Praiseworthy Pages

Reader Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ (4/5 stars)

Despite obtaining a bachelor’s degree in English and being an avid reader all my life, I had never once read Homer’s The Odyssey, and I had no intention to. Then life decided to throw me a bone, and I stumbled across one of the world’s most phenomenal musicals of all time—Epic: The Musical, written and performed by Jorge Rivera-Herrans—and I suddenly needed to read this classic immediately. (If you haven’t listened to the musical, go listen now! You won’t regret it). It was so much fun comparing the original text with Epic’s musical retelling. I’m partial to the musical’s version, but this book has been around for forever, retold , and there’s a good reason why!

Language: 10/10 (No swearing).
Sex: 8/10 (Infrequent and mild references to sex).
Violence and gore: 4/10 (Frequent and often detailed depictions of violence and gore).

Plot: 6/10 (The story focused far more on one week-long period of Odysseus’ return than his 20-year long trials against gods and monsters at sea, which felt a bit backwards when looked at from a modern perspective on storytelling).
Characters: 5/10 (The Odyssey was written thousands of years ago, so what classified as a well-rounded hero was different then than it is now. When looked at through a 2025 lens, the characters felt flat compared to the character depth often seen in modern literature).
Writing style: 6/10 (Again, the story was written in a vastly different time. However, for an epic poem written thousands of years ago, the writing still contained impressive imagery and movement).

Genre: Adult literature, fantasy fiction, classic literature
Potential triggers: Murder, death, loss of loved ones, rape, etc.
Is this book part of a series? No.
I would recommend this book to readers ages 16+.