Help Me Find a Book

[irishda]

I feel like I've gone mad. I'm looking for a book that I read years and years ago back in high school. Right around 2004/2005, I checked out a book from the local library about the Trojan War. It was a fiction that did an amazing job of compiling the different legends and plays to create a more complete picture. It also significantly cut down on the mythical aspect, focusing more on the human aspect (although it does cut Diomedes, which is kind of annoying).

I can no longer find this novel anywhere on the internet. I can't remember the author, but the novel was called "Troy", I believe. Now the only thing I can find on it is some tween romance novel about two teenagers. If anyone can help me find this novel, I would forever be indebted.

 

[irishda]

I should explain that the cover was white with blue/gold letters for the title with two men fighting in armor below it. Lots of negative space.

 

[twistedmic]

The closest thing I've found is this

It's not the exact title and the cover is not exactly the way you described but a search on wikipedia on 'The Trojan War in fiction' led me to this one, published in 2004.

 

[Catnip1024]

I think I know the one you mean. But I'm not sure what it was.

Possibly the David Gemmell one?
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
It is years since I read it, so I'm not sure.

EDIT - I think the cover has changed since the original. Possibly.

EDIT EDIT - Actually, I don't think that was it at all.

 

[irishda]

The closest thing I've found is this
It's not the exact title and the cover is not exactly the way you described but a search on wikipedia on 'The Trojan War in fiction' led me to this one, published in 2004.

No, he removed most of the mythical aspects, such as the judgment. Characters still have dreams of gods and there are still prophets, but their prophecies are met with skepticism from time to time. Odysseus doubts Calchas' prophecy on the conditions of Troy's fall, for instance.

I think I know the one you mean. But I'm not sure what it was.

Possibly the David Gemmell one?
It is years since I read it, so I'm not sure.

EDIT - I think the cover has changed since the original. Possibly.

EDIT EDIT - Actually, I don't think that was it at all.

No, because Gemmell's is a trilogy. This was a single book.

 

[Akytalusia]

going off the image description:

fits most criteria, but 2014.

fits most criteria, but white letters.

fits all criteria.

 

[Catnip1024]

No, because Gemmell's is a trilogy. This was a single book.

The irritating thing is, I wasn't thinking of Gemmells. Now I don't know whose book I was thinking off, and it's going to bug me.

 

[Palindromemordnilap_v1legacy]

If it wasn't one of Gemmell's then I'm out of ideas. Sure you can't remember any more specific information? Did it have a focus on certain parts of the Iliad? Would be easier to track down if there were specific sections of the myth it was retelling

 

[twistedmic]

No, he removed most of the mythical aspects, such as the judgment. Characters still have dreams of gods and there are still prophets, but their prophecies are met with skepticism from time to time. Odysseus doubts Calchas' prophecy on the conditions of Troy's fall, for instance.

Your best bet, then, is to just browse nearby books stores (New and used) to see if you can find it.
I once spent weeks searching fruitlessly online for a book I had read before with about as much info as you have only to stumble across it while taking my nieces to my local Barnes & Noble.

 

[irishda]

If it wasn't one of Gemmell's then I'm out of ideas. Sure you can't remember any more specific information? Did it have a focus on certain parts of the Iliad? Would be easier to track down if there were specific sections of the myth it was retelling

It started in media res after the burning of some of the ships and the Trojans are pushed back. It tells the beginning through flashbacks and pretty much lumps in a bunch of stuff from the Odyssey and the Aeneid and a bunch of the Epic Cycle poems and plays. Achilles is killed. Odysseus is sent to get Philoctetes' "bow" and Achilles' son. It includes the sack of Troy, ending with the departure of the Greeks and Odysseus throwing Astyanax from the walls

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Troy High, a re-telling of the Illiad in an American high-school setting?

I got that by searching 'troy' on Goodreads. Might as well give it a try.

https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=troy

 

[irishda]

FUGGIN FOUND!

I ran into some website called alibris that had a list of trojan war novels and found it on about page 6 or so. There's not even an image for it, but the author's name jumped out to me.

FYI, this is an amazing read for anyone interested. It really humanizes the mythic characters well.