The Talisman of Troy Hardcover – Import, 6 February 2004

Not as good as his other books that are really good reads. Boring narrative for the Talisman of Troy. Told in the style of the Homeric Heroes. Just goes on and on and on. No substance to the characters.

i personally can not comment on this as i purchased it for someone else, they have said that its a good book and recommend it if this is the type of reading you like.

Although writing this review's title (add hackneyed writing/translation), I should admit that I'm into the last chapter or two. Somehow I've managed to get this far before tossing it. That's probably because my curiosity has struggled past mind-numbing boredom to read Manfredi's explanations for some historical mysteries/rumors e.g. the Two Helens. He haphazardly and awkwardly drops them in here or there in his narrative. Kind of a historical "Say...whatever happened to....". It's rather disjointed, like much of the plot. Generally, the writing is pedestrian, uninspiring, unimaginative and amateurish. Character development is shallow and uninteresting. While his knowledge and research seem excellent, it doesn't seem enough to sprinkle these obscure titillations into what seems to be a computer-driven narrative. I'll try to finish this book, but I swear I'll toss it into the waste basket, unfinished, if I once more hear Diomedes cry "ARGOS!" as he pillages another quasi-historical tribe in pre-Roman Italy.

I've found the author's other books quite entertaining, but this one is truly excellent. It reads almost like another "Odyssey" set in the real world, a tale of the last of the heroes from the age of myth on a dark, epic voyage. Manfredi uses easily accessible prose to express a timelessly classic storytelling style that perfectly fits the subject matter and imbues it with a sense of tragedy. There is an all-pervading sense of pathos as the protagonists travel across the landscape of a dying once-wonderous age. A familiarity with the the greek myths would help to appreciate the story, but isn't required. If you love reading about the Odyssey and the Argonautika, you'll enjoy this one. To date, it is my favorite of Manfredi's novels.

loved this one it is about the victors of the Trojan war and their fates