George O’Connor
First Second
October 2014
That’s right, its a book review special! The first ever boxed collection that First Second has put out, featuring the first six books in the Olympian series by George O’Connor! This series has been one of my favorites since I picked up the first volume and the following volumes have only gotten better and better.
Greek and Roman mythology has been one of my favorite parts of history for so long, but so many of the books, particularly for a younger crowd, are boring. Or overwhelming with the sheer amount of information! O’Connor doesn’t have that issue, because instead of focusing on the events, he focuses on the gods and goddesses of the pantheon and lets them tell the stories of history as it relates to them. It makes it fun and exciting to read because we get to see Zeus be unsure of himself at times, but trying to do what’s right without giving everything away. Hades being a hero, not the villain he is so often portrayed as. And Aphrodite? Man…who knew she wasn’t a clueless love god, but a master manipulator? O’Connor makes the world come to life by the story he weaves and by giving personality to the gods that we meet so that we can understand why they did what they did.
This boxed set is a fantastic addition to the pantheon, allowing all of the books to be easily collected in one place and showing off the gorgeous spine work that features half of Medusa! Plus it comes with a poster depicting the family tree of the gods and goddesses, as well as new artwork on the cover of the box showcasing more of O’Connor’s skills. Plus with this set you get one all of the little features at the back of the book that talk about the different characters, who they are, and other details to help you learn more about the Greek world. Even better, from a librarian perspective, they have a bibliography! A list of websites and recommended reading list to go to get more information.
I imagine that we’ll see another boxed set when the series reaches twelve volumes and I cannot wait. Heck, I can’t wait to read the next volume which will be Ares, the God of War! I give this megaset five out of five stars.
Set provided by Gina at First Second
If you’d like to read my reviews of books 3-6 you can find them here:
Hades: https://ashuping.net/blog/?p=53
Poseidon: https://ashuping.net/blog/?p=38
Aphrodite: https://ashuping.net/blog/?p=410
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