The Double Axe
Bronze Age Crete. King Minos has problems. Athens, a client state, is in rebellion. His eldest son, Androgeos, is killed hunting whilst on a visit there. Thirteen-year-old Stephan, now the heir, suspects that something is wrong in Crete, too. It seems to centre on Myrrha, the creepy high priestess; Timon, Minos’s chancellor; and Daedalus, the architect designing the labyrinth at the palace of Knossus. As Stephan and his sister Ariadne begin to unravel the mystery, they become aware that dark forces are at work and time is running out.
There are many conflicting legends about Minos and Theseus, the Minotaur, and the labyrinth. Philip Womack adds his own twist to the myth of Theseus and the seven Athenian girls and boys who are to be sacrificed to the Minotaur in reparation for Androgeos’s death. When Theseus, very much the golden boy, appears, Ariadne finds him attractive. But whose side is Theseus on?
Womack also examines how truth gets distorted. Confusingly, the legend which emerges at the end is different from what actually happened; it becomes a story with a new hero which somebody, perhaps Theseus, has spread about to suit his own ends. The Double Axe is the first in Womack’s Blood and Fire series, and doubtless we will hear more of Theseus.
In the introduction, the author says: “Myths are elastic: this is simply my version, another way into the great store of stories that is Greek mythology.” What I liked about The Double Axe is that Womack’s story stands on its own feet and his decision to have teenagers (Stephan and his spirited sister, Ariadne) as the main protagonists, enables young readers to identify with them and, as well as experiencing the thrill of a gripping adventure and becoming acquainted with the timeless legends of the Classical world.
