Book 2 of this retelling and interpretation of the Theseus myth carries on immediately after his return from Crete and the suicide of his father, who thought he had been killed. Theseus has to get to grips with the various problems inherent on taking over as king, some of which have been caused by his father's reluctance to deal with a powerful sadistic local chieftain (the mythological Procrustes). Theseus soon proves to the doubting barons that he is a strong and decisive ruler and he goes on to lead a successful war against his father's brothers and their kin who had previously attacked Athens on a number of occasions.

On the personal side things do not run so smoothly. He is aware that he should marry and produce legitimate sons to succeed him, yet he is reluctant to commit himself. Eventually he settles on Phaedra, whom he met when she was a child while he was a bulldancer on Crete. The younger sister of Ariadne, whom he left on Nexos when it became clear she had the 'bad blood' that full-out worship of the Goddess represents - she had taken part in the Maened frenzy in which the local King was sacrificed - Phaedra is now a sedate young Cretan matron. He puts off the marriage even though he has arranged that she stay on Crete, because she would lose her royal status there if she left. Instead, driven by a restless spirit, he goes roving on ships with his friend Prince Pirithoos and indulges in piracy.

On one of his trips he meets and eventually defeats in a fight Hippolyta, King of the Moon Maidens of Artemis, for whom he forms a deep and instant devotion. Despite her upbringing she reciprocates his love, and eventually they have a son, Hippolytus But he also has to marry Phaedra. He has a son by her also, Acamus, a typically Cretan boy, rather than the tall Helene young man that Hippolytus grows into. He intends Hippolytus, despite his illegitimacy, to inherit his rule of Athens and the other countries now under Athens' rule, apart from Crete, which could go to Acamus who is rather easy going and not much of a warrior. But things don't turn out according to plan.

This book is rather more bitty and disjointed than volume one. Certain characters are sketched, such as Hippolyta, their son, his wife and other son, and his friend Pirrithoos. Theseus contends with various difficulties such as the hostility to Hippolyta who continues to dress in "men's clothing" and ride and hunt - he has a beautiful sword made for her too. The prevailing attitudes to women mean that the senior nobles and the serving women both view her with suspicion - the men because her reverence of the goddess Artemis reminds them of Medea who was the close companion of his father and whom they suspected of wanting to bring back the Mother worship complete with king-sacrifice, and the women because Theseus has elevated her to his soul companion and common law wife and no longer sleeps around, plus he favours her son above theirs. As foreshadowed, from as far back as a couple of mentions in passing in volume 1, things end in tragedy as usually happens in Greek mythology.

As before, Renault has a different slant on the mythical elements. For example, the Kentaurs as they are called here are not half horse and half man but a type of wild man - possibly Neanderthals - who have a close bond with horses and live a basic outdoor existence. As in book 1, various other myths are worked in, including mentions of Jason, and a cameo appearance by Achilles. Because there are quite long periods when nothing basically happens in the myth, these are summarised briefly and, as they consist mostly of Theseus going on pirate expeditions, that is no bad thing.

The attitudes to women continue to be problematic but this follows the cultural norms of the time. To some extent, Theseus overcomes these in his relationship with Hippolyta but he continues to treat other women, including his wife, as people whose opinions don't matter - to his undoing and that of his elder son. His likeable characteristic is his championing of underdogs and belief that a king is a protector of his people and stands between them and the god - mainly Poseidon, but others - with the ultimate role, if required, of self-sacrifice.

Because of the more episodic character of this book which perhaps suffered from such a large stretch of Theseus life being packed into one novel I didn't enjoy this as much as book 1. I also found it not altogether credible that Hippolyta so quickly falls for Theseus and renounces her old life. For those reasons, I rate it at 3 stars overall. ( )

Renault has this great knack for casually skewering Theseus with his own presumptions of kingly privilege and judgement that you consistently feel sorry for those in his orbit, rather than fall into what a lesser author would render as a straight up heroic power fantasy. ( )

Another excellent picture of Ancient Greece, this time concentrating on the life of Theseus after he returned from Mycenae, the Labyrinth, and the Minotaur.
Theseus is bigger than life, as a mythical hero should be, but Renault manages to make him seem almost human with some very real and strong emotions. Most of the other characters are rather flat, thus the 4 stars. The author’s strength was always her storytelling and world building. Of special note here are the more-or-less plausible explanations of some of the myths (e.g., the centaurs).
This will appeal to anyone interested in Ancient Greece and/or Classical Mythology. ( )

El Rey debe morir es una obra a mi modo de ver algo pobre teniendo en cuenta la escritora que hay detrás. Esperaba haber encontrado algo más de emoción e intensidad en Mary Renault. Está escrito en un estilo demasiado arcaico y a veces la profusión de actores crea cierta confusión. De momento no voy a leer el segundo volumen, "El Toro del mar" ( )

The pebble moves upon the mountain, shifted by a goat's foot or the scour of rain. For a while it tumbles and rolls, and a child's hand could stop it. But soon it takes great bounds, swift as a slingshot; at last it leaps out from the crag like Apollo's arrow, and can pierce through a war-helm into the skull of a man. ( )