From Publishers Weekly
This latest offering from the author of numerous original and quirky tales is set in a mythic world as rich and thrilling as that of Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles. An earlier Alcock novel, The Stonewalkers , is delicately echoed in the story's opening scene, in which Perseus, armed with Medusa's head, returns to the isle of Seriphos and turns its king and all the court to stone. With their royal master frozen for all time, the slave and gifted singer Phaidon, his uncle Pelops and two other slaves set off for parts unknown. After a storm at sea strands the travelers on a barren island, Phaidon and friends are joined by Iris, a scraggly tomboy raised by wolves and pirates. Magic, fate and the workaday world converge to provide a vivid background for the events that lead Phaidon to the grand city of Anaktaron, where he fulfills a prophecy and makes a new life for himself and his companions. A strong coming-of-age story, in which the uncanny is never far off. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Ingram
In a powerful tale based on Greek mythology, Cleo is turned to stone by the deadly glare of Medusa, and Phaidon embarks on an epic journey to rescue her from an eternity in marble.
