Mythical Story Has Plenty Of Fun Twists

“The Arkadians,” by Lloyd Alexander, is a unique book, and not only because of the great writing or the well-portrayed characters. The best aspect is the way Alexander has used the Greek myths to tell his tale. He has inserted his own characters into them and arranged the myths into this fascinating story.

Lucian, the hero, is just a young accountant for the royal counting house. He works hard, is honest and loves listening to stories. When he stumbles upon the fact that the soothsayers of King Bromios have been stealing from the store houses, he’s told by the soothsayers he is going to be the next person on their sacrificial altar.

His escape path collides with Fronto, a poet turned donkey, and the trio is made complete by Joy-in-the-Dance, a spirited girl full of wonders. Many more fantastic characters weave their way into this unique tale of adventure, romance and bravery.

I really enjoyed reading the book because at times I thought I knew which myth Alexander was using and what would happen next, but suddenly the story would take off on an unexpected turn. This really made the story interesting. I found the story resembled Homer’s “Odyssey.”

Another thing that Alexander did with the myths was to make the women of the ancient tales more heroic than the men. He turned the myths around and made it seem like the real story was never told and, in the turning, the women became the true champions.

The end is somewhat predictable, but how the ending comes about is not predictable at all.

The many characters and sudden turns makes you read each detailed page carefully. The way Alexander weaves more and more characters and myths into the story makes the book engaging. Lucian’s and his companions’ adventures provide a treat for any reader!

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Sudha Nandagopal Northwood Jr. High