Elegy of the Minotaur

by Barak A. Bassman

The Minotaur is one of the most fearsome monsters in the ancient Greek the half human, half bull child of Queen Pasiphae of Crete, who is locked away in a mysterious and treacherous maze, beneath the royal palace of Crete, called the Labyrinth. There he feasts on the flesh of the youths and virgins of Athens who are sacrificed to him until the great Athenian hero Theseus slays him. In Elegy of the Minotaur, the fearsome monster is reimagined as a shy, bookish, vegetarian loner who longs for human love and companionship. He falls hopelessly in love with a cold, vain beauty in the royal court of ancient Crete, who cruelly spurns his declaration of love. In despair, the monster makes a desperate pilgrimage to visit a holy shrine to beg reprieve from the gods from his cursed fate to become a handsome youth who can win his beloved’s heart. The monster is forced to confront and accept his fate before being recaptured and imprisoned in the underground labyrinth, where he must face his final confrontation with the bloodthirsty and ruthless Theseus.

Genres: Fiction

166 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 30, 2015

Reviews

[Court · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun story that is much like a fairy tale. I really enjoyed the Minotaur's character. I always like when familiar myths are given a different twist, especially when we get to hear a "monster"'s side of the story. The setting and descriptions of events are very vivid. It is a fast read.

I don't understand it when authors don't use punctuation for dialog. I find it extremely hard to read books like this. In this book it does kind of give you the idea that someone is telling this story to another person, like the Greek myths were passed down in oral storytelling, but it's just so difficult to read that it did affect my enjoyment overall.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and GoodReads for an advanced e-book copy!

[Winter · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, Thank you, Goodreads, for this giveaway and Bassman.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me; I am pretty sure others will love it; it was just a little flat for my taste.
I will be willing to try authors' future books for sure.

[Daniella · Rating 3 out of 5]

#teamminotaur

[AL Kepple · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it about 25 percent into the book before I gave up. The entire story is told to you, there is no showing regarding what is happening to characters.

I'm also left confused about how I'm supposed to feel about the Minotaur, I think I'm supposed to sympathize with him, it's difficult to do that when he is refenced to as a "monster" by the story teller. The word "monster" has a specific effect and would be useful if used to show other people relating to the Minotaur; however, if the Minotaur is the character the reader is supposed to identify with or sympathize with the use of "monster" to casually refer to the Minotaur puts distance between the reader and the Minotaur.

This myth has material that can be used to tell a compelling story, this just isn't that story.

[Robert Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting take on the Greek myth, told from the viewpoint of the Minotaur. He emerges as a sort of regular guy, trapped in his fantasies and dreams, unable to take real action and become the hero he wants to be. Like most of us.

I suppose there are parallels to the Beauty and the Beast, but he badly fails the major test of his soul that might have saved him and ends up doomed to meet his fate.

The writing is a little flat and opaque - perhaps the author was going for a sort of mythological tone. His takes on the rest of the cast - Ariadne, Theseus, Daedalus, Minos - are humorous and decidedly non-heroic.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the author/publisher for the goodreads giveaway!

This was a fun twist on the story of the Minotaur. It reminds me a lot of the way Wicked makes you rethink the Wizard of Oz. The story really takes a monster and turns it into a kid that had a crappy life and an even worse death. My biggest complaint with this one is that I knew how it would end and didn’t want it to happen since I felt so differently about the Minotaur than you do reading the mythological version.

[Geraldine Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sympathetic view of the story of the Minotaur. I felt bad for the poor fellow.

I won this as a Goodreads giveaway.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting perspective of a tragic character

Good character building, but I felt that the ending was a bit rushed. I really enjoyed the story up until the last 10%.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Held my interest from the first page to the last

[Ann Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. It was an interesting take on this Greek subject.

[Laura Schlosberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy from a Goodreads giveaway. An imaginative retelling of the Minotaur’s childhood and adolescence.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.