perseus is at heart the mythic quest tale in which the hero, striving with monsters divine and human, ultimately discovers himself. The god Hermes tells Perseus, They re going to compose an epic poem about you. . . . Unfortunately, it ll be lost in the great fire of Alexandria. As we hear later in the novel, Hermes is a notorious liar, but it is true that no primary source has come down to us for the marvelous legend of Perseus. What better invitation can there be to retell the story now, but with a modern slant? The myth has everything. First, the rash promise to the king that must then be fulfilled. Then the divine gifts: winged sandals so the hero can fly, a cap to make him invisible. For monsters, there is not only the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa, but also the Sea Serpent, and the Gray Women, two old hags who share one eyeball between them. Finally there is the daring rescue of Princess Andromeda, daughter of the darkly beautiful and evil Cassiopeia. Into this realm of fairy tale, however, steps a very ordinary and rather inept young man, a self-proclaimed agnostic who doesn t believe in Zeus or any of the whole criminal pantheon as he calls the Olympian gods, and yet he is the one chosen by them to be an epic hero. Sparks fly as myth crashes into reality, nowhere more evident than when Perseus in one of his early experiments with flight nearly crashes into the nude Andromeda, chained to the rocky cliff. Rocky also is the relationship formed by this unlikely pair as they are thrown together for the remainder of his journey. Yet, out of their improbable romance an offbeat love develops. And Perseus, reluctant hero though he may be, is ultimately transformed, having ventured into the landscape of myth. ... Read more

Product Description
Abandoned at birth, but miraculously rescued, Perseus must protect his mother from the wicked King Polydectes. On his journey he will face toothless witches, an angry giant, a terrible sea monster and the terrifying Gorgon Medusa. This book features humorous cartoon-style illustrations and the narrative approach, which encourage readers to get emotionally involved with the characters. It includes 'Ask the storyteller' boxes, which give peripheral details about the narrative and the characters involved. The book also features an introduction to Greek storytelling, a glossary and index, as well as a 'Who's who' section with a pronunciation guide. It supports Key Stage 2 History and English and helps achieve the Scottish Standard Curriculum 5-14. ... Read more

Product Description
With the aid of his father Zeus, young Perseus vanquishes his enemies and rescues the Princess Andromeda and Danae, his mother. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

it's wonderful
WUZ UP I LOVE THE BOOK. IT GIVES ME ALOT OF INFO.PEACE OUT ... Read more

Product Description

From Julian May, the acclaimed author who created the incredible worlds of The Many-Colored Land and The Golden Torc, comes a bold new science fiction adventure!

When rebellious Asahel Frost was expelled from the Interstellar Commerce Secretariat on trumped-up charges, he lost it all: wife, citizenship, fortune, self-respect. Exiled to a beautiful but remote planet in the Perseus Spur, Frost became Helmut Icicle, a man without a past or a future. But someone remembered Asahel Frost--remembered him enough to send an assassin to kill him. And in so doing, brought him back to life.

Now, determined to track down the would-be assassin, Helmut finds himself caught in a conspiracy as convoluted as it is deadly. His sister, Eve, has mysteriously vanished. His estranged father wants him to find her with the assistance of the lovely Matilde Gregoire, who happens to hate his guts. As Helmut follows the tangled strands of deceit, greed, and violence back to their common source, he begins to wonder if he is the hunter or the hunted . . .
Amazon.com Review
Julian May is noted for her two long, complex, and interlinkedscience-fantasy sagas, the Pliocene Exile and the Galactic Milieuseries. Perseus Spur opens the more light-hearted Rampart Worldssequence, which is full of colorful planetary descriptions andslam-bang action. This future galaxy is dominated by Earth'smegacorporations, which have carved up space between them. The hero,who was fighting corporate corruption, has been framed and discreditedbut not forgotten, as shown by bizarre murder attempts: a giant aliensea-toad gobbles up his house, and soon he's staked out to die on alonely comet. With help from his eccentric friends and estrangedfamily of entrepreneurs, he sets off James Bond-style to smash an uglygalactic conspiracy among companies that are treacherously sellinghuman secrets--including our DNA--to hostile aliens. Like Bond, he'srepeatedly captured by the same bad guy and barely survives awfulfates. Negotiating exotic, deadly jungles, he must penetrate afortified enemy cave complex and then escape before the inevitabletime bomb blows everything to hell. Will he defeat the villain and getthe girl? Need you ask? Fast-moving, tongue-in-cheek adventure, withsequels to come. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

pleasantly surprised
Perseus Spur (Rampart Worlds)
I've set this book off to the side many times and finally sat down with it.I found I liked the Character "Asa Frost" and his cohorts.It was entertaining, action packed and a mystery.A really fun read.I now have to get the other two in this series since I tend to become addicted to the characters.

