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	• The Gryphon's Skull H. N. Turteltaub Forge Books, 2002 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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On this particular journey, the argumentative duo obtains the skull of a strange looking bird that Sostratos believes is a gryphon, which proves the existence of the mythical beast. Menedemos dreams of receiving plenty of loot at an auction as he figures the philosophy schools will compete to buy the gryphon skull. As the relatives argue, fuss, and fight over the bird, they must also deal with the typical hazards of the open sea ranging from pirates to warring countries to spoiled aristocratic relatives, but mostly they contend with one another.

THE GRYPHON'S SKULL is a delightful ancient historical novel that brings to life Greece through the eyes of a strong cast, especially the delightful lead characters. The story line is action-packed, filled with real tidbits and persona, but also contains much amusement especially when the cousins bicker, banter, and bother one another. Fans will relish this trek and want to read the combatant cousin's first novel, OVER THE WINE DARK SEA.

Harriet Klausner

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An Enjoyable Read that doesn't do Much

I like Harry Turtledove's books (Turteltaub is a pen name), they are enjoyable to read. This one was as well but, unlike many of his novels, there does not seem to be much point to it. It is a simple narrative describing the exploits of a pair of cousins in the ancient Hellenic world. There is very little sense of excitement or accomplishment. Instead, it is a mildly pleasant meandering.

Mendemos and Sostratos are cousins who work together in the trade in luxury goods. They come from Rhodes and sail the Mediterranean hoping to make a profit. In the course of their journey, they have a few mild adventures and run into some interesting people. That's about all that does happen.

The title come from a fossil skull of a dinosaur procured by one the cousins. To both of them, it seems to suggest the mythical gryphon. The more philosophical of the two boys wants to take it to Athens to see what the scholars there make of it. The more adventurous one thinks that will be a waste of time (and investment capital) but agrees merely to keep peace within the family. The skull figures in the drives of the characters but has little other significance than to help demonstrate the differing outlooks each has.

Menedemos is the captain of the vessel and is the more hot headed of the two. His twin motivations are profit and the seduction of other men's wives. Sostratos is the more contemplative one who is a thinker. He serves as the supercargo and is no less interested in profit but to him, this includes profit of the mind as well.

The bothers wander around on their trading journey. Some things go better than hoped for, some go worse. Their exploits, however, do not seem to be the point. Instead, they are just the vehicle to introduce readers to a very different culure which did significantly influence our own. For me, this was interesting; others may find it less so.

Turtledove is eminently qualified to write on these matters. He is a Greek scholar although I do believe his area of specialization is significantly later in history. It was Byzantine, if I remember correctly. I like his science fiction and alternate history books much more; I can hardly put those down. I have no regrets in reading this one though.

Don't expect a rousing adventure. If you want a slice of Hellenistic culture from shortly after Alexander the Great, this might be a good choice.

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In the tradition of Steven Pressfield and Mary Renault, a seafaring novel of the ancient GreeksThe vast tapestry of the Hellenic world unfolds in this stirring tale of two traders from the island of Rhodes, who range across the wind-blown face of the beautiful and treacherous Mediterranean in search of adventure and profits.In Over the Wine-dark Sea, H. N. Turteltaub transported his readers to the year 310 B.C. and the lives of Menedemos and Sostratos, two sea traders of Rhodes. From the smell of papyrus and ink to the thrumming of sail in the wind and the grunt of the oarsmen, the details of life in a now-vanished world come alive again in his new novel, The Gryphon?s Skull, an epic of grand adventure and finely realized characters. Sostratos, long and rangy, intellectual and curious, chases knowledge as ardently as his cousin chases women; Menedemos, nearly as perfect a physical specimen as Alexander himself, is the headstrong man of the sea, his eyes unable to resist the veiled beauties around him . . . including his young stepmother, Baukis, whose voice and form he struggles to ignore.Having profitably returned on the Aphrodite to Rhodes, the two cousins find that war threatens their once free-trading world. Alexander the Great?s successors are warring for control of the eastern Mediterranean. The ruthless one-eyed general Antigonos, who draws on the strength of all Anatolia, and his rival Ptolemaios, who controls the endless wealth of Egypt, are each ruthlessly maneuvering for advantage . . . and the neutrality of Rhodes, so essential to commerce, may be coming to an end. Yet though war and rumors of war surround them, Sostratos and Menedemos need to turn a profit. It seems the height of folly to try one?s luck so strenuously, but Sostratos has come into possession of what he is convinced is the skull of the mythical gryphon, the fabled beast with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. They sail to Athens, intending to sell it to a school of philosophy. And the Egyptian emeralds they?ve obtained on the cheap promise to make them an even tidier profit. But between the Aphrodite and Athens lie two war fleets, innumerable pirates, and enough n0 danger and intrigue to satisfy even Homer. Unfortunately, it may be more than Sostratos and Menedemos can hope to survive.

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