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  • The King Must Die

  • Written by: Mary Renault
  • Narrated by: Kris Dyer
  • Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (10 ratings)

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The King Must Die cover art

The King Must Die

Written by: Mary Renault
Narrated by: Kris Dyer
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Publisher's Summary

The epic of Thesus, the boy king of Eleusis, ritually preordained to die after one year of marriage to the sacred queen but who defies God's decree and claims his inheritance - the throne of Athens. This re-creation of a Greek myth is written by the author of The Last of the Wine.
©1958 Mary Renault (P)2015 Audible, Ltd
Classics Historical Fiction
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What the critics say

"One of the truly fine historical novels of modern times. Not since Robert Graves's I, Claudius has there been such an exciting living image of the Ancient World on this grand scale." ( New York Times)
"Takes the raw material of myth and makes it credible - I am spellbound by Miss Renault's art." ( Observer)
"Vivid and convincing...it brims with feeling." ( Sunday Times)

What listeners say about The King Must Die

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Profile Image for Gideon Scanlon

Subtle and magnificent--why is it unknown?

Blessings to Paeon Apollo--I have stumbled on a largely unknown masterpiece, and am humbled. This retelling of the myth of Theseus is more like Graves' Golden Fleece than Miller's Circe and Song of Achilles. Its writing far exceeds both.

I have never before read a depiction of the mid-2nd millennium BC collision between the Mycenean, Minoan and pre-Greek peoples as believable as in this book.


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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Cam Oates

Characterization and story

The narrator gave the hero of this novel a terrible quality of weakness. Certainly not the hero I would imagineTheseus to be. Every time he was in the company of someone knew it sounded like he was quivering, and uncertain of himself. This always struck me as someone who was confident and, even if he didn’t understand his path, he believed in doing the right thing.

I couldn’t finish it.

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