This book was not written by Julian May
This book was not written by Julian May. It can only have been produced by a Haluk replacement with no writing talent whatsoever. The author of the 'the Saga of Exiles' must currently be floating in an a tank of gloop somewhere.

Perseus Spur actually isn't that bad except that if you do read it, you might be tempted to read the other 2 books. The last one is particularly dire, if you can just imagine the most predictable and uninteresting outcome for the trilogy, you will not need to bother reading it.

Finally, the trilogy Hero character. What a completely irritating [bad]. I really did want the 'baddies' to put him out of our misery, preferably in the first 3 pages of book 2.

Huluks, please release the real Julian May.

Goofy, entertaining space opera/detective story
Julian May is one of my favorite authors.Her books are always imaginative, detailed, witty, and colorful.May is unmatched in her ability to string together sentences with multiple adjectives used in novel ways to create a world with sight, sound, texture, and soul.Reading May is like reading good poetry-- effortless, provoking, flowing.

That being said, Perseus Spur, the first of the Rampart Worlds Trilogy is a different kind of book for her.A new universe, 200 years in the future, dominated by megacorporations plotting and scheming to make a profit by exploiting the resources of our arm of the galaxy.There are no world-smashing psychic powers or Pliocene-era ramapthicines here.The protagonist is a former police officer, framed by the megacorps, and exiled to a tropical paradise where he has nearly drunk himself to death.He is a quasi-cynical, what-the-heck rough-around-the-edges sort with lofty, wounded ideals set against the galactic might of big business.

This book has a sort of sardonic, tongue-in-cheek feel to it.May's imagination and visioncan leave you breathless with the images she provokes, but the overall plot is pretty basic.This is no Ludlum thriller or groundbreaking sci-fi epic a la Asimov's Foundation.What it is is a good fun, smile at Ms. May's sense of humor and imagery, and cheer on the good guy type of book.She also has a number of pretty interesting sci-fi ideas for the concepts-- with a strong genetic component as did her Galactic Milieu/Pliocene Exile series-- that I can appreciate.

The Pliocene Exile series is still my favorite from Ms. May.This one fails to deliver the depth of character for some of the supporting players in the story that her other series did.I feel like I understand the protagonist well, but not a lot of the others.Still, I had a great time reading it.Thanks, Ms. May.How about a sequel to the Pliocene Series?Hagen, Diane, Cloud, and Kuhal?

Science Fiction Epic with Cyber Punk Sensibilities
May did a great job of mixing the feel of a Science Fiction Epic (ie. Star Wars) with the corporate/political feel of a CyberPunk book. While her main character is like something out of a gumshoe detective novel. To me, a great mix.

I hope the sequel is better...
Julian May is a talented writer whose books I will buy notwithstanding reviews, because her best work (e.g., Jack the Bodiless, Diamond Mask, Magnificat) is so strong.Well, I'm sorry to say, Perseus Spur isn't up to her standard.The characters are shallow, the tension artificial, and the premise underdeveloped.I have seen reviews that praise the sequel, Orion Arm, and am willing to try that book as well, but I hope it has more of what Ms. May does well (thorough exploration of the characters and their society) and less of what she doesn't need to do at all - deus ex machina rescues, inexplicable blind spots and plot holes.(Such as, if the interrogation techniques and veracity-detecting machines of his era are essentially infallible, how could Frost/Icicle have been framed? Did he forget to volunteer to be questioned by those infallible techniques?) (Or, how severe is the penalty of Throwaway status if any interstellar CEO could restore his citizenship by hiring him?)

On the other hand, there is a certain energy to the headlong pace, and there are some similarities to Jack Vance's terrific Demon Princes novels.Plus, an author who predicts the survival of Jimmy Buffett's musical legacy in the Margaritaville of the Perseus Spur deserves some slack.I'll try the sequel ... ... Read more

Product Description
Could a monster whose very look turns men to stone be a challenge too perilous even for the son of Zeus? King Polydectes has designs on Perseus' mother, Danaë. But first the king must get rid of young Perseus once and for all. So Polydectes hatches a plan to trick the young hero into performing an impossible task--slay the snake-haired Gorgon monster Medusa, whose very look turns men to stone. Yet, as the son of Zeus, king of the gods, Perseus has many powerful allies. Will Perseus' strength and courage--and the favor of the gods--allow him to do the impossible? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

GREAT intro to comics; a little pricey
This is a well drawn, well written version of the Perseus myth. I esp. like that there's a glossary and a related-reading page at the end of the book. My kid is all into myths, and he's going into 3rd grade, so he's just reading for pleasure now. this is a great way to get him to read for pleasure.

