King Must Die

Rating:
Summary: The Theseus legend brought to life
Review: Those readers who were upset at Mary Renault "tampering" with the accepted myth of Theseus should realize that her interest is not mythology but history. As a historical novelist, Renault has no peer. She researched her subjects thoroughly and evoked the time and place so accurately that her books seem to spring into life. She was less interested in Theseus as a mythological figure than as a historical figure, and her rendering of Theseus as a lightweight, fast on his feet, quick and active, seems absolutely correct. Renault is probably correct in believing that the myth of the minotaur in the labyrinth derived from the actual bull dancers of ancient Crete, who were for the most part captive slaves from the subject territories ruled by Crete three thousand years ago, and her depiction of the bull court, and the team Theseus trained to dance with the bulls, realizing that they would either all survive together or they would all die together, is more compelling than any labyrinth story we are already familiar with. In "The King Must Die", Theseus becomes a very human figure we can relate to and empathize with, rather than a stiff mythological figure more god than man. This is Renault's genius -- she brings ancient civilizations so vividly to life that we feel we are right there in the middle of the action. "The King Must Die" is one of her best.