Official Review: Telemachus and Homer by Scott D. Locke

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 27 Mar 2017, 20:04

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Telemachus and Homer" by Scott D. Locke.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Telemachus and Homer by Scott Locke is an adventurous story about Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, and Homer, a young blind girl with many talents. Though some of the names and places are familiar to those with knowledge of Greek Mythology, Telemachus and Homer stands out as a unique work. Telemachus doesn’t remember much about his father, Odysseus, as he has not seen him since Odysseus left to fight in the Trojan War many years ago. Telemachus feels a great void in his life and has a hard time deciding what to do with his life. The homecoming of Telemachus’ father is not quite what he had hoped. When a band of angry Trojans seek their revenge on Odysseus and his people, it is up to Telemachus and his friends to save the day.

At the story’s core are dominant themes of friendship and acceptance. Both Telemachus and Homer have experienced difficulty fitting in. Being blind, Homer has always struggled with people perceiving her as weak and in need of help. Similarly, Telemachus has lived under the looming shadow of his great and powerful father, Odysseus. A younger audience will easily relate to these themes and enjoy the character growth both Telemachus and Homer experience as the story progresses.

The most compelling aspect of this novel is the author’s play on well-known Greek Mythology. Most notably, portraying the character of Homer as a female greatly enhances the story’s appeal to young women. The author further succeeds in making Homer an intelligent, resourceful heroine who is able to overcome her great physical adversity. Further, like most young women, Homer often questions her confidence, making the character appear realistic.

Just as entertaining as the gender play are the unique characters the author developed for this story. Amaryllis, a bird like creature with the head of a hippopotamus, and Manos, a being with a turtle’s body and the head, arms and legs of a hare, proved to be great additions to the story. Both characters were entertaining and further enhanced the story’s themes of friendship and acceptance.

Unfortunately, the book contains some editorial issues. Though the writing was not rampant with errors, they were frequent enough to mildly hinder the reading experience. Incorrect words are occasionally used, like “price” instead of “prince.” More common are errors related to tense confusion, like using “has” when “have” is meant.

Telemachus and Homer is a fun, enjoyable take on a popular portion of Greek Mythology. The creation of unique characters and the well thought out plot makes Telemachus and Homer an enjoyable read worthy of four stars; unfortunately, the grammatical errors led me to rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend Telemachus and Homer to a middle grade audience as the main themes are not as complex as you would find in a typical YA book.

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Telemachus and Homer
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Post by **kandscreeley** » 29 Mar 2017, 08:34

I don't know a lot about Greek mythology, but I know enough to recognize some of the names and characters. This sounds like a unique play on those characters and myths. It sounds very intriguing. It's too bad about the mistakes, but it doesn't sound like it distracted too much. Thanks for the review.

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 29 Mar 2017, 09:02

@kanscreeley This really was a fun unique read and the errors weren't too distracting; the pacing and characters definitely more than made up for the minor distraction! Thanks, as always, for taking the time to read my review

Donnavila Marie01 · Post by **Donnavila Marie01** » 31 Mar 2017, 03:25

I am entrigued with the characters since they are named after the characters in the Greek mythology. The blind Homer in the story reminds me of Homer the Iliad and the Odyssey.

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 31 Mar 2017, 06:09

Donnavila Marie01 wrote:I am entrigued with the characters since they are named after the characters in the Greek mythology. The blind Homer in the story reminds me of Homer the Iliad and the Odyssey.

The characters definitely exhibit many characteristics familiar of their Iliad/Odyssey counterparts. The author puts an interesting spin on the mythology in this one!

Amagine · Post by **Amagine** » 11 Apr 2017, 08:04

This sounds like an interesting book! I especially love the fact that the author incorporated Greek mythology into his work. That would certainly make it an interesting read to a younger audience. Also, I love strong female protagonists. Even though Homer is blind, she is far from weak. She's intelligent, strong willed and seems to be an overall great character. She's the kind of character, a younger audience should read about.

Great Review!

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 12 Apr 2017, 07:48

Amagine wrote:This sounds like an interesting book! I especially love the fact that the author incorporated Greek mythology into his work. That would certainly make it an interesting read to a younger audience. Also, I love strong female protagonists. Even though Homer is blind, she is far from weak. She's intelligent, strong willed and seems to be an overall great character. She's the kind of character, a younger audience should read about.

Great Review!

Thank you! The author really did a great job creating his characters and appealing to a YA audience... but the book is also very enjoyable to read as an adult