House of Odysseus continues award-winning author Claire North's
Penelope trilogy, "a powerful, fresh, and unflinching" reimagining
(Jennifer Saint) that breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to
the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men.
On the isle of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of
power. Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and
never came home. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep
the peace--a peace that is shattered by the return of Orestes, King of
Mycenae, and his sister Elektra.
Orestes' hands are stained with his mother's blood. Not so long ago, the
son of Agamemnon took Queen Clytemnestra's life on Ithaca's sands. Now,
wracked with guilt, he is slowly losing his mind. But a king cannot be
seen to be weak, and Elektra has brought him to Ithaca to keep him safe
from the ambitious men of Mycenae.
Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the
furies circle him. His uncle Menelaus, the battle-hungry king of Sparta,
longs for Orestes' throne--and if he can seize it, no one will be safe
from his violent whims.
Trapped between two mad kings, Penelope fights to keep her home from
being crushed by a war that stretches from Mycenae and Sparta to the
summit of Mount Olympus itself. Her only allies are Elektra, desperate
to protect her brother, and Helen of Troy, Menelaus' wife. And watching
over them all is the goddess Aphrodite, who has plans of her own.
Each woman has a secret. And their secrets will shape the world.