[...]

Another great story
I enjoyed this one along with Beowulf, Odysseus, and Atalanta. This one is action-packed, so it is a great enticement for young readers. It includes the killing of the Medusa, the killing of a sea monster, a romance with a beautiful Ethiopean queen, a fight with an Ethiopean army, and a final encounter with a lustful king who wants his mother. Each event is narrated in details, no survey quality to it. This is a 5 plus. ... Read more

Product Description

The son of Zeus, Perseus belongs in the first rank of Greek heroes. Indeed to some he was a greater hero even than Heracles. With the help of Hermes and Athena he slew the Gorgon Medusa, conquered a mighty sea monster and won the hand of the beautiful princess Andromeda. This volume tells of his enduring myth, it's rendering in art and literature, and its reception through the Roman period and up to the modern day.

This is the first scholarly book in English devoted to Perseus' myth in its entirety for over a century. With information drawn from a diverse range of sources as well as varied illustrations, the volume illuminates the importance of the Perseus myth throughout the ages.

Product Description

Perseus and Medusa is a Capstone Press publication.

... Read more

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FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Can't wait till he sees this
I love the comic strip format of this book. My 7 year old son will love it! I can't wait to give it to him. ... Read more

Product Description
A soup-to-nuts guide for entrepreneurs, covering all areas of business creation, development, and management.

In the United States, over 1.7 million startups were registered in 2001. The dream of owning, launching, and managing your own business is alive and well. With so many details to address and challenges and obstacles to overcome, where can entrepreneurs turn to find solid, authoritative, and up-to-date information? The Entrepreneur's Bible is one-stop shopping for anyone thinking of taking the entrepreneurial plunge or looking to grow an already established business. Expanding upon the dynamic database developed for Business: The Ultimate Resource, The Entrepreneur's Bible includes a wealth of insightful tools and information, and success stories and interviews from entrepreneurs who have experienced the joys and frustrations of business ownership firsthand. Covering all aspects of business creation and growth-from planning to launching to managing to growing-The Entrepreneur's Bible will be an essential resource for business owners, whether you're a company of 1 or 1000. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

perfect for startups
if you ever want to know everything about business planning (beeing a first time entrepreneur), you need this book.

The most basic of business information
If you are a complete business novice, this may be useful.I was hoping to have a reference guide for my bookshelf so I can look up issues that I may face as a small-business owner.But I felt the topics covered were shallow and uninformative.I returned the book. ... Read more

Product Description
Perseus is determined to save his mother from their tyrant king, but to do so he must face the monstrous Medusa, even though one look upon her face can turn a man to stone!Join a cast of larger-than-life characters in a series of extraordinary adventures. ... Read more

Product Description
Young Perseus, the half-human son of Zeus, dreams of becoming a hero and embarks on a series of quests that test his powers, including the slaying of Medusa, a creature so hideous that one look at her can turn a person into stone. ... Read more

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This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1894 edition by David Nutt, London. ... Read more

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The ancient Greeks worshiped a complex group of deities, weaving their characters into timeless tales of love, heroism, and intrigue. Plays, poems, paintings, and sculptures commemorating these tales have survived for centuries. Even as world religions and scientific knowledge have evolved, bringing with them new beliefs and understanding of the world, the ancient Greek tales continue to provide a basic foundation for Western thought and sharp insight to the human psyche. In the story of Perseus, the hero, rejected and feared by his grandfather, is cast into the sea with his mother to die. Fortunately for Perseus, fate has other plans for them. Perseus kills a gorgon, a giant, and an angry sea monster; marries a beautiful princess; turns a crowd to stone; and saves his mother from a vengeful king. His destiny takes him back to his birthplace in search of his grandfather. Only then does he finally fulfill his fate and live happily ever after. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1895 edition by David Nutt, London. ... Read more

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In a time when going alone was rare, especially for a woman, Freya Stark traveled solo through unfamiliar and often unexplored lands. THE MINARET OF DJAM is the story of her journey through Afghanistan, from Kabul in the north to Herat in the west and on to Kandahar in the south.

PERSEUS IN THE WIND is a different type of travel book. It is the story of the author's journey through Persia, but in a reflective mood. It is an inspiring and stimulating sojourn in a land that is no more.

"Freya Stark remains unexcelled as an interpreter of brief encounters in wild regions against the backdrop of history." (The Observer) ... Read more