Lucian flees corrupt palace officials in pre-classical Greece, his flight becoming a quest to discover his role in life. Soon, he's trying to help a second-rate poet turned donkey regain human form. Roaming the land, he also gets caught up in the great conflict between followers of the mother goddess and believers in the Olympian pantheon. Fortunately, he has the help of Joy-in-the-Dance, a young prophetess, in a relationship strikingly similar to that of Taran and Eilonwy in Alexander's five-volume Prydain Chronicles. And like the Prydain novels, this adventure draws heavily on a great body of myths and legends. Perhaps to accommodate the constraints of a single volume, Alexander relays many myths in comic, de-bunked forms-he shows poets transforming a clan of horse-riders into centaurs, a skilled mariner separated from his barmaid love into the epic hero Odysseus. Even with much of the raw material developed only minimally, the result is a good, involving story. Readers already acquainted with Greek literature and legend will enjoy picking out familiar threads. Ages 10-up. (June)
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Gr 5-8-An expertly developed cast of characters rounds out this witty epic that's filled with romance and adventure. Lucian, the archetypal hero, knows more than he should about the king's nefarious soothsayers and must escape the palace or be killed. He takes with him Fronto, a poet whose folly has turned him into a donkey. Guided by Joy-in-the-Dance, a pythoness oracle who serves the Lady of Wild Things, they seek the Lady on an Oz-like journey for answers to their problems, joined on the way by Ops, a chief who was cast out of his village. The travelers do not get what they had hoped for from the Lady, but Lucian does learn why her followers and his Bear Clan are enemies. The seekers are then sent on another journey that completes the heroic cycle. On one level, this is a rousing adventure complete with cliffhangers and do-or-die stituations. On another, readers familiar with Greek mythology will find clever hints at the myths' purpose and genesis. The Arkadians have experiences and listen to tales that resemble the stories of Narcissus, the Wooden Horse of Troy, Odysseus, and Theseus and the Minotaur, among others. The women are the wise ones in this novel and play their own heroic roles. On a deeper level, this tale is about love and peace, symbolized by the marriage of Lucian and Joy-in-the-Dance and the subsequent uniting of the Bear Clan and the Followers of the Lady. Thus, Arkadia becomes the mythical Arcadia, which poets lauded as a utopia. The plot has many twists and turns, but is not hard to follow, and Alexander's style is eminently readable.-Cheri Estes, Dorchester Road Regional Library, Charleston, SC
Part Greek myth, part "Canterbury Tales", part "Wizard of Oz", Alexander's latest is also a story with a feminist sheen. Lucian, the castle bean counter who uncovers a scandal, is forced to flee when he mistakenly confides in the wrong people. So begins an extraordinary journey through Arkadia for Lucian and Fronto (once a poet, now a talking jackass) as they try to find the goddess figure who can help them out of their predicament. Along the way, they are joined by a remarkable band of characters, including a village chief turned village scapegoat, a goat boy, a disguised king, and Joy-in-the-Dance, a spirited young wise woman who takes more than a passing interest in Lucian. Done in epic style, the book almost brims over with tales, twists, and trouble. Occasionally, a character gets lost, and readers might wish that more attention be paid to the burgeoning romance between Lucian and Joy-in-the-Dance. But Alexander is as good as anyone when it comes to creating strong women characters, and one of the most interesting things about this book is his focus on the goddess culture and its role in both history and myth. A rousing tale that begins with Trina Schart Hyman's inviting jacket art.
"A good, involving story. Readers already acquainted with Greek literature and legend will enjoy picking out familiar threads."—Publishers Weekly School Library Journal Canterbury Tales , part Wizard of Oz , Alexander's latest is also a story with a feminist sheen. Done in epic style, the book almost brims over with tales, twists, and trouble. . . . Alexander is as good as anyone when it comes to creating strong women characters, and one of the most interesting things about this book is his focus on the goddess culture and its role in both history and myth. A rousing tale ."—Kirkus Reviews Midwest Book Review
