Done

I actually liked this book a lot. It was an action-adventure-fantasy story which is one of my favorite kinds of stories. The various adventures and the final battle were especially good. I still have to say the trick that Odysseus played on the cyclops was by favorite part. It was so original and crafty. The battle was also pretty nice. The part with the spear volleys was awesome. Athena turned out to actually be instrumental in their victory. I was not a fan of the last chapter. I was confused for most of it and I can't believe it ended with a memory wipe. That is almost as bad as "and then I woke up". I can't imagine the greatest adventure of all time having such a corny ending.

The challenge

I thought that idea by Penelope to have a challenge using Odysseus's own bow was pretty intellingent. Recently I read about more omens in the book which I did not understand until Odysseus explained it to Penelope. I'm wondering why everyone seems to be able to identify Odysseus by the scar on his foot. Has everyone seen his feet? Even the swineherd recognized him through that small imperfection. I'm baffled as to why everyone is so familiar with Odysseus's fott. I've been getting more confused in the past few chapters. I've noticed the startling amount of people whose names begin with Eury. I'm getting a bit fed up with it so it should become more clear once Odysseus kills all of the suitors.

Meh

Not much has happened recently. The last three books have been exceedingly slow moving. At the beginning of chapter 15, Odysseus is with Eumaus and at the end of chapter 17 he has just left his hut and gone to his old palace in disguise. The only event of consequence is that Telemachus finds out that the "vagabond" is in fact Odysseus. Who would have thought? What an unforseeable chain of events. Also, I liked the part with the omens in chapter 15. That hawk holding the goose is pretty cool I guess but I don't really get why it means that Odysseus is going to exact his revenge. What does a dead goose in the mouth of a hawk have to do with anything? Is Odysseus the hawk? Anyway, I hope something happens soon because I am eagerly awaiting the next of Odysseus's great challenges.

Awesome!

Chapter 13 had everything that I could possibly want. First off, turning that ship to stone was one of the coolest things I have ever heard. I like the idea of prophecys being fulfilled and not leaving people to wonder. If a ship didn't turn to stone at some point in the book I would be mad. Now for quite possibly my two favorite moments in this book. SWINEHERD!!! My favorite word has been introduced in the original epic. On of my other favorite words is also in this book. And that word is...vagabond! I hope that Homer contiues with his incredibly delightful vocabulary.

Best CHapter

This is clearly the best chapter so far. All of the beasts and roadblocks are easily surmounted by Odysseus's wealth of cleverness...okay not really his cleverness, but more with Circe's instructions. Regardless, there is a lot of cool stuff happening. First, the sirens. That beeswax thing is pretty cool, but I don't know why Odysseus has himself tied to the mast. Couldn't he just put beeswax in his ears too? Also, why do you kill something that belongs to the Sun? It makes no sense, unless you want to die or something. I think if this book was a sitcom, Odysseus's men would be the unintelligent guys who are the butt of everyones jokes.

The land of the Dead

This was potentially one of the weirdest things I have and ever will read. I guess I got my answer though about what the deal was with that guy who was killed after falling off the roof. Well, at least Odysseus finally realized that the reason why he is having all of these storms is because he blinded Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon. Probably the best part of this chapter was when Odysseus meets some of the people who With him in Troy. Agamemnon was the best because his name is the best that the Gods have ever created. I can picture an amazing ruler being named Agamemnon. I think it is awful about that Tantalus guy. How awful would that be? Reaching for food and drink and not being able to get either.

Chapter 10

There was a whole bunch of weird things happening in Chapter 10. I still can't believe that Odysseus's men thought he was hording treasure so they broke the bag. I mean come on. That was the only thing getting them home. The fact that they end up rowing to an island of giants is just bad luck. The next part of the chapter I already knew about from the Simpsons. Circe turns Odysseus's men into pigs, but she eventually turns them back. I'm actually pretty intrested to find out how Odysseus's trip to Hades will go. I'm still a bit confused as to why that drunk guy died at the end though. I don't see it having any relavence to the story.

The Odyssey

It has been a while. The new book seems interesting so far, but is relatively slow moving. It took 8 chapters for Odysseus to start telling of his adventures. Chapter 9 was by far the best. I happen to think that Odysseus's trick, calling himself nobody, is absolute genius. That whole Cyclops scene tells a lot about the story as well. We learn of Odyseuss's intelligence, and why Poseidon is so mad at him. I still can't get over how he managed to leave the cave alive. Blinding a giant cyclops, tricking him into not attracting the attention of his neighbors, letting him open the door, and clinging to the bottom of his sheep to escape his clutches. I would not have thought of any of those things, especially getting him drunk and blinding him. I'm sure there will be even more amazing adventures to come.