Battles and Quests

Legends #1

by Anthony Horowitz

Brother fighting brother. Man slaying beast. Tales of epic quests and furious battles have been told throughout time - Theseus and the Minotaur; King Arthur and the Black Knight; Romulus and Remus, and the screams of the Great Bell of Peking. But there are some evils that no sword can defeat...

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Childrens, Historical, Horror, Short Stories, Audiobook

134 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2010

About the author

Anthony Horowitz, OBE is ranked alongside Enid Blyton and Mark A. Cooper as "The most original and best spy-kids authors of the century." (New York Times). Anthony has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he is also the writer and creator of award winning detective series Foyle’s War, and more recently event drama Collision, among his other television works he has written episodes for Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. Anthony became patron to East Anglia Children’s Hospices in 2009.

On 19 January 2011, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle announced that Horowitz was to be the writer of a new Sherlock Holmes novel, the first such effort to receive an official endorsement from them and to be entitled the House of Silk.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/anthon...

Reviews

[Sara Livia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sjarmerende liten bok om ekte legender og myter rundt om i verden. En kort bok som fungerer godt som en "pause" eller "imellom" bok

[Rogerio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short and basic.

[Chiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of nice myths about different religions and cultures. Very funny way they are told. Book is short and easy to read.

[Michael Boult · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book by Anthony Horowitz. This is a new topic of reading for me and it is really good but some of the stories are extremely silly and don't have any common sense which some people like but I think it is terrible. Still prefer action book (eg. Stormbreaker, Ranger's Apprentice) but it is nice to read someting a little different.

Love it how it is in short stories and there are some really good pictures in there as well to give you an impression of the scene.

[Shonel Teke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read the original Kingfisher book "Myths and Legends from Around the World" when I was just a pre-teen, I have to admit that this book brought back a flood of memories.

Anthony Horowitz surprises, entices and simply entertains the reader in a magical language fitting for a story of the immortals. In this book, he recounts the stories of mythical battles and heroes' quests that have survived the test of time and continue to awe us in the most amusing ways: the Minotaur, the Bell of Peking, Romulus and Remus, the Incas' story of the Sun, and the Ugly Wife of Sir Gawain of the Round Table.

Horowitz has an uncanny ability to use conversational language, and share a background snippet, or an important piece of information like he is sharing a secret - something that only you should know. Similarly, he criticises some of the whackier, nonsensical stories that just don't add up in the same amusing narrative that has you snickering, giggling and guffawing with him. The new and improved images are a visual treat and worth pondering over - neat and complementing the stories.

"Battles and Quests" is a short and entertaining read fit for anytime of the day. This would be a terrific gift for the adolescents at home, or even the curious adults who are in love with myths (the way I am).

Don't think twice before picking up any Anthony Horowitz book ever! A favourite on my bookstand.

[Arrash Mazdai · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Words Learnt - 0

6 mythological stories, two which I knew of (Minotaur + Romulus and Remus), but the other four I had not heard of. They are what you expect from ancient folklore tales if you've read enough of the classical ones, and I did enjoy the fact that they were plucked from different corners of the world. Geriguiaguiatugo was hilarious in its nonsesical-ness and randomness, but the Inca one was the story that caught me unawares the most.

[Lakshmi Sankar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple, basic book, providing six myths from all over the world. At the end is also a puzzle which has quite a funny answer. I wish that Anthony Horowitz could have written more myths, but although basic, the legends were quite detailed in a way that young readers would understand.

I can't wait to read more of Anthony Horowitz's books!

I'd give this book a 6/10 rating.

[Emkoshka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad collection of stories in this volume though I don't recommend eating dinner while reading 'Geriguiaguiatugo'; it's a little gross! The most enjoyable stories (besides the classic 'Minotaur') were 'The Great Bell of Peking' and 'The Ugly Wife', neither of which I knew.

[Brandon O Toole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting?

[Monisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good collection of stories.. The stories were very interesting and I enjoyed reading them

[Mary Fatima · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read this book in one sitting
Really interesting myths and legends from different cultures.

[Selvianty Yusuf · Rating 3 out of 5]

How could you dislike real ancient world legends? This book is a series of real legends of the world, anthony just rewrote them in his own style. The list is :
1. The Minotaur (greek)
2. The Great Bell of Peking (chinese)
3. Romulus and Remus (roman)
4. Geruguiaguiatugo (Bororo Indian)
5. Given to the Sun (Inca)
6. The Ugly Wife (celtic-Arthurian)

As a myth and legend fans here, I like the book.

[Seth Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was my first read by Anthony Horowitz. this was the best book that i read by Anthony Horowitz. the reason why is was the best book was because it was an easy read, easy understanding, and flowing. this story had mini stories in it. i liked all of these stories inside this book. you should read this book.

[Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was full of different myths and legends that were very exciting. My favourites were the Minotaur and Romulus and Remus. The book consists of 6 different stories that have been retold in an excellent way.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent little series of books...most stories written when Horowitz was 28 years old and published originally in one book. The stories were re-edited and then broken into several smaller books.

[Bek · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok but geriguiaguiatuga was the best!!!

[Zawir Vandal · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a nice book about myths and legends, i used for presentaion in school and i got good grades and i will still continue with it :)

[Michaela · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok but it didn't feel like it was written by AH.

[Britt Meter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about different mythologies in different cultures. 4 stars 🌟

19/8/2023
I enjoyed reading it for the second time, I really liked reading mythologies in different countries 😀

[Anthony Wokasch · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good book for Greek lovers.

[Jadyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book I really liked it